This was a real treat to work on. We were asked to paint a Tyranid army inspired by the art below for the game Darkest Dungeon. The client wanted black Tyranids with glowing joints and mouths.
Once I saw how it came out, I fell in love with the look. I have some Tyranids set aside for a Kill Team that I’m going to do this way.
These were painted to Exhibition Quality.
How We Painted These
We’ve been getting a lot of requests on how we did these, so I figured best add a tutorial to help:
What Colors Did You Use?
We do a lot of blending and we get our colors custom-made. As such, we can’t really give a meaningful color list, sorry :( .
Instead, this will help:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/iLR9Xbd8k1raWrZM9
It is a gallery link to the army that shows large images. This gives a better idea of the technique we used.
Claws
Black. Grey highlights. Gloss varnish -- the key is to make them look different from the rest of the black.
Body / Carapace
Black. Grey highlights (seriously).
Glowing Effects
Pick a cold color of choice - blue, turquoise, purple, for example. Target the open joints and recesses in the minis. Don't target them all; part of the look is skipping some.
Do a shade wash (contrast paints might work here, too).
After that, take the cold color you used and mix in a bit of white. Just a bit. Then drybrush that over the areas.
Go back and repeat this for as many drybrush highlights as you like, each time, increasing the white.
Testing
Test on a sprue first, make sure you have the look you want!
Happy painting :) .
Navin
About Tyranids:
The Tyranids are a race in Warhammer 40k. They are depicted as a vast, interconnected hive mind that seeks to assimilate all other forms of life into its collective consciousness. Tyranids are characterized by their overwhelming numbers, their ability to adapt and evolve quickly, and their relentless pursuit of their goals.
They are believed to have originated from outside the Milky Way galaxy and travel through space in massive fleet formations known as "hive fleets," which are composed of billions of individual organisms. These hive fleets consume all forms of life that they encounter, using the genetic material of their prey to create new, specialized Tyranid organisms.
Tyranids are often depicted as being insect-like in appearance, with chitinous exoskeletons and sharp, mandible-like jaws. They are known for their ability to adapt to a wide variety of environments and for their use of powerful psychic abilities. They are often seen as a force of nature, almost impossible to stop or defeat due to their vast numbers and their ability to evolve and adapt.
About Paintedfigs:
Paintedfigs is a miniature painting service. You can send us your figurines to paint, and we also have painted miniatures for sale. We paint mainly Games Workshop (Warhammer 40k, Warhammer Fantasy, Age of Sigmar, Necromunda, Space Hulk, Bloodbowl, and so on), Star Wars, Warmachine and Hordes, and pretty much every Kickstarter and board game under the sun.
And we do so at the lowest rates on Earth (we’ve checked).