We've clipped our model off of the sprue and worked

tirelessly to remove every annoying mold line we could

find. The model has been primed and we are ready to
finally put some paint on this bad boy!
 But.. we begin to hesitate. We can feel ourselves
becoming nervous. Okay, dont worry, we know that we
can at least base coat right? Sure. Lets do that.

We base coat the model Blue, or Red or whatever the

primary color is going to be.
We took our time and got a nice smooth base layer.
Awesome! ...and now we freeze.
"Where do I put
my highlights?!"
This is such a common
question, and for good
reason. Its not something
we just inherently know. It
takes time and practice to
gain the insight for how
light interacts with its
surroundings.

I'm hoping that this guide

will leave you with a better
understanding of how
light works and where to
place highlights on your
miniatures.

Lets jump into it!

 Before we start painting we
have an important decision to
make..

We need to decide WHERE

our mini is.

Highlights and Shadows are

dictated by the setting and
the lighting within it. Take this
image for example. The large
explosion from behind will
create a lot of light that will
have an impact on the space
marines highlights and
shadows.
Even with the simplest of environments, like being outside in the
sun, we still need to decide WHERE the sun is in relation to our
model. The angle of the sun will determine where our highlights
and shadows should be placed.
 Before we decide on our lighting though, lets take a quick
moment to anchor our model in its best looking position.
What I mean by that is every model has its most
photographic angle. Typically this is the same as the art on
the box. Look at the box art of Abaddon
The angle that the photographer chose captures all of the key
components of the model. You can see his face, his sword
and the claw. Its very dramatic and captivating. Whenever
we paint a model, we need to pick our "primary angle" for a
photograph.

The reason we "anchor" or

fix the model with a single
position is because our light
source will be fixed as well.

When we paint miniatures,

we are essentially painting a
single moment in time, like a
3D photograph.
Recap

Whenever we start a new model, before we apply any paint

we need to decide on two things:

1. What is our models best angle for a photograph. This will

anchor the model in place.

2. What is the setting of our model. This will be us

determining where our light source is in relation to the
model. (ex. outside with the sun behind us)
Lets look at a classic space marine model. We have decided
that this pose will be our primary angle for a
photograph and will be the position we base our light off of.
 Now we need to decide on our light source. To keep things
simple, lets assume our model is indoors and there is only 1
light source. We now need to decide where exactly that light
source is. The angle of light will have a huge impact on our
models highlights & shadows. Take a look at these images.

light from left light from below

light from right
There are unlimited options for where our light source can be
but for this guide we need to decide on ONE. In the future, as
you improve your painting skill, you may want to utlize
some of these alternative angles of light to create a more
"dramatic" feel; like this image for example. The light is
directly above the model. This casts a lot of shadow on the
front of the model and could be used for things like OSL and
introducing a second light source.

Imagine the light source

above is the moon. We
could then introduce a
light source of fire to
illuminate the face from
below.
In most cases, THIS is the angle of light we are looking for. The
light is above AND infront of the model. Light shines down and
illuminates all of the important features so our viewers can
clearly see the subject
So lets review..

We have our model primed and ready..

We figured out what the models most photographic angle
will be and we know that our light source will be ABOVE
and INFRONT of the model.
 But...
how do we know how the light
should look on our model?

where do the highlights and

shadows go exactly?
Those are valid questions and it can become a little
confusing but lets try to keep things as SIMPLE as possible.

The relationship between Light and Shapes is extremely

important and is our first step in better understanding
where our highlights and shadows should go on our models.
Our world and how we view it can be summarized into
4 primary shapes.

Sphere

Cone

Cube

Cylinder

Each shape interacts with light slightly different due to the

angle of the surface and how it reflects light. Art students will
spend hours upon hours studying shapes and light and over
time you will gain an understanding as well. Lets go over a
brief summary of each.
The Sphere
When light strikes a sphere, it
creats an orb like highlight.
The highlight is similar in
shape to the sphere itself.

The area that light cant

reach will create a
crescent moon shape
for the shadow.
Cylinder

The cylinder shape reflects

light in a straight line across
the length of the surface.

No matter how the cylinder is

positioned, its highlight will
always travel down the length
in a straight line. The shadow
will do the same on the
opposing side.
The Cone

The cone is very similar to

the cylinder in that the light
travels in a straight line
across the length from base
to tip. The shadow will be
on the opposing side.
The Cube

The cube is a very simple

shape with flat planes.
Depending on where our
light is, each plane will
have a different light
value. The plane of the
cube thats facing the light
will be the brightest while
planes not facing the light
will be much darker.
The study of shapes and how light interacts with them is
crucial when it comes to painting highlights and
shadows on our models. Take a space marine for
example. How many shapes do you see?
 If we look closely, we can spot several shapes on our
marine. If we understand that these areas are just shapes,
then we know how light will interact with them and how
our highlights and shadows should look!
Even complex areas, like the space marines power pack. If
we take a closer look we can see that its really just a
combination of those primary shapes!
As light shines down from our light source it lands upon
the model and all of its shapes. Those shapes then
reflect light in a specific shape of its own.

Now, the last thing we need to understand is where on

the shape we place the highlight/reflection.
When light strikes a surface, some of the light is absorbed
while some of it is reflected. The light that is reflected,
bounces off of the surface and travels into a new direction.
When we look at an object, we can only see it because of the
light that is reflecting towards our eyes!

Our eyes can see because of the light that enters them. The
more light, the brighter something will look.
 Take this basketball for example. We can see that light is
shining down on the basketball and because we see it, we
know light is bouncing off of the ball and towards the camera.

But why is one area brighter than the rest?

That bright spot is there because that particular area of the
basket ball is PERFECTLY angled in a way that it bounces the
MOST amount of light towards the camera. More light
bouncing towards our eyes or a camera = brighter
reflection.
Mav note:

Do you remember when you were young and would wear a

watch to school? The light from the classroom window would
shine on your watch and in turn, you would become a menace
and reflect that light into other students eyes.

Thats the same concept. That bright light is only bright

BECAUSE it is reflecting into an eye.
Lets take another look at my space
marine primed in a satin finish...
For this photo, my desk lamp was
above and in front of the model.

Now look at where on the model

the highlights of white light are
their brightest.

Notice anything?
The brightest points of light are
areas whos surface is perfectly
angled to bounce light from the
camera to the eyes.
This will all take some time and practice. Our minds don't
naturally consider this to be the way things work but half the
battle is understanding. Once you have a general idea of how
things work, you can start to observe it in day to day life. Try
studying things around you. Observe how different objects
and shapes interact with light. Try to figure out the source of
light when you see a reflection on a surface.

This practice will

become
incredibly helpful
and allow your
painting to utilize
your intuition.
Exercise
We now know that when it comes to painting highlights:

1. We first must anchor our model in a single position as if to

take a photo.
2. We must decide where our source of light is in relation to our
model.
3. Based off of our model and the shapes its made up of, we
know that our highlights will have specific shapes to match.
4. Our highlights position ON those shapes will be determined
by the angle that our source of light is striking the model.
Here we have our model. Ive
gone ahead and given it a base
coat of blue for you guys and ive
decided that this is the position
that I want to anchor my model.
All we need to do now is:

1. Decide where our light source

is
2. study the model for obvious
shapes to help us know what
our highlights should look like
3. sketch in the highlights.
Light source
decision:
Ive decided that I want my light
source to come from ABOVE
and TO THE LEFT

Now we can move on to the next

step and identify obvious
shapes.
We can spot some easy shapes right away
We've identified a number of
simple shapes and we can start
to imagine where our highlights
will go. With light coming from
our left, the highlights will
naturally sit on the left side of
the space marine.

We know that a sphere has

sphere shaped highlights also.
lets go ahead and sketch those in
first.

note: The pauldrons are sort of a

sphere/cylinder hybrid shape.
There for our highlight will be a
sphere/cylinder shape.
We can now move on to the
arms, legs and the top of the
back pack as they are all
obvious cylinders. Remember,
cylinders reflect light straight
across the length. All we need
to do is sketch them on the side
that faces our light source!
Finally we have the chest and
crotch area. This might initially
seem confusing but try to think
about what the general shape is.

The chest is essentially just a piece

of a wide cylinder and therefor the
highlights should be treated as
such.
we can continue to practice by
trying this exercise with different
colors and light angles. Lets try
this salamander with light from
our right and in front.
Ill post the original image of
the space marine for you
guys. I strongly suggest you
take it into MS paint and play
around with it for extra
practice!
We can even utilize it to
practice and plan NMM
painting! (but thats another
guide!)
You will need to study and practice to give your mind the
time it needs to fully grasp this concept. In the mean time
however, there are 2 simple alternatives to help speed you
along.

The first, is one that ive already showed you. ..

Chaos black by Citadel leaves our model with a slightly gloss/satin
finish. When we prime a model with it and hold it under our desk
lamp, we can clearly see how light interacts with all of the unique
shapes. Look at the pipes on the left. How the bright white areas
bend and curve with the shape of the exhaust. Now look at how I
used that as a reference for the gold and steel sections.
Using chaos black to map your
highlights:
1. Build and prime the model with chaos black
2. Place the model on your desk and point a camera at the
model
3. Position the model to have the best possible angle for a
photograph. One that you might see on the cover of the
box.
4. Take your desk light and position your light in a way that
best illuminates all of the key features of your model.
5. Take a photo!
6. Use this photo later on to help guide you with your
highlight placement.
Another example of how chaos black can help guide
our decision making
Using an airbrush to mimic light
By using an airbrush we can replicate the appearance of light
on a matte surface. Since paint from an airbrush travels in a
straight line, we can imitate rays of light. The only catch is
that just like the sun, we need to keep our airbrush in a
relatively fixed position.
By holding the airbrush pointed down at a ~60 degree
angle, we can do small circles to create a cone of
light. This type of lighting replicates that of a cloudy
day around noon, when the sun is at its highest.
By maintaining the same angle with our airbrush and working our
way around the model, we will create the imitation of light. Now
this isnt a "slap chop" method. This is purely here to create a blue
print for where your highlights could go. This isnt the most
realistic way to approach light but it is still aesthetically pleasing
and a great starting point.
This approach to highlighting with an airbrush is excellent for
army painting as it is extremely fast.
I hope you found this guide helpful. I would completely
understand if you found it to be a bit overwhelming at
first. Truthfully, when these concepts were first
explained to me, I didn't grasp it at first either.

My hope is that I planted the idea and over the next

couple of weeks, you might start to view and
understand light a bit better. Once you do, you will
find that your hesitation while painting will be greatly
reduced thanks to a new found confidence.

Once again thank you so much for the continued

support and if you have ANY questions, hit me up in
the discord. Happy Painting guys
-Mav