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NL_lightning_tutorial

The document provides a guide on painting Night Lords lightning bolts, emphasizing the importance of Object Source Lighting (OSL) and the dynamic placement of the bolts. It details a step-by-step process, including specific paint colors and techniques for achieving a natural lightning effect. Key tips include using turquoise for OSL to contrast with armor and drawing lightning in organic shapes rather than straight lines.

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Juan Carlos Azpurua Michelena
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© © All Rights Reserved
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9 views

NL_lightning_tutorial

The document provides a guide on painting Night Lords lightning bolts, emphasizing the importance of Object Source Lighting (OSL) and the dynamic placement of the bolts. It details a step-by-step process, including specific paint colors and techniques for achieving a natural lightning effect. Key tips include using turquoise for OSL to contrast with armor and drawing lightning in organic shapes rather than straight lines.

Uploaded by

Juan Carlos Azpurua Michelena
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How to paint Night Lords lightning bolts, by NinjaUnlikely

General principles:
Lightning bolts should emit light (duh). The most
important part of the effect is from the OSL (Object
Source Lighting). The other important part is the
placement. The bolt should be placed to reinforce
the 'force lines', ie, the lines along which the model
seems to move (see the blue arrows on the image
to the right). This reinforces the dynamism of the
pose and makes the lightning be more than just an
ornement or an afterthought.

The OSL:
Painting OSL is not as hard as it looks. The most important tip I can give you is to use it
in areas that would normally be shadows if only ambient/zenithal light was involved.
This dramatically emphasizes the difference between the normal highlighting of the
armor and the OSL. For this reason, we'll use a turquoise OSL for the bolt instead of
cold blue as the latter is too similar in hue as the armor.

The bolt:
This is the most intidimidating aspect to newer
painters. Any freehanded drawing seems daunting at
first, but the good news is that lightning bolts are
natural organic shapes and are not straigth lines.
Draw it more like a tree with branches that grow
thinner and thinner as they get away from their 'root’. I
always try to copy nature and not what my idea of
what a lightning bolt is.

Paints used here


- Huldra Blue (Scale75)
- Incubi Darkness (Citadel)
- Kabalite Green (Citadel)
- Gauss Blaster Green (Citadel)
- White (any)
- Verdigris Glaze (Vallejo)
Step by step explanation

1. Base coat with 2. Start OSL. Use


Huldra Blue. You Incubi Darkness
can use any dark and Kabalite Green
blue but I find this to paint a light
one interesting. It source following
needs to be really the force line.
dark.

3. Extreme light 4. Trace the


with Gauss lightning bolt with
Blaster Green. Gauss Blaster
This finishes Green. Paint it like
setting up the a tree: thinner and
overall direction of thinner organic
the lightning bolt. branches. Don't
have to be perfect
(yet).

5. Secondary OSL 6. Highlight the


and bolt armor. I use mixes
corrections. Use of Huldra Blue and
the same colours Verdigris, but feel
as for the first OSL free to use any
and highlight the colour you wish to
tips of the bolt. fit your army. DO
Use the darker NOT colour the
colours to refine shadows around
the bolt. the bolt.

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