Tuesday 6 June 2017

Painting Guide - Kingdom Death: Monster (Monsters)

If you've read my review for Kingdom Death: Monster (and I see no reason why you wouldn't have, because it's awesome) then you know that the the miniatures remind me of statues or chess pieces, moved around by the whims of a monstrous deity.

The best thing about this idea is it meant I was able to paint up my miniatures very quickly and easily. I painted all of the survivors to look like they were carved in stone, and I painted all of the monsters to look like they were carved in bone. The result is a set of miniatures with a classical appearance that I think is totally in-keeping with the atmosphere of the game.

The lion from Kingdom Death: Monster, painted to look like bone.


Recently, I finished off the massive phoenix bigature, which has been sitting on my top shelf for a little while. I thought I might as well snap a few photos and share the process here, although frankly, that process is so simple it's a bit insulting to put it into a guide.

What I used:

Army Painter Skeleton Bone spray primer
Army Painter Soft Tone
Army Painter Skeleton Bone
Army Painter Matt White
A really frickin' big drybrush

Stage 1:

Coloured spray primers are my new favourite thing. One coat of Skeleton Bone spray primer, and most of the work on this miniature was already done.

The phoenix from Kingdom Death: Monster, primed with skeleton bone.


Stage 2:

Army Painter Soft Tone works well for bone. It isn't as dark as the other options, so you don't end up with a model that looks really brown and muddy; but the depth of the shade still really brings out the details. Be prepared to slop on loads though. Also be prepared for the model to look a little bit shit at this stage.

The phoenix from Kingdom Death: Monster, washed with soft tone to shade and bring out detail.


Stage 3:

Find the biggest drybrush you can. Then chuck it away and buy a bigger one. Drybrush the whole model with Skeleton Bone to restore some of the colour the Soft Tone took away. When that's dry, add a bit of Matt White to the Skeleton Bone and drybrush again.

(Special note: Use a circular motion when drybrushing the large, flat base. It looks nicer, I reckon.)

The phoenix from Kingdom Death: Monster, with drybrushing to bring out detail.


Stage 4:

Now just keep drybrushing. With each coat, add a little more Matt White to the mix. Keep going until you feel you've done enough, or you get a bit bored. Whichever. Obviously, save the lightest colours for the most exposed parts of the body, such as the beak and wingtips.

Finally, add a coat of protective varnish, such as Games Workshop Purity Seal.

The phoenix from Kingdom Death: Monster, painted to look like a bone carving.


And that's it. It's not going to win any Golden Daemon Awards; but I managed to paint a miniature the size of my head in about an hour. That's a win, as far as I'm concerned.


All of the Army Painter paints and brushes used in this guide are available online and from all good hobby stores.

To get an easy-to-follow PDF for this painting guide, please visit my Patreon page, and back for at least $3 per month.

6 comments:

  1. Excellent job! Chess piece colors make sense -- there's not much light there!

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    1. Thanks. They look really nice on the Kingdom Death board.

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  2. For stage 2, are you using the ink wash that comes in a small bottle or the stuff that comes in a big can? Same question for the survivor guide. Thanks in advance!

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    1. Hi, this is using the Soft Tone wash. The Soft Tone Quickshade is like a thick, pigmented varnish. I don't really like that stuff very much.

      Thanks for reading.

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  3. I know this post is old but did you water down the ink at all? I'm planning on copying this. Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. I used Soft Tone straight out of the bottle for this one.

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