Inspired by nature

 One evening, I looked out the window and witnessed a beautiful sunset. It had a wonderful combination of colours. I've always enjoyed sunsets; indeed, I painted one for a high school art project, and it was probably the best painting I ever painted. So here I was, looking at the wonder of nature, and a thought occurred. What if I painted a model to look like a sunset? What if I painted that super cool retro model, that I'd just bought, to look like a sunset? What if I created the Sunset Avatar of Khaine? So I did.

I had already built and based the model, creating an imposing staggered set of rocks. I decided to paint the entire thing in the sunset scheme, using the feet of the model as a line of reflection, so the sunset is mirrored on the rocks. 

After much rapid painting, in my sketchy, haphazard style, the Avatar finally emerged, golden and beautiful. I tried out the Spiritstone technical paint too, and that looks great. I had to look at a Codex to know what to write on the loincloth, since this is my first Eldar model and I am not familiar with their language. I enjoyed painting my first Eldar model, and since I've coveted this model for 20-odd years, I am extremely happy that I finally have a painted copy. Thank you, Avatar, for showing me a good time!

By the way... I don't own an airbrush. People keep asking if I use one and no, I don't. None of my models have been airbrushed. I feel like a Defender of the Brush: you don't need an airbrush for smooth paintjobs!

Flying Piranha

The T'au continue! I love getting into the flow with a project, such that you just can't stop! This week is a Piranha with two Gun Drones. It wasn't properly attached to the flight stand, and I wanted to put it in a low-height box with the other models, so I magnetised it to the flight stand. This means it can spin around on the flight stand, which is very pleasant!

 

The Fire Warriors of the Dried Brush

This is my second team of Fire Warriors. The first has pulse rifles, and these have pulse carbines. That's how my friend built them, so I decided to make a team of one type and a team of the other. Same techniques, but a slightly larger team this time. There will be two further models, but I plan to modify them: they currently have bare heads but I want to put helmets on them and I'm waiting for the helmets to arrive. Another nice team to add to my growing T'au force!

 

Drybrushed T'au

Once upon a time, a friend of mine gave me a box of models that had been languishing in his loft. There were various Space Marine models, most of which you have seen already, and some T'au. I planned to fix up and paint or repaint the T'au at some point, but wasn't sure what colour scheme to use. I knew I didn't want to use the standard T'au ochre, and I certainly wasn't going to paint them completely white, like the GW website models. I eventually came across a scheme used by @Pegastyx on Instagram, that suddenly struck me as being a unique way of approaching T'au. Rather than make them neat and tidy and clean, she had painted them in a drybrushed scheme with a sort of 'sunset' palette of colours. I immediately knew it was the colour scheme for me, so I created my own version of it. The base is purple, and then there are drybrushed layers of pink (pink horror) and deep yellow (averland sunset).

These Fire Warriors with pulse rifles were first, and this is how they came out. I love them so much! The blue bases in particular were a serious departure for me, but they complement the models so well. Onto more T'au, then...