Eldar Harlequin kill-team

[Dominus Ex Machina]

Hey guys, I haven't had much time for painting lately but I'm here to show you my latest project. This is going to be an Eldar Harlequin kill team that you might be able to see and perhaps even use in a game of kill-team at GDUk 2010.

Here's a teaser of what's to come (obviously this death jester is far from done but the diamond pattern on his cloak is pretty much finished (in my opinion, Mark might think otherwise ))


Personally I think this is the greatest challenge I've had painting wise, it requires a lot of forethought and a pair of steady hands... On his leg you can see the guidelines I paint up before I start applying colour, I have to touch them up a bit since they're a little sloppy. These are actually a lot harder to paint that I first thought they'd be! The curved surfaces and the folds in the cloth really messes them up sometimes... For the curious I can reveal that the diamond pattern on his leg will be black and white, similar to the

Now it's just a "simple" matter of repeating this process on the rest of them, though colours will differ slightly from each one. At least I think it will, I'm not entirely decided yet.

Thoughts, tips, suggestions, feedback?

[mangozac]

Well Mark may be a hard task master, but I'm impressed!

The diamond pattern looks really superb. To my eyes it's giving the effect of a quilted pattern (a bunch of squares of fabric sewn together). Is that the intention?

Not much to give in the way of tips or suggestions but will look forward to seeing more!

[Dominus Ex Machina]

Quick update. Pretty much done, some minor things left like varnishing and a few touch-ups but basicly the death jester is done.




I know the black and white diamonds aren't perfect...

The rest are coming along nicely, I'll upload some wips next weekend.

[Vaaish]

Not too shabby, I think your diamonds have turned out pretty nice and the bone looks good. You might want to think about bumping up the highlight on the black though. Right now it is almost non existent which is making the model appear less defined outside of the colorful gems and diamonds.

[mangozac]

Very nice work! While the coloured diamond pattern is by far the most standout feature, I also like the subtle shading of the skull helmet. I agree that the black does seem slightly too flat as is

[drmarco]

You're not a true painter until you've painted at least a squad of harlequins or a harlequin character piece!

Looking very nice Dom - I'd have to concur that the black is left a little bland because the lozenges and gems look so well though. Perhaps a gradiated tone shade with a bit of regal/midnight blue in the depths and hint of blue/grey to highlight - but I'm not sure...it'd be a shame to lose the depth of the black fiddling with highlighting it.

One other slight gripe - the bone looks good, but not 'great'. Could just be the photo - I get that you might not be pushing this to golden demon standard, and it's not meaning to be hypercritical, but I think the skull/ribs/glove just come over a bit 'flat' amidst all the surrounding vibrant patterns. Maybe a little bit of further highlighting would sharpen up the colour a bit?

The nice 'pastel' colour choices for the lining of the greatcoat are an inspired choice - very much harks back to the original GW take on them, and as someone in the process of converting a 'counts as' harlequin troupe/Eldar army I hope you don't mind if I pinch some of your 'look'!

Keep the pics coming, and good luck!

Marco