Welcome back to another installment of Lessons from the Chief Slave. This time the Chief is looking at one of 2014's best miniatures, Nagash the Supreme Lord of the Undead :

Nagash is a complete beast of model. He can be a bit intimidating when you get started, but if you break him down into set elements you can achieve an amazing effect without using too many tricky techniques.

Following this guide you can achieve a great looking Tabletop Quality Nagash.

Planning the Project

I approached him in segments from two approaches. Firstly I used a number of sub-assemblies. This assists with painting into difficult areas and also breaks the miniature into a manageable set of tasks.

Secondly I tended to focus on areas across the sub-assemblies so I could pre mix all of my blends. For example I did all the cloak, then spirits, then flesh, then bone etc.
This tutorial will approach the miniature addressing each sub component, instead of the traditional base, shade, high light across the entire miniature.

With a miniature of this stature or really any miniature you also need to have a plan. What effect do you want to achieve at the end, in other words what vibe do you want the miniature to convey. Nagash is open to so many interpretations, some people think he is a walking Christmas tree and so coat him with so much OSL he almost start to look comical…almost like Sir Dan from Playstation
days.

Personally I see Nagash as dark, evil and raised from the darkness. This of course configured
my colour palette subtly so for example, pastel tone blues were used for mid tones on cape and spirits, not a vibrant blue like Sotek Green for instance (yes go figure on the name). This gives a more ethereal and not a magical look.

In terms of technique I wanted to avoid relying on the airbrush for anything more than basecoats. I have found that by making my tutorials too airbrush reliant it means some painters can’t follow them as they don’t own an airbrush. So instead of relying on airbrushing for blending, I have relied heavily on glaze mediums.

Spirits/Cloak

I start with the darkest colour first and then blend up from there. The initial primer base was
airbrushed on (but you could us a White Primer spray) to give a good smooth surface for the paint.

This is very important on large flat areas like the cloak. Starting with Vallejo Game Colour Imperial Blue, I then gradually worked up in successive layers mixing in VGC Magic Blue and eventually up to pure VGC Dead White. As this was base coating I did using an air brush and mixed 4:1 ratio thinner to paint and kept the layers very thin do give a smooth finish.

I made sure that I transitioned between white and blue with some sense of order, so emphasising white on the extreme curves of the spirits.

Finally I mixed a glaze of 8:1 glaze medium and VGC Hawk Turquoise and created hints of transition in random areas. The purpose of this was to subtly balance in the planned verdigris effect on the metal in later stages.

Bone

To me getting the bone right on Nagash is critical. The nature of bone is what will set the tone for Nagash. The more realistic, the more creepy he will look. The bone was done entirely with brush.

Starting with a base of Rakarth Flesh the entire area was based. Then a very broad highlight of Citadel Zandri Dust was applied across the Rakarth flesh only leaving the darkest recesses untouched, I advise using a big brush and gliding it over the surface.

A wash was then applied of 4:1 Glaze Medium to VGC Umber Tone wash. The purpose of the medium is to increase the translucency of the wash and ensure pooling does not occur. This is critical, if you use an undiluted wash you will get pooling, the shadows will go too dark and the bone will look messy.

After the wash is dried a highlight of Screaming Skull is applied, follow by a further highlight of Pallid Wych Flesh (this has a hint of warmth, tricking your eye into seeing the bone as having some life to it) and finally spot highlights of pure white. These last highlights are really important for making the bone area pop.

This approach was use on all the bone areas (including the books).

Armour

Having been in the hobby back in the early 90’s I remember (and owned and painted the original Nagash). To me Nagash has to have very strong influences of purple. But you could approach this using black, dark blue etc. the key is pick a tone that complements (not clashes with the cape).

The armour, while not extensive, takes a large degree of patience to get right. The key to the first stage is getting the colour transitions right on the primary colour. So started with a Citadel Naggaroth Night base I then gradually worked up to white in the areas where light would hit the armour with the most\ prominence. This required an airbrush to layer the white and purple in broadly the right areas and then 6–10 layers of various glazes to transition the colours smoothly. An air brush alone would not create a smooth enough effect.

Once the armour base is done you then need to edge highlight. I recommend using a very high quality Tamjyr Sable brush, loading the brush lightly with Citadel Dry Praxeti White , wiping on a paper towel and gradually moving the edge of the brush along the raised edges of the armour.

TIP: seal the armour with matte varnish prior to edge highlighting, if you make a mistake you can use a cotton bud and water and wipe it off and start again. You don’t want to ruin the work already done.

Dead Flesh

This area is quite small, but it gives a good opportunity to bring in some different surface textures.

The area was based with Rakarth Flesh to start with and then washed with a 2:1 mix of Glaze Medium and Reikland Fleshshade. After dry a wash as a 2:1 mix of glaze and Athonian Camoshade.

Rakarth Flesh was then layered on the highest points in a thin 4:1 glaze. Finally a thin glaze of 8:1 glaze to Coelia Greenshade was applied. The stitches were simply highlighted with Pallid Wych Flesh and stitch holes slightly washed with Druchii Violet.

Flayed Flesh

This approach was used for the book covers and sword scabbard. The area was again based with Rakarth flesh. P3 Khardic Flesh was then highlighted over the top only leaving the darkest areas exposed. A thin wash 3:1 of Reikland Fleshshade was applied.

P3 Midlund Flesh was the used for a highlight. Finally edge highlights of Pallid Wych Flesh were applied to tie the area in with the bone.

Aged Copper

Probably the most simple area of the miniature. Base with Hashut Copper, wash with Nihilakh Oxide and dry brush on a 1:1 mix of Hashut Copper and Ironbreaker.

Basing Effects

Overall I didn't want the base to draw any attention from the miniature, although in hindsight I should have done more. As is my tendency, I just love winter bases…so snow it was.

I layered the whole based with Citadel Stirland Mud and then dry brush highlighted with XV-88 and Zandri Dust. After that a good spread of Army Painter tufts were applied (winter, wasteland and highland). For best results use superglue and tweezers.

Finally for the snow I mixed Secret Weapon Crushed Glass with water effects and applied it, however BE VERY CAREFUL using the Crushed Glass.

Make sure you wear appropriate eye, hand and breathing protection at all times when handling that product and keep it out of reach from children as it will cause cuts to bare skin and damage your eyes and respiration. Be sure to vacuum up afterwards as well especially if you have little ones or pets at home.

I always wear my spray mask, safety glasses and latex gloves using this stuff. You feel like an idiot but better to be safe.

Spread the wet mix over and sprinkle some dry crushed glass over for a sparkle effect. If you prefer products which are more easily handled then you can also use a snow mix of equal parts PVA glue, water and Army Painter Snow Flock.

Until next time, Happy Painting.

From the Chief Slave

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