# Layering a Space Marines Armour



## tomjkear (Sep 25, 2007)

Basically I am new to painting minatures. I have done a few and I'm very much at the learning stage.

I did a space marine, you can see it in my gallery, and I'm pleased at how it turned out. However, I know they can look better. I created a post a few weeks back where I was told to layer the blue paint from dark towards a lighter blue, using a few layers. I am in the process of doing this but I'm not confident what I'm doing is right.

Basically I sprayed the model black, and have now applied a layer of Regal Blue but I have left the black in the recesses. Am I mean to fill the recesses with the Regal Blue too? What do I do now? Paint all the way to the edges with Ultramarines Blue or do I leave the Regal Blue uncovered in certain areas?

I know there are lots of guides and descriptions about the net but I can't find anything that actually shows, up close, how to do the layering process.

If someone can help then I'd be very happy.

Cheers,
Tom


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## ultrablue (Dec 29, 2008)

Well The layering process is somewhat tedious but it's something that makes your miniatures look even better.
Basically, You need three colors. The darkest which acts as your base, then your intermediate color which is generally the primary color, and then the highlight color which is lighter than the primary.The step process is: Once base is applied use the base color and mix it with the primary. The exact ratio varies with how smooth the highlight needs to be. You do this while reducing the amount of base color until it is purely the intermediate color. This is then done with the highlight until the highlight is the primary color. When layering larger leave the a little of the previous coat showing around the edges and such.
Use lighting to your advantage while highlighting. This means setting the miniature under a light and noticing where it naturally reflects. This will make your highlights look more realistic and not random. For smaller pieces it is not as necessary to put many intermediate steps. 
Well i hope that helped a bit.


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## Pirate Metal Troy (Jun 2, 2008)

http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=13008&highlight=thousand

this is a tutorial i did a while ago, what you want to do is basically the same thing, just use whatever blues you have from darkest to lightest.


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