June 9, 2011 by elromanozo
Welcome to another 3-Colours Up. This time we join Romain as he paints an Iosian Mage Hunter Commander.
Enjoy!
If you missed any of the parts of Romain painting this superb model just click below:
1
Unleash The Queen’s Blade For Fantasy Game, Eldfall Chronicles
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Add 6mm Peninsular War Terrain To Your Tiny Battlefields
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Warp’s 3D Printable Clockwork Cavalry Ride Out On Patreon
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Snap Up Wild West Exodus Christmas Minis This Month
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Grab New Battlefleets & More For TTCombat’s Dropfleet Commander
1
Build Dark Age Armies & Take Part In Hastings960 Project!
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Returning Warhammer Miniatures Land On Boxing Day This Year
4
Elegant Killers & Next Wave Expansions For Infinity In 2026
2
Predators & Hardened Guards Come To Warcrow Next Year
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Guild Ball Goes Digital Via New MyMiniFactory Store
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Freebooter Miniatures’ Sci-Fi Game, Ascending Fate, Coming Soon!
5
Celebrate Gotrek & Felix With Special Edition Trollslayer Set
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Indulgent Demons, Elementals & Ogres From Satyr Art Studio
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The Scions Of Dagon Emerge For TTCombat’s Carnevale
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Add New Home Guard To 1st Corps World War II Collection
8
Embrace Retro Sci-Fi With Hydra Miniatures’ 10mm Atomic Tank!
5
Snag Some New MDF Ruined City Terrain From Warlord Games
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Tickets Are Now Available For UK Games Expo 2026!
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Don’t Miss Exclusive Dropfleet Commander Ships From TTCombat
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The Mounties Join Street Scraps In The Chicago Way
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Ramshackle & Warfactory’s Rat Storm Is Rising; Classic Rat Folk!
![Warcradle Studios Reveal TINY New 10mm Festive Marker! [Updated]](https://images.beastsofwar.com/2025/11/christmas-kyle-main-600-338.jpg)
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Warcradle Studios Reveal TINY New 10mm Festive Marker! [Updated]
4
The Perrys Expand Their 28mm Ottoman Army Collection
2
Snatch Up Witches & Wanderers From Black Crab’s Kickstarter
1
Battle With New 28mm Space Amazons By Red Bard Games
2
15mm Sci-Fi OmniCops Mount Up With New Vehicle Kits
0
Grab Returning Wargames Foundry Paint Sets For Crimbo
3
Add New Dark Legion & Cybertronic Minis To Warzone Eternal
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Snap Up Mighty Mycenaean Warriors From V&V Miniatures
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Gale Force 9 Expand 6mm Hextech Range With Industrial Terrain
wow this is awesome…well it would be if i could see the video. slow upload to serve maybe?
yea sorry i clicked on the wrong post
BoW Justin
well at least i was right, this is looking pretty awesome. Will watch part two for sure
You will notice this painting tutorial is pretty epic… That is because it is!
Thanks for this and Great job!
Oh and please if is possible, would you be able to paint any Nurgle-esque type stuff one day? I have seen a lot of tutorials out there for them but never a wet pallet one such as this and would really love to see how you would tackle something like that done in this style. 🙂
I doubt Romain will lol, he doesnt like GW models too much 😉
Nice guide Romain 🙂
For my loyal fans, I might !
I will admit that some of the GW models, mainly characters and heroes, are quite good indeed.
And Nurgle is a good opportunity to show one’s skills in blending, textures and disgusting shiny pustules !
BoW Romain
I like some figures a great deal, i assume Romain shares my thoughts re that firm.
Id love to see some more painting vids done as im sometimes a terror for to thick paint and brush destruction…thankfully im getting better each day.
Im glad to say that for over 2o yrs ive no longer painted with enamel..that stuff to thick was a nightmare and cleaning it up stank. A mate still loves Humbrol…yuck.
Enamel, well diluted, is very useful for metals… It gives a shiny finish, and there’s none of the usual graininess from most of the acrylic metal paints.
Of course, the key to using enamel is dilution, dilution, dilution… Even more so than regular acrylics !
BoW Romain
Very nice work.
Just a quick question to the BOW guys. Can one of the members make a 3 colors up video and post it in the painting section?
Are you asking us to post one… or can you post one?
Can I post one?
Geil!
Romain is back! 🙂
RfR (=Romain friggin´ Rules)
Awww… Thanks a bunch ! And thanks to everyone for your kind words. It never fails to warm my heart ! I’m just glad I can be useful and show off at the same time…
BoW Romain
Très beau Romain sa fait combien de temps que tu peins.
Si vous voulez savoir, c’est toute une histoire…
J’ai peint ma première figurine quand j’étais petit, pour copier mon grand frère… A l’époque, j’avais utilisé de la gouache, c’était horrible !
Mais j’ai persévéré… Et je suis arrivé à peindre à peu près correctement à l’adolescence. Mes progrès furent lents. Il faut savoir qu’à l’époque, il n’y avait pas de communauté sur Internet, ni de tutoriels, ni de DVD…
Et puis, je ne sais plus trop pourquoi, j’ai arrêté de peindre pendant dix ou quinze ans…
J’ai eu envie de reprendre la peinture il y a quelques années, sérieusement, en voyant la belle communauté de peintres français qui s’était créée autour des figurines Rackham, et publiait ses réalisations sur Internet… C’est devenu plus facile de trouver des belles images, des trucs et astuces, et j’ai fait de gros progrès en peu de temps.
Je ne suis pas un des grands maîtres comme Thomas David ou Jose Manuel Palomares, mais je me défends !
BoW Romain
(Translation :
The question was “How long have you been painting ?”…
If you must know, there’s a story to it.
I painted my first mini when I was a little lad, to copy what my big brother was doing… At the time, I used gouache, it was horrible !
But I stuck to it, and I managed to achieve some measure of painting skills at adolescence. I made slow progress… You have to know that at the time, there was no Internet community, no tutorials, no DVDs…
I don’t remember why I stopped painting, but I did, for about ten to fifteen years.
A few years ago, I had a desire to get back to painting when I saw the nice painters community that was formed around the Rackham miniatures, that showed off their beautiful work over the Internet… It suddenly became easier to find tips and tricks, and especially beautiful pictures of gorgeous minis, and I made good progress in little time.
I’m not a true master, like Thomas David or Jose Manuel Palomares, but I can hold my own !)
Awsome tutorial looking forward to part 2
So Romain, now your our new painting god of BoW, when are you going to be inducted 3 Colours Up clan and paint…A STOMPER! John had too after all lol.
Seriously though I know I have a joke with the whole hating GW thing, but I do enjoy your vids 😉
No, no, your remark was spot on ! We must all strive to rise above pettiness.
The Stompa is a beautiful model, and I’m (for want of a better term) a size queen… I don’t think I’ll be painting space orks anytime soon, but you never know…
BoW Romain
How did you prime the model? it looks like you did a black primer and then a quick dash of white primer on top? any help would be awesome since I have never try that before.
In my first video (How to paint a Grey Knight Terminator, sadly unavailable at the moment) I showed how I primed the model…
I work, whenever possible, with army painter spray…
I forst apply a black basecoat. No GW black, as it’s not quite black for some cans… And the basecoat should remain thin, so as to hide the metal/plastic but not any details.
Then, I spray slightly on the top angles of the mini (or whatever angles the light falls upon it) with a grey primer (any neutral grey you can find). It should be fine, maybe even grainy, and even let the blackprimer show in places.
Finally, I determine the direction of the light for this miniature (usually the top) and I spray it with white, even less than with the other two tones.
This instantly gives you a guide for shadows and highlights, and much of your work is done for you ! It’s called “pre-shading”.
I hope that helps…
BoW Romain
It helps a lot im going to give it a try with my Lady justice from malifaux. Ill put a pic up once im done on the minirama page! Thanks a lot for you help.
You’re welcome ! Lady Justice is a beautiful piece. I’m eager to see what you come up with !
BoW Romain
what brushes was Romain using in the video? they looked really good quality.
In this video, I used Kolinsky sable brushes (real artists’ brushes) as well as Prince August brushes (top quality miniature painting brushes). You can’t beat real sable ! If you take care of them, you can use them for years.
Arguably, the best ones (and most expensive) are from Raphael, but it’s “overkill” for some minis… The worst brushes on the market are GW’s synthetic brushes (and I’m not saying this out of spite for them, they’re really only a few steps over a toothbrush).
I use number 1, number 0, and number 000 brushes, sometimes other sizes (I show what size I use in the video, when it matters). You don’t really need to use an extremely fine brush, as long as the tip of your brush has a nice point… But it can be more confortable.
I sometimes use synthetic brushes, because they’re cheap enough and they have slightly harder hair… Which theoretically is bad for you (thicker point, less absorbing power…), but can allow for quicker work and interesting results in some circumstances.
However, you have to know something very important : A synthetic brush will last for approximately ONE, maybe TWO miniatures before forking or bending, rendering it a lot less useful. Not at all cost-effective, in spite of its low price compared to a real brush !
In any case, you should always use the brush you feel most confortable with, and the brush you think will do the best job of the task at hand… Synthetic or not, it boils down to what you know, what you’re used to, and what you like working with !
Painting is supposed to be fun. Try new brushes, new things, and do what you like !
BoW Romain
ah right sounds interesting.
Would it be possible for you to send me link to a web site which sells these types of brushes please?
I am always keep to try out new materials/ equipment/ techniques etc…
@thunderbolt, here are a few links for you… I hope you find what you need. There’s no susbtitute for going into an artists supply store and picking the brush you need, but you can trust Prince August, Raphael and Windsor & Newton as brands, so you won’t be disappointed with the quality ! I use everything from 2 to 3/0, even 5/0 sometimes, but not that often.
Some of the Raphael brushes are sold at Secret Weapon… They know the good stuff !
http://www.secretweaponminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=29&zenid=vh2m6frb1db11sobbeguf218q4
Windsor and Newton, excellent brushes :
http://www.winsornewton.com/products/brushes/for-acrylic-colour/
The best, hand made Raphael brushes :
http://www.raphael.fr/en/home.php
For France, Prince August (sorry, site in french) :
http://www.prince-august.net/
For the americas :
http://www.artistsupplysource.com/home.php?cat=252&path=alt
For the UK :
http://www.artdiscount.co.uk/product/winsor_newton_series_7_finest_kolinsky_sable_brushes/
There probably are less expensive alternatives, but I think five to ten pounds approximately is good for a brush that will last you for months and months, years if you take care of it properly.
Cheers !
BoW Romain
cheers dude, you’re a legend!
I will have to check them out!
Regards,
Sam (Thunderbolt)
An excellent video, thank you Romain once again.
When is part 2 coming!
Yet to get past ten minutes Romain
and now the second part is out too!
For some reason when seeing you paint , just have to stop watching and go and work in my little studio because I get really motivated!
Hope that is a good reason not to have seen the vid!
I will make it to the end of the 2nd video, it just might take a while! lol
Next time, I’ll just have to be brief, then…
BoW Romain
Hi,
You mentioned glazes and washes first in Part 1. Can you describe the different uses for a glaze compared to a wash and how to make them?
Thanks!
@varagon, The limit between a glaze and a wash is thin indeed…
A wash is when you dilute your paint (with painting medium or water, but mostly water) and apply that mix in the creases of your miniature, or upon a surface, so that the pigments will pool into the recesses and the creases of the miniature, thus creating shadows and enhancing details. You can have it thin or not… Depending on what you need.
A number of companies (such as GW) offer pre-mixed washes instead of simple paint. This is good for beginners, but it shouldn’t prevent you from diluting your paint, for they’re usually too thick for anything else than a tabletop result. It is also better to have several thin washes instead of one big wash, as overdoing it can lead to your mini looking like it’s just been dipped…
A glaze is also paint that has been diluted with water and/or medium, but it is applied very carefully to a surface… It should not pool in the recesses, and, in most cases, should be prevented from doing so by applying it carefully with your brush, and not applying too much in one stroke : when you see a droplet forming, it’s a sure sign you’ve put too much ! A glaze is like a translucent veil of paint that tints the surface (that is already painted, usually) to achieve a good gradient (successive glazes strategically placed will do that) or enrich the tone. For example, a red glaze on the nose and cheeks of a previously painted face will have the mini look more alive (or drunk, if you overdo it).
In that respect, glazes are akin to the sfumato technique of classical painting. That said, it is a very technical difference, and you will end up doing both washes and glazes at the same time, glazes in the creases, overall washes that become glazes in some places, and so on… Painting is a very organic process !
Thank you for this very interesting question, I hope this has helped…
BoW Romain