Painting Faces at Tabletop Level

In this short article, I will describe two ways to paint faces on a so-called tabletop standard. The text follows two versions of the painting. One will use a store-bought wash, and in the second, slightly less contrasting one, I will use a wash that I got from regular paint. This way, the reader can choose which method suits them better.

The first step is to dye the base color.

Left: Since I'm going to use a store-bought wash in this example, I decided to go for a darker shade of skin tone.

Right: In this example, I'm going to use the color as a base for the wash, so I decided to go for a slightly lighter skin tone - and therefore a lighter base color.

The next step is to apply the wash.

Left: I use a regular, store-bought Reikkland Fleshshade wash.

Right: On a drop of the darker skin tone, I add two drops of Lahmian Medium and a drop or two of water. This creates my own wash, which I apply similarly to the example on the left.

Th...

Pigmentation principles: why do the colors look the way they do?

In the previous article, we talked about pigment dispersion. This article takes a step back and addresses the fundamental question: what exactly is a pigment, why do we see color, and what determines whether a pigment will cover a substrate well or not.

1. Why do we see color?

Visible light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, with wavelengths between approximately 380 nm (violet) and 700 nm (red). When light strikes a substance, three things can happen: reflection (bounce), transmission (passage through the substance), and absorption (absorption).

The color we see is the result of the portion of light that is reflected back to our eye. A pigment that absorbs blue and green light and reflects red will appear red. A pigment that absorbs all wavelengths almost equally will appear black. A pigment that reflects all wavelengths almost equally will appear white.

What determines which wavelengths will be absorbed and which will be reflected is the chemical st...

Painting a Floral Kimono

In the next article, my brother, Petar, will explain how he painted the kimono on the Tetsuha & Wakaba miniature sculpted by CobraMode. If you're interested, follow him on PlaySupport. 

PROBLEM

Everyone knows that contrast is key when painting miniatures. This doesn't just apply to values and colors, but also to the level of detail that the model has. If you have an incredibly painted or sculpted model that is completely covered in various details and textures, all your hard work is for naught. The brain simply can't absorb all that overwhelming visual information and the model turns into a blurry mass - it's unpleasant to look at.

The solution is to have areas that are almost completely devoid of detail, so that the observer's eye can "rest" in those places and better perceive the richness of detail in the neighboring areas. To me, however, this is unacceptable. Usually my strategy for creating great models is to simply paint them very quickly, so at least one will w...

Pigmentation principles: why powdered pigment doesn't work

This text was written after a Wednesday get-together where a discussion about the pigmentation of plaster developed. Since I wasn't able to explain everything on the spot, I decided to put it all down on paper — and the principles in question apply more broadly than plaster itself anyway.

1. What is a pigment — and what is not

A pigment is a substance that imparts color by selectively absorbing certain wavelengths of visible light and reflecting others. A black pigment absorbs almost all wavelengths; a red pigment absorbs blue and green and reflects red. It is important to distinguish a pigment from a filler. Fillers are white or neutral substances that are added to paints, coatings, and masses to increase volume, improve texture, or reduce cost—but do not provide strong color or good hiding power on their own. Typical fillers include calcium carbonate (chalk, CaCO₃), calcium sulfate (gypsum, CaSO₄), barium sulfate, and similar materials. The difference between a t...

We visited: Warhammer World – pt.3

For any Warhammer hobbyist, a visit to Warhammer World in Nottingham is a pilgrimage of sorts. It is the epicenter of the entire Games Workshop culture - a combination of global corporate headquarters, visitor center, exhibition space, gaming hall, specialty store and themed bar, all gathered in one location. It should also be taken into account that the large gaming hall hosts Grand Tournaments for all games published by Games Workshop, and since our Ivan found himself in WHW on 18.4.2026. there was a WH40k tournament on the schedule, so the experience of the exhibition, Bugman Bar, WHW store, workshops, and gaming hall was also enhanced by the grand tournament that took place that day. This series follows his adventures…

2.5. Exhibition Centre

The Exhibition Centre is the central attraction of Warhammer World and the only part of the complex that requires an entrance fee. It consists of four main areas, which together represent the largest collection of painted W...

We visited: Warhammer World – pt.2

For any Warhammer hobbyist, a visit to Warhammer World in Nottingham is a pilgrimage of sorts. It is the epicenter of the entire Games Workshop culture - a combination of global corporate headquarters, visitor center, exhibition space, gaming hall, specialty store and themed bar, all gathered in one location. It should also be taken into account that the large gaming hall hosts Grand Tournaments for all games published by Games Workshop, and since our Ivan found himself in WHW on 18.4.2026. there was a WH40k tournament on the schedule, so the experience of the exhibition, Bugman Bar, WHW store, workshops, and gaming hall was also enhanced by the grand tournament that took place that day. This series follows his adventures…

2. Warhammer World

2.1. General Info

Warhammer World first opened its doors to the public in 1999. Over the years, it has been expanded and renovated several times, and today it functions as Games Workshop's global visitor center - a pla...