November's Miniature of the Month was either a Lumineth Realm-lords Vanari Auralan Warden or Auralan Sentinel. Spiritual successors to the High Elves of The World That Was, the Lumineth Realm-lords blazed into the Mortal Realms to mixed acclaim in the latter half of 2020. I loved the design of the miniature range and the lore at first sight but, I've never actually painted any Lumineth before, so was delighted to see the Vanari featuring as miniature of the month again, and even more pleased to be able to get my hands on the High Warden as the mini has loads of interesting details to explore.
Before we begin our journey of enlightenment though I'd just like to say that as with my other Miniature of the Month Masterclasses, this isn't a step by step tutorial. Rather than having photos of each and every stage of the process, there are only pictures of the finished miniature.
Although I do try and plan out painting projects in advance, there's quite a lot of jumping between the various elements of the miniature to build things up so it's a bit tricky doing a full step by step, but I do go through how everything was painted and all of the colours used are highlighted in bold.
To get best use out of this guide, you'll need to have a little bit of painting knowledge already as it makes use of a couple of more advanced techniques, but as a quick note; glazing is using a diluted paint to apply a tint to an existing colour. Stippling is using the brush to apply paint in a 'stabbing' motion so as to create or accentuate texture.
The Vanari are the primary military organisation of Lumineth society and form the mainstay of many of their armies being well-equipped, exceptionally experienced, and deadly whether armed with a greatblade, pike, or aelven bow. As the Era of the Beast dawned, shining companies of Vanari warriors would become an ever more common sight across the Mortal Realms.
The Lumineth miniatures are quite delicate, so you need to be especially careful when clipping the parts from the sprue and assembling them. This is particularly important with the spear carrying Auralan Wardens as the spears are very liable to snapping! To make things easier while painting, I decided to keep the High Warden in three 'sub-assemblies'. The first of these was the completely assembled body, arms and head, the second was the Nobori and shield and the final one was the base.
Once the chunk of fallen masonry and the wheatgrass were in place on the base, I added a bit of extra detail with some small pieces of slate and a skull from the Citadel skulls kit before applying some texture paste around everything.
Lumineth society is spread across ten Great Nations, each of which have their own idiosyncrasies, identities and heraldry. After going back and forth a little between a couple of choices, and inspired in no small part by the artwork below, I decided to paint the Warden in the scarlet, white and gold of the Great Nation of Alumnia as I really like the clear, bold colours and I love painting red. As there are quite a lot of colours involved in this paint scheme, I've broken it into three parts: larger areas like the robes, armour and shield, smaller details such as the skin, lantern and ribbon, and finally the base which includes the tumbled stone the High Warden is stood upon.
F. Jaik Haart. The Denizens of Hysh
Larger Areas
Red Fabrics - the robe, helmet plume, Nobori and the pale on the shield
After establishing a basecoat of Mephiston Red, I applied a shade of Carroberg Crimson to all or the red areas, being sure not to let it pool heavily on any of the flatter areas. Once the shade had dried, I then applied a few thinned layers of Mephiston Red onto the 'higher' areas of the red. On the robe, this was everywhere but the deepest folds and recesses, while on the Nobori, it was more focused on the areas which would catch the most light as they billowed in the breeze blowing from behind the High Warden.
Once I was happy with how the re-established red was looking, I then began to apply highlights, beginning with Evil Sunz Scarlet which was applied slightly differently depending on where it was going. The pale on the shield received a straight highlight along the edges to help define it from the white behind it. For the plume, Nobori and robe, the highlights were placed more carefully on the edges and folds of the fabric and feathers. These initial highlights were then refined with Wild Rider Red. I used some of these highlights to create a little texture in places, particularly on the folds of the robe, but to reflect the care with which the Lumineth treat their wargear, I kept this much more muted than on the fabrics worn by Watch Captain Halgrim and Brutogg Corpse-Eater and Captain Emelda Braskov.
To finish of the red areas, I used some dots of thinned Jokaero Orange to create some extreme highlights on the tips of the strands of the helmet plume and the sharpest folds of the Nobori as these would naturally catch more light as they moved around.
White Fabrics - the helmet plume, field of the shield, Nobori and trim of the robe
All of the white areas were painted in the same way, beginning with a basecoat of Celestra Grey - to get a nice smooth basecoat, I find it's best to thin this down a little with some water and then use about 3-4 thin layers. Over this, I applied a 50:50 mix of Apothecary White and Contrast Medium. Once this was thoroughly dry, I then reapplied Celestra Grey to all of the white areas - for the helmet plume and the trim of the robe, I focused on the raised areas, leaving the Apothecary White visible in the recesses. For the shield I thinned the Celestra Grey down and then gradually applied layers focusing more and more on the areas on its' surface which would naturally catch more light - I think it was about 4-5 layers in the end, but ultimately as this is a matter of taste, you can use as many or as few as you like!
With the main elements for a nice off-white now in place, I began to add highlights, firstly with some thinned Ulthuan Grey. The helmet plume received 2-3 thin layers of these highlights with each subsequent layer being more focused on the areas I wanted to be brightest - especially the ends of the strands pointing upwards. Finally, I used White Scar to add some extreme highlights.
The only white area I approached a little differently was the fields of the Nobori which were a little more harshly highlighted so that the folds and creases had more contrast to help create the impression they were being rippled by a breeze.
Gold - the armour plate, shield trim, sword and scabbard trim
To contrast with the cold white and warm red, I went for a gold that sits somewhere in between the two and is probably closer to phosphor bronze in colour. I started out by basecoating all of the areas I wanted to be gold with Retributor Armour. Although this paint has pretty good coverage, I find I tend to get best results with about 2-3 thinner layers. Once I was happy with the basecoat, I applied a shade of Agrax Earth over all of the gold areas, taking care not to get any on the other parts of the miniature and to avoid it pooling on any of the flatter areas, particularly on the armour plates.
With some shading in place, I then went back and a layer of thinned Retributor Armour to the areas which would naturally catch the light to brighten the gold up a little and help create a smoother transition into the highlights. You don't have to do this, but I think it's worth a few extra minutes painting for the results you get from it. Once I was happy with how things were looking, I started to add some highlights, beginning with Liberator Gold which is a nice, bright, 'cold' gold, I picked out all of the edges and raised areas that I wanted to catch the light. This was followed up by a finer highlight with Stormhost Silver which was concentrated on areas that would stand out the most, like the hard edges and corners of the armour, shield and helmet.
Smaller Details
Leather - the boots, sword grip and cuirass straps
To contrast the bright red, gold and white I went with a dark tan for the leather areas of the High Warden's wargear. Beginning with a basecoat of Rhinox Hide I then applied a shade of Agrax Earth being careful to avoid getting it on the trim of the robe, or the red fabric. Once the shade had dried, I then applied a layer of thinned Rhinox Hide to sharper edges of the leather areas before using Doombull Brown for a first highlight. I then went back with some thinned Tuskgor Fur and picked out the most prominent edges of the leather such as the very tips of the pointed toes of the boots. As with the fabrics, I didn't really add any texture to the leather areas with these highlights.
Skin
To get a pallid but relatively hale skin tone for the Aelf, I started out by basecoating the hands, face and back of the neck with Rakarth Flesh. For the face in particular, this was done with a couple of thinner layers rather than one thicker one so as not to obscure any of the fine details. I then used a 50:50 mix of Guilliman Flesh and Contrast Medium to shade all of the skin - as an aside, this is the first time I've used Contrast paints for skin and I'm as yet undecided whether it's any easier than using Reikland Flesh Shade, so I'll be doing some further experimentation in the future.
Once the shade had dried, I thinned down some Rakarth Flesh and carefully applied a layer to the face, hands and back of the neck, concentrating on the raised details to help create a smoother transition into the highlights which were added using Flayed One Flesh. I carefully picked out the whites of the miniatures' eyes using Ulthuan Grey before glazing the lower lip with a 50:50 mix of Beserker Bloodshade and Flayed One Flesh and under the eyes with a 50:50 mix of Drakenhof Nightshade and Flayed One Flesh.
Nobori poles
If you've read any of my other Masterclasses, this 'recipe' will be quite familiar to you, but 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' as they say! I basecoated the Nobori poles using Dryad Bark which I then shaded with Agrax Earth. Once this was dry, I applied a layer of thinned Dryad Bark to the poles, leaving the shade showing at the ends and on the 'lower' portion of each of them. I then used Gorthor Brown to add a chunky highlight before adding a final finer highlight with Baneblade Brown. For a wee finishing touch, I added a couple of small nicks to the wood by painting some very thin lines of Dryad Bark across the poles which I highlighted with Baneblade Brown.
Scale Armour
One of the very easiest and quickest areas of the High Warden, the scale armour received a basecoat of Leadbelcher which was then shaded with Coelia Green. I then highlighted the edges of all the scales with some thinned Stormhost Silver before going back and adding a dot to each of the points of the scales with some 'neat' Stormhost Silver.
Runic Charm
The medallion hanging from the Nobori harness upon the Aelf's back is small enough that you could easily paint it in the same gold or silver as the rest of the models, but I think it's the wee touches like this that really help tell the stories of the miniatures we paint so I wanted it to stand out from all of the other metallic areas. I like to imagine that perhaps the charm was gifted to the High Warden for good fortune or spiritual protection rather than being part of their standard wargear. The string on which it hangs was first painted with Steel Legion Drab which I shaded with a little Agrax Earth. I then layered it with Steel Legion Drab before highlighting with Tallarn Sand and then adding a very fine highlight of Karak Stone.
The charm itself was basecoated with Screaming Bell and shaded with Agrax Earth before receiving a layer of Hashut Copper on the raised details and upper surfaces. I then applied a highlight of Sycorax Bronze and finished it off with a couple of tiny dots of Canoptek Alloy to catch the light.
Sash and tassel
Although I had planned out almost all of the other elements of the miniature, initially I was completely stumped for ideas for the tassel hanging from the pommel of the High Warden's sword and the sash fastening the scabbard to his back, so I basecoated it Abaddon Black and left it alone. I was contemplating painting it a shade of green but felt that was too far away from the rest of the palette of the rest of the mini, but then while browsing Instagram I came across this post by mamikonpaints and suddenly I thought "damn, that looks awesome", then "what if I went with a blue-green on the High Warden?" and finally "also, I should try painting blue velvet fabric some time".
Suitably inspired, I got started by applying a 'chunky highlight' to the edges of the sash using Stegadon Scale Green. This was then refined with a thinner highlight of Sotek Green followed by a further extreme highlight of Temple Guard Blue. To finish it off, I applied some tiny dots of Fenrisian Grey to the corners of the folds and the ends of the sash to help accentuate them a little more. The tassel on the sword's pommel was painted in exactly the same way, though the Stegadon Scale Green was applied much more sparingly than it was on the ribbon.
Scabbard
To help the scabbard of the High Warden's sunmetal sword stand out a little from the rest of the details on the back of the miniature, I decided to paint it in a rich burgundy leather rather than the same dark tan as the boots and armour straps. To begin with, I applied a baseocat of Gal Vorbak Red which I shaded with a thin layer of Agrax Earth. Once the shade had dried, I rather roughly stippled Gal Vorbak Red over the whole scabbard, before more carefully stippling with Word Bearers Red. This was followed by an initial highlight to the upper edges of the leather using a 50:50 mix of Word Bearers Red and Squig Orange, then a finer highlight of pure Squig Orange. To help tie all the layers together, I mixed a little Beserker Bloodshade with some Lahmian Medium and applied it as a glaze over the leather of the scabbard.
Lantern
To make things a bit easier, I painted the globe of the lantern first as this was the 'messier' stage, and then carefully painted the metal bail and frame afterwards. I began by painting the whole lantern with Celestra Grey then washing it with Nihilakh Oxide. Once this had dried, I thinned some Coelia Green with some water and used it to shade the recesses where the glass globe met, or is covered by the frame to help add some more definition to things. The globe was then carefully layered with Celestra Grey before each 'panel' was highlighted with Ulthuan Grey and finished off with a dot of White Scar to create the impression of light reflecting from it.
With the glass finished, I painted the frame and bail with Iron Warriors as I wanted it to be a deeper silver than the scale armour the High Warden is wearing. I very carefully applied some Nuln Oil over the metal to shade it, before adding some edge highlights with Ironbreaker.
Onyx Enamel - the helmet and Nobori crests
As I was basecoating the gold areas of the miniature, it dawned on me that the helmet and Nobori crests would look better and more visually interesting if I threw in another colour to help add some contrast to all of the gold. After a little thought, I decided that some glossy black enamel would fit quite nicely so after basecoating the flat panels on the crests with Abaddon Black I thinned some Doombull Brown with Lahmian Medium and painted it into the recesses where the black and gold met, as well as into the runes in the centre of the helmet crest.
If you make a mess doing this, you can tidy up with some thinned Abaddon Black. Once you're happy with the recess shade, it's time for the highlights. To begin with, I used Dark Reaper to pick out the edges of the panels before going back with some Thunderhawk Blue on the areas I wanted to catch the most light. For the runes in the crest of the helmet, I highlighted all of the edges with Dark Reaper then picked out just the upper edges with Thunderhawk Blue. Again, if any of the highlights aren't looking quite right then you can tidy them up with a little Abaddon Black. To finish the enamel off, I carefully applied some dots of Fenrisian Grey to the corners of the runes and the flat panels to help create the impression that light is reflecting from them.
Gemstone
The blue gemstone one the brow of the High Warden's helmet was first painted with Abaddon Black before the lower two thirds received a thin layer of Stegadon Scale Green. Successively thinner highlights were then applied to the left and lower edges of the gemstone, first with Sotek Green, then Temple Guard Blue and finally Fenrisian Grey. To create the impression that light is reflecting through it, I carefully applied a dot of Fenrisian Grey to the top right of the gem and then to help tie everything together, I applied a glaze of Stegadon Scale Green to the whole stone. Once this had dried, I then painted some Nuln Oil into the recess between the gemstone its' mount to help push the contrast up a little more.
Sunmetal Sword Blade
Many of the Lumineth's weapons are forged from an enchanted material called 'sunmetal' which can burn their foes from within even if they are struck with the most glancing blow. To try and give the blade of the High Warden's sword a suitably 'otherworldly' look, once I'd basecoated it with Leadbelcher I applied a shade of Coelia Green over both the flat and the edges. I then applied an initial highlight to the edges using thinned Leadbelcher and then added a finer highlight with Stormhost Silver. To finish the blade off, I added some thin lines of Stormhost Silver perpendicularly across the riser so it 'sparkles' a bit more.
The base
Sand
The sandy area of the base was painted using the standard Games Workshop 'desert base' method beginning with a basecoat of Mournfang Brown which was then drybrushed with Zamesi Desert, then Ushabti Bone. I added a very light dusting of Screaming Skull to this to finish it off.
Skull
After applying a basecoat of Morghast Bone to skull, the eyesockets and nasal cavity of the skull were shaded with Agrax Earth. Once this was dry, everywhere but the previously mentioned areas was shaded with Seraphim Sepia. Thinned Morghast Bone was then layered onto the skull leaving the shading showing in the recesses. The brow, eyesockets, cheekbones and nose were then highlighted with Ushabti Bone and finished off with a finer highlight of Screaming Skull on the most prominent parts.
Stone
I'll be honest, the stone probably took me the best part of a couple of hours to paint, but as it's such a significant part of the base as to be effectively an extension of the miniature itself, I felt it was worth spending the time on. I began with a basecoat of Dawnstone which was shaded with Agrax Earth. I then highlighted all of the edges with some Dawnstone thinned to about the consistency of milk, before thinning it further until it was almost a glaze and painting it onto the upper surfaces of the stone.
Once this was completely dry, I applied some edge highlights of Administratum Grey and then used Grey Seer to pick out areas like the corners and add some light scratches and scuffs in a few places as well. To help tie the stone into the base, I thinned some Mournfang Brown with a little water and then painted it along where the stone is sunk into the sand as well as into some of the recesses so it looks like sand and dirt have built up around it. Finally, I thinned some Athonian Camo into a glaze and applied it to some random areas of the stone to help break up the uniformity a bit and make it look like it's been at the mercy of the elements for some time.
Just as a wee note, the smaller chunk of stone under the miniatures' right boot was painted in exactly the same way as the larger one.
Wheatgrass
I wanted to try something a little different for the final element of the base, so I started off by basecoating the stems of the grass with Death Guard Green and then shading it with Agrax Earth. Once dry, I then went back with some thinned down Death Guard Green and picked out the stalks and blades of the grass. These were then highlighted with first Ogryn Camo and then Krieg Khaki. The 'ears' of the grass were basecoated with Morghast Bone then layered with Ushabti Bone. A small dot of Screaming Skull was painted on the tips of the ears and then they were glazed with some thinned Seraphim Sepia to finish them off.
The very last thing left to do was to paint the rim of the base Abaddon Black and with that the High Warden was complete.
Until next time, as always, thanks for reading - I hope you found this Miniature of the Month Masterclass useful and if you give any of the suggestions in it a try, I'd love to hear how you get on.
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