Ork Nob
(Golden Demon Winner 1st Place 40K Single Miniature - Australia/New Zealand 2006)

A very special thanks to Sebastian Archer for contributing to our site. Sebastian has won four 1st Place Golden Demons since 2005 and his work is an inspiration to painters all over the world.

My ork is based on one of the GW ork nob miniatures, with a few conversions. I made his bionic arm out of some plasticard tubes, with some craft wire for the yellow hanging electrical wire, and wire wrapped around a paper clip for the larger red and green tubing hanging down haha. The lower part of that arm is one of the plastic fantasy orc arms, and the gun is added as well - it's an old weapon, from gorkamorka I think maybe, but I thought it suited my mini (plus I didn't have many bits to choose from haha). His head is from a fantasy savage orc boar rider, although the helmet and bottom jaw are putty (duro) and the horns are from another boar rider hehe. The road sign is made from plasticard tubing again, and some more duro - the square part of actually a GW base with the rim cut off haha!

I tried something different for the skin, rather than the usual brighter or stronger green colours that are used for orks. So I started with a base of VMC yellow green, then began the shading with GW bestial brown + a little black. Then, for deeper shading I used some purple colours - a mix of red, dark blue + a little black in some parts, and VMC violet + dark blue and black in parts for a more blue tone. After highlight with VMC yellow green again, I added VMC beige red for further highlights, and also VMC brown rose, for the pink-orange parts. There are lots of tones and glazes with different colours - lots of different mixes and ratios of the colours I have mentioned, plus VMC light sand and dark sand for paler green highlights, glazes of VMC oxford blue to enhance the blue colour of certain sections, and so on. I just kept working with different mixes until I was satisfied.

For the blood, I also used a variety of colours - I used a dark red of mine which is my own paint mix, it's something like blood red mixed with a little dark blue, some scorched brown, a little black - it's still quite a strong red, but not primary in colour like blood red. Anyway, this colour, mixed in different amounts with black, dark blue, black ink, red ink - there is no set formula, just a variety of different mixes. I think this is the key - using a variety of different reds, it looks more natural than the one-colour blood you often see on minis. And an important part also is to include some very dark spots in the main blood-splatter area. The contrast gives a more real look - like on the ork's signpost, that's a good example of what I mean about the dark sections.

To paint the blood, it is just streaked on - not quite in a random way, it's quite controlled. The trick is to try to create some interesting shapes in the blood (although this is more evident on my dark elf), and to try to suggest a direction from which the splatter has come. Some gloss varnish was also applied on sections, in various dilutions, to give a wet, more real look to the blood.

__________

We are always looking for contributors for the MASTER'S Workshop.  If you would like to contribute a tip or article for consideration please email us at info@legionsgames.com. We will give you full credit in the article and regular contributors of articles and guides will earn future product discounts for their efforts and dedication to growing the Master’s Workshop and what we believe will become a valuable reference for everyone committed to improving their skills.