Lotr skin tones

GW Hobbit: Hunter Orcs On Worgs

Recently we had an order for Hunter Orcs on foot and on worgs.  Sure, they're in the GW magazine, White Dwarf, but honestly when I looked at those images I wasn't that impressed.  Their version of the Hunter Orc is so bright; the purple is too vibrant and the ocher is too yellow.  So, I took the basic idea, after looking at some images of orcs in the Hobbit movie book and online, that these orcs could be more than just a basic dingy green or putrid white.  In my version I tried my best to capture the feeling from the Hobbit movie stills book but punch up the color a little so they are appealing on the table from a distance.

This demo is done using the casualties...and here they are primed, glued to bases with debris added...

Here are the color pallets for the four different flesh colored orcs...
Pallet 1 -
Base - Nurgling Green
Highlight - Bloodless Skin
Wash - Dark Green-Brown (homemade wash) could use mix of Thraka and Devlan

Pallet 1

Pallet 2 -
Base - Fair Shadow
Highlight - Fair Highlight
Wash - Devlan Mud (GW color)

Pallet 2

Pallet 3 -
Base - Yellow Ochre
Highlight - 1/1 Yellow Ochre and White
Wash - Dark Sepia (homemade wash) could use Gryphon Sepia mixed with Devlan Mud

Pallet 3

Pallet 4 -
Base - Red Brown #11
Highlight - 1/1 Red Brown and White
Wash - Devlan Mud

 Here I've base coated each of the orcs with the color bottled above it...

Additionally, I've painted the rock debris a dark gray.

Next, I've highlighted the bodies with their corresponding colors, including the rocks with a medium gray.

Not pictured is the Red Brown 11 mixed with white or the Yellow Ocher mixed with white.

And the clothing colors I've chosen to mimic those in the movie stills book...

Bracers and Boots:

Base: Red Tail Light

Wash: Black or Devlan Mud

Mantle and/or Loin Cloth:

Base: Dark Blue Gray

Wash: Algae (homemade) a medium bluish green color

Main Armor:

Base: Gray #25 or a medium gray

Wash: Black or Devlan Mud

 

Left to right: loin cloths or mantles, arm guards and boots, main shirt/armor body

 Here I've painted the clothing their base colors...

The Tan 6, a creamy off-white, was used to paint the bones located in the armor.  I feel that it is necessary to do that before the washing because you want to masque or blend where the leather meets the bone...plus the bone should be rather dirty anyways.

 

I waited to wash their flesh until I had all the clothing base coated...

Left to Right: Dark Green-Brown wash, Dark Sepia, and Devlan Mud

Then, when the flesh dried I went back with other washes for the clothes/leathers...

 

They don't photograph well in the bottles but I used an Algae wash (homemade) which is a bluish green to wash the blue leather.  Note the algae colored "A" on the paper.

For the gray and  Red Tail Light I used Devlan Mud but you could use black instead.

AFTER THE WASHES HAVE DRIED!

Lastly, for the armor is a highlight of mold.  This is very soft and subtle and is used to create that mouldering appearance of uncured leather as seen in the movie stills...

Colors used for mouldering effect

Pale Lichen and Gray #7 are used first...

• Pale Lichen on the Blue and Red leathers.  

• Gray #7 on the Gray leather.

A final highlight was added to the stones also using the Gray #7

Tan #9 and White are used second.  

• Tan #9 on the Blue and Red leathers. 

• White on the Gray leather.

After painting the bases a dark green-brown they were flocked using various flocks from Scenic Express.  Then, blood was added at various points on the body to make them appear as a fresh kill.

Worgs

Colors Used for Fur...

Base coat in black (or black primer) then heavily brush on the Raw Umber but not so thick as to cover up too much of the black.

These three colors were used for the highlights, you could always skip the Skavenblight as it is rather dark and doesn't show up that much over the Raw Umber.  They are done in varying degrees of dry brushing, the Astronomican Grey being just a petting/dusting on the shoulders, haunches, around the face and feet.  Astronomican Grey is used to make these places pop.

For the Mouth...

Base coat with the Antique Rose, then Dallimore highlight with the Porcelain Rose.  Finally, wash with Burgundy (could use mix of Leviathan Purple and Baal Red).  Red alone is too red and purple looks off, so a burgundy gives it that right amount of hungry.

 The Eyes have it...

First the eyes are painted a Cool Gray (bluish gray), then a dot of white is added for glint and glow.  Lastly, to really make them glow like in the movie stills, wash with a turquoise blue and when that dries a mint green.  Make sure that the wash even goes onto the fur around the eye to make it look as if it is glowing and illuminating the fur around it. :-)

 -----------FINISHED PRODUCT-----------