Black Sword Handle and Nails on Illyria

Hi fellow Wizards and Necromancers!

In this tutorial we will continue painting the Illyria Boxart for Thorbjørn Barone’s Kickstarter as we will tackle the sword handle and the nails. Explanation on layer and glaze consistency is below. A PDF version of this tutorial is also available, you can find it below. Let’s get into the tutorial!

1. Start with a basecoat of two layer consistency coats of black. Notice how light is bouncing off of the handle already. This is a great indicator of where to place the highlights. And this is exactly the logic of highlight placement that we will follow in the next steps.

2. Start applying a glaze consistency highlight using a 3:1 mix of Thunderhawk Blue and Black.

3. Place a lighter highlight using just the Thunderhawk Blue, glaze consistency, inside of the previous highlight. Every new, brighter highlight should be smaller (in width) than the previous one, so that you can achieve a smooth transition between all of the colours.

4. Next we will use Fenrisian Grey, layer consistency, to add a even brighter highlight. Add this sparingly to not overpower the previous hard work that we have done on the highlights.

5. And finally on the sword handle, we will add a super bright spot highlight (a highlight that only appears in the brightest spots, hence the name “spot highlight”) using layer consistency Ivory from AK Interactive. We will place it in the middle of every area, showing that the light is bouncing off of it.

6. Next onto the nails. We will Start with outlining them with black and then basecoating them with Pink Horror, layer consistency. 2 coats of paint will be enough.

7. And finally, we will just edge highlight the nails using Ivory and then add tiny half orbs where the nails start. If you will have a look at your own nails, you will notice a similar pattern on them. This is exactly what we are trying to replicate.

Here is a collage of the steps on the black:

Here is a collage of the steps on the nails:

Here is a picture of the finished sword:

Thank you very much for supporting me – it means the world to me! I dream of being able to paint and make tutorials full time, so if you like my Patreon – please tell your friends about it. It would make a massive difference to me and hopefully it will be beneficial for your friends too :)

*Layer consistently = paint mixed in a 1:1 ratio with water.

*Glaze consistently = paint mixed in a 1:3 ratio with water.

Best wishes,

Mamikon