From Zero to Hero: Cherub - Malifaux Neverborn Minion

Hey you guys,

it's been a while since my last update, but work has been crazy busy. So here's a quick one for you today: The Malifaux Neverborn Cherub Minion.

Apart from Baby Kade, this has to be the smallest figure I painted so far. As I've been using my airbrush for most of the figure, I'm really starting to get better on brush control when painting small areas at a time.

I cleaned and washed the mini, as the mold release agent really can screw up your paintjob. For added stability, I used a pin, which I glued below the pelvis of the figure. It's quite prominent now, but will be camouflaged during the painting process.

I used Vallejos Polyurethane Grey Primer as I wanted to achieve a neutral and muted look on this piece.



The Wings

I basecoated the wings with VMA White.

I then used VGA Sombre Grey for the lowest part if the wings and then added VMC Ivory for the upper sections. The mixes I used where 1:1 and then 3:1 Ivory to Grey.

When I was done I used a light drybrush of VMC Ivory to bring out the details of the wings and then used Vallejos Polyurethane Gloss Varnish to seal the paintjob, preparing for an oil wash later.



The Body

I basecoated the skin with VGC Dwarf Skin, adding lots of thinner to achieve a translucent mix, which I applied 2-3 coats. The mix was about 5 parts thinner to 1 part paint.

I used the same thin mixture of VGC Cadmium Skin and concentrated on the raised areas of the model. I took care of leaving the darker color in the recesses, for a nice shading effect.

For the extreme highlights, I used the same 5:1 mix of VMC Basic skin, applying it only to the areas the light would hit most, like the pot belly, buttocks and top of the head.

I then used some ground up violet artist pastels and applied it to the darkest shadows of the skin to create some visual interest in these areas. I also locked in the eyes, as at this stage I could fix any mistakes without ruining the rest of the paintjob.

I tried VMC Black as the color for the loincloth, but found the contrast to stark for this model. So I painted over this with VGC Sombre Grey, leaving some Black in the darkest recesses. I also locked in the rest of the details on the model, like the eyebrows and bow.

I made a thin oil wash with Van Dyke Brown and applied it liberally to the whole body and wings.

When the oil wash was dry, I used mineral spirits to clean the model, but took care not to remove too much of the wash, as I wanted the figure to have a dirty and grungy look.

For the base I used the same techniques as I've used on the rest of my Malifax Neverborn Crew. I also painted the pink black, which made i blend in more with the rest of the model and camouflaged it nicely.

I hope you enjoyed this small step-by-step as much as I enjoyed painting this figure.

Cheers,



IK-Painter