Painting the Toppled Desert Obelisk

In this step-by-step tutorial, I'll show you the process I use for painting all of my desert ruins.

 

 

In my Skull Forge Scenics range of resin terrain products, I have a standing desert obelisk, the obelisk objectives, and now a toppled desert obelisk is available. They are all very easy to paint, and you can match the color scheme with some simple drybrushing and washes.

 

 

Preparation and Priming
 

As with all resin castings, begin by washing the parts with warm soapy water. You can also give them a spray of isopropyl alcohol to make sure any oils (or even the residue from the soap) comes off.

 

 

Once the pieces have dried, attach them to a painting handle. My preferred method is using thick double-sided tape to mount them on a scrap of wood that I can hold while spraying and painting the scenery.

 

 

Prime the pieces with black or grey spray primer (my go-to is Duplicolor Sandable Primer) and then spray them with Tamiya TS-3 Dark Yellow. (Any yellow-ochre color will do; this under spray is simply to brighten the model so you're not painting up from straight black.)

 

 

Painting the Sand
 

Once the primer and spray have had adequate time to cure, basecoat the sand with an ochre color (I'm using Formula P3 Sulfuric Yellow because it is nice and bright, and the following wash will tone it down significantly). To get sufficuent coverage, I put it on heavy with a large brush, and then use a medium brush to wick away the excess so it doesn't clog the detail. A smaller drybrush is handy for painting into the recesses between the stones.

 

 

With the basecoat thoroughly dried, apply a wash of GW XV-88 brown, thinned with a bit of water. If you mist the piece with isopropyl alcohol, the wash will flow into the recesses more easily.

 

 

Use a paper towel to blot the wash off of the surface if it pools up too much.

 

 

After the wash has dried, it's time to drybrush the sand. Using a large brush, start with an ochre color (in this case, Army Painter Burnt Turf).

 

 

Then, follow it up with a drybrush of GW Ushabti Bone.

 

 

Painting the Ruins
 

To basecoat the ruins themselves, mix equal parts XV-88 brown, Army Painter Ash Grey, and Formula P3 Moldy Ochre. Since I have a lot of scenery to paint, I've taken a swatch of the mixed color to the hardware store and had them mix a half pint of the color in flat matte latex paint. Paint all of the ruined stonework, taking care not to get any on the sand.

 

 

To shade the stone, paint it with GW Skeleton Horde Contrast paint. Around the base of the stone, you can add a bit of shadow to the sand by pulling the Contrast paint down into the sand, and thinning it with some GW Lahmian Medium. (Don't overdo it though, or the sand will become too brown.)

 

 

Let the Contrast paint dry, and then mix a batch of equal parts Ash Grey and Moldy Ochre. (Again, I've had the hardware store match the mixed color.) Drybrush the ruins with this mid-tone color. You can add a bit of XV-88 brown into the mix when starting so the drybrushed color doesn't get too bright too fast and creates a smoother transition. Then, drybrush with the Ash Grey and Moldy Ochre mix.

 

 

Finally, add some Army Painter Brainmatter Beige into the mix and drybrush the edges.

 

 

If it seems that the drybrushing got too bright, you can tone down the color by reapplying the Skeleton Horde Contrast. This time, thin it with medium, and apply it thinly on the broad areas and recesses, keeping it clear of the corners and edges.

 

 

I had one of my other obelisks on hand to serve as a guide when matching the amount of shading.

 

 

Painting the Skulls
 

Saving the skulls for last allows you to be sloppy with the drybrushing in the earlier stages. Now, switch to a smaller brush and basecoat all the skulls with Army Painter Skeleton Bone. 

 

 

Next, wash the skulls with your preferred bone shade. For my Tomb Kings skeletons, I use a custom mix of GW Aggaros Dunes Contrast, Lahmian Medium, and a bit of XV-88 brown.

 

 

Once the wash has dried, drybrush the skulls with a small drybrush, taking care not to overbrush onto the ruins. Start with GW Screaming Skull with a touch of GW Zamesi Desert, then straight Screaming Skull. Finally, add some Brainmatter Beige to brighten the Screaming Skull, and lightly brush the facial features.

 

 

Finish up the skulls by painting the eye sockets with a mix of Liquitex Burnt Umber Transparent Ink and GW Nuln Oil. Use a fine brush and add a dot of the wash into the sockets. You can also use this mix to outline in the between the skulls anywhere that the drybrushing might have filled in the recesses.

 

 

Finishing Touches

 
The final step is to add some flock or static grass on the bases. For my desert bases, I use Army Painter Mountain Tufts. Pick them up with a pair of tweezers, add a dot of super glue to the bottom, and then press them in place. You can even slice a tuft in half with a sharp hobby knife to fit it into the thin cracks between the large stone blocks. 

 

 

And we're done! The scenery is ready for the battlefield.

 

 

 

 

'Til next time!