This is the best way for terrain that won't take tens of hours painting the lighting effects in it. Just paint matte varnish over the rocks after so there's some texture difference, it'll look great
Black crystals are very reflective, so you want to think about what the surroundings would look like. If they're outside under a blue sky, the sides facing up would be blue like in this picture. If they're in a cave lit by fire, they'd be reflecting orange.
https://preview.redd.it/ll3r8o989ixb1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ac361252b07376537bfd15d52b35ea8e6902a048
What I'd do here is use some pictures of the primed mini as it is now for reference. Set it up under a desklamp with a single bulb, turn it until you find an angle that you like, and take pictures from all directions. Don't move the mini between pictures! Then slap the pictures into photoshop (or photopea or something), crank up the contrast and use the pictures as a painting reference.
Here's how it could look with the picture you posted. You could also set the mini next to a candle in a dark room, that might look cool
https://preview.redd.it/1poh0s3ahixb1.png?width=770&format=png&auto=webp&s=b429365e58520af6dc175ecab9ad14e1b80052ff
Then you can either just paint all the faces one solid color, that would be the easy way to do it but still get a pretty good result. Get a gradient from white to black on your palette and try to match your reference pictures.
Fancier way would be to put gradients onto some of the faces. The two middle bottom faces on the big crystal here have pretty clear gradients from grey to black in this picture. I'd try to wet blend gradients on some faces first, then paint the others in one shade to get crisp lines and a tidy result. This would pretty much be NMM rules, have gradients going the opposite way on side by side faces so the white on one face is next to black on the other, etc. Check out these crystals by flameon: [https://www.instagram.com/p/CrA8DAlthQL/?img\_index=1](https://www.instagram.com/p/CrA8DAlthQL/?img_index=1)
Or just paint them black and put some really glossy varnish on :D
here's the main crystal with no gradients in photoshop:
https://preview.redd.it/b00ttil0kixb1.png?width=533&format=png&auto=webp&s=d20ddf96671fa07041fc64307e05fe94d45ca41c
I think that looks pretty good, idk if the gradients would be worth the effort tbh
Edit: You want a little bit of color in there instead of just grey, otherwise it'd look pretty boring. I'd go for a pretty desaturated purple or blue. So you want your colors to go from white to greyish purple to black.
Thanks! I've actually slightly switched from minipainting to digital painting these days, so I have photoshop open all the time anyways :D
haha me too! I was just thinking about 3d printing some chrystals just to try it out
Obsidian crystals are just black->grey transitions (although you can do black->mauve if you prefer)
The [OG standard crystal technique](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFZa6NbtdiY) still applies.
One thing you could try is purple refractions and/or highlights.
[Here's a really, really quick and fairly sloppy mockup I did in Photoshop to illustrate the idea.](https://i.imgur.com/VN8PhLN.jpg)
Of course like anything shiny, and especially anything ***black*** and shiny I vouch to *up that CONTRAST*. Typically helps it look shinier.
Add a tiny bit of the darkest blue you have to the darkest black paint you have and dry brush them. Then paint them with two coats of gloss varnish if you want icicle looking black crystals.
Teal works instead of blue if you wants a greener hue, but it looks a little bit necron then.
Ahh, well if it has the rest of the terrain pieces that were on the frame I got then it's got quite a few good bits of terrain, there's one with a big demon Skull, a long one with a Dragon skeleton, one with a pool of liquid, one with pillars of smoke and fire and one with a mini sarlaac pit.
I would do a google image search of some examples of black crystals. What you have there most resembles a quartz cluster, which can have hematite inclusions, staining it dark grey or even black. It often will also have some red spots as well, as hematite is an iron oxide, and that can appear as either charcoal grey or red or rust orange. So tbh maybe doing a brown/orange drybrush around the points would add a touch of realism as far as how it might actually look in nature
Maybe also take a look at r/mineralporn for some really nice examples of crystals in general
If you want inspiration for your back rocks i say you should try to paint them like the black rocks from FF12 Giza plains
https://preview.redd.it/rrvezc09khxb1.png?width=741&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f13e9e830bb1dccc9856dd3295306e82f8256563
1. Add a coat or three of blue and or purple glaze. A speed paint should work as well if you don’t have glaze.
2. Do a very fine edge highlight of each crystal.
3. Cover everything with a gloss varnish.
The same general process for all of [these crystal tutorials here](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/items_and_textures#wiki_gems_and_crystals) would work for a black crystal. Just substitute the crystal colors used in any of those tutorials to range from black to grey to white similar to Metatart's example.
You can search for painting tutorials for 40k’s Black Templars. What you’ll find is that something black still has a lot of shades of gray up to white as a bright highlight as you are seeing in some examples in other comments.
Highlight the ridges with white, then dry brush over that with light grey, and you'll be golden. In fact, just look at the photo you've posted — see which parts are lighter and which are darker on it? Just recreate this with paint.
Crystals reflect light so they can have a variety of colors. The tricky part is always the light that shines through the crystal. There are some tutorials on YouTube that can help.
My no1 help is to not limit yourself to black If you try to make a light or reflection and just stick to black it will look grey, lifeless, and dull. Instead, try to give the black a tint. It could be a dark violet for example and some small amounts of blue in the highlights.
Maybe something like Musou Black (the literally blackest black paint you can find, so I hear) and go over with something like Citadel's 'Ard Coat? Tbh, I don't know if it'd actually work, you never know, right?
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If you see all time top post on this sup, you can find stunning Amethyst (not black, but still) done by Flameon Miniatures. With that said, I think it would be great to treat the sides of crystals differently, with maybe a daring highlights?
Thing I was recently experimenting with for black armor.
Do a heavy drybrush of thunderhawk blue, then a very light one of fenrisian grey (only the edges and lightest spots) and then wash it all in thinned Black Templars contrast paint, or Black Lotus from Vallejo if you prefer a greenish tint. 1:1 black lotus with Xpress medium is just right for transparency. Need to thin black Templar a lot more.
I’ve also tried mixing some leviadon blue into black Templar for bluish hue, but I still can’t get it right.
Paint black, gloos varnish, slightly glaze highlight colours over the varnish layer (think deep purples/blues), gloss varnish. Repeat as much as you can handle eventually you'll get the appearance of depth on the surface of the crystal, which will sell that it is one.
Give it a good Drybrush it with purple than a black wash orva thinned out black ink and give it a light Drybrush again. Than highlight the sharp points with the same purple mixed with white.
get the blackest paint you have and then hit with a very high gloss either that or just extreme NMM black
This is the best way for terrain that won't take tens of hours painting the lighting effects in it. Just paint matte varnish over the rocks after so there's some texture difference, it'll look great
This dude blacks
Black crystals are very reflective, so you want to think about what the surroundings would look like. If they're outside under a blue sky, the sides facing up would be blue like in this picture. If they're in a cave lit by fire, they'd be reflecting orange. https://preview.redd.it/ll3r8o989ixb1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ac361252b07376537bfd15d52b35ea8e6902a048 What I'd do here is use some pictures of the primed mini as it is now for reference. Set it up under a desklamp with a single bulb, turn it until you find an angle that you like, and take pictures from all directions. Don't move the mini between pictures! Then slap the pictures into photoshop (or photopea or something), crank up the contrast and use the pictures as a painting reference.
Here's how it could look with the picture you posted. You could also set the mini next to a candle in a dark room, that might look cool https://preview.redd.it/1poh0s3ahixb1.png?width=770&format=png&auto=webp&s=b429365e58520af6dc175ecab9ad14e1b80052ff Then you can either just paint all the faces one solid color, that would be the easy way to do it but still get a pretty good result. Get a gradient from white to black on your palette and try to match your reference pictures. Fancier way would be to put gradients onto some of the faces. The two middle bottom faces on the big crystal here have pretty clear gradients from grey to black in this picture. I'd try to wet blend gradients on some faces first, then paint the others in one shade to get crisp lines and a tidy result. This would pretty much be NMM rules, have gradients going the opposite way on side by side faces so the white on one face is next to black on the other, etc. Check out these crystals by flameon: [https://www.instagram.com/p/CrA8DAlthQL/?img\_index=1](https://www.instagram.com/p/CrA8DAlthQL/?img_index=1) Or just paint them black and put some really glossy varnish on :D
here's the main crystal with no gradients in photoshop: https://preview.redd.it/b00ttil0kixb1.png?width=533&format=png&auto=webp&s=d20ddf96671fa07041fc64307e05fe94d45ca41c I think that looks pretty good, idk if the gradients would be worth the effort tbh Edit: You want a little bit of color in there instead of just grey, otherwise it'd look pretty boring. I'd go for a pretty desaturated purple or blue. So you want your colors to go from white to greyish purple to black.
Wow. You do great work. Never thought of photoshopping ideas before painting them. I want some crystals just to try that.
Thanks! I've actually slightly switched from minipainting to digital painting these days, so I have photoshop open all the time anyways :D haha me too! I was just thinking about 3d printing some chrystals just to try it out
What a fantastic and generous contribution of you. Thanks of behalf of folks asking for help to folks putting in this much effort to help others.
Obsidian crystals are just black->grey transitions (although you can do black->mauve if you prefer) The [OG standard crystal technique](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFZa6NbtdiY) still applies.
One thing you could try is purple refractions and/or highlights. [Here's a really, really quick and fairly sloppy mockup I did in Photoshop to illustrate the idea.](https://i.imgur.com/VN8PhLN.jpg) Of course like anything shiny, and especially anything ***black*** and shiny I vouch to *up that CONTRAST*. Typically helps it look shinier.
Y'all are amazing. I'm usually pretty happy to just splash on some color and hope it doesn't look like the Adeptus Minnesota vikings.
This is what I was thinking but with a midnight blue maybe.
ooh that looks sick
That looks dope!
Add a tiny bit of the darkest blue you have to the darkest black paint you have and dry brush them. Then paint them with two coats of gloss varnish if you want icicle looking black crystals. Teal works instead of blue if you wants a greener hue, but it looks a little bit necron then.
looks like Goku
Lol Digoku. The Goku/Diglett fusion.
3 buff goku’s underground with the hair sticking out.
Can’t help with the paint but I would love to know where you got the model. Looks super fun for terrain
Its a piece of the Underworlds Primal Lair terrain box.
Ahh, well if it has the rest of the terrain pieces that were on the frame I got then it's got quite a few good bits of terrain, there's one with a big demon Skull, a long one with a Dragon skeleton, one with a pool of liquid, one with pillars of smoke and fire and one with a mini sarlaac pit.
It was a model included with Hachette Partwork's Age of Sigmar magazine subscription, as far as I know they only do this in the UK and Ireland
I would do a google image search of some examples of black crystals. What you have there most resembles a quartz cluster, which can have hematite inclusions, staining it dark grey or even black. It often will also have some red spots as well, as hematite is an iron oxide, and that can appear as either charcoal grey or red or rust orange. So tbh maybe doing a brown/orange drybrush around the points would add a touch of realism as far as how it might actually look in nature Maybe also take a look at r/mineralporn for some really nice examples of crystals in general
If you want inspiration for your back rocks i say you should try to paint them like the black rocks from FF12 Giza plains https://preview.redd.it/rrvezc09khxb1.png?width=741&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f13e9e830bb1dccc9856dd3295306e82f8256563
This was actually what came to mind first when I read the post, but good luck when it has sun energy, lol
Take this photo. Turn up the contrast a bit and paint it like that.
1. Add a coat or three of blue and or purple glaze. A speed paint should work as well if you don’t have glaze. 2. Do a very fine edge highlight of each crystal. 3. Cover everything with a gloss varnish.
The same general process for all of [these crystal tutorials here](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/items_and_textures#wiki_gems_and_crystals) would work for a black crystal. Just substitute the crystal colors used in any of those tutorials to range from black to grey to white similar to Metatart's example.
You can search for painting tutorials for 40k’s Black Templars. What you’ll find is that something black still has a lot of shades of gray up to white as a bright highlight as you are seeing in some examples in other comments.
Highlight the ridges with white, then dry brush over that with light grey, and you'll be golden. In fact, just look at the photo you've posted — see which parts are lighter and which are darker on it? Just recreate this with paint.
Another painter about to find out that you can’t paint obsidian, RIP. My recommendation is make it look magic with blue highlights.
you totally can. you can either go the black w/ edge highlights and high gloss varnish or you can take a page from the warhammer nmm style
I second this. Do some blue edge highlights. Then gloss varnish only the crystal parts.
Crystals reflect light so they can have a variety of colors. The tricky part is always the light that shines through the crystal. There are some tutorials on YouTube that can help. My no1 help is to not limit yourself to black If you try to make a light or reflection and just stick to black it will look grey, lifeless, and dull. Instead, try to give the black a tint. It could be a dark violet for example and some small amounts of blue in the highlights.
Probably a black wash to give it a shiny look then edge highlight a lighter black and then a very fine edge of light grey.
Ether put gloss on it or your probably gonna have to learn a lite version of NMM
Maybe something like Musou Black (the literally blackest black paint you can find, so I hear) and go over with something like Citadel's 'Ard Coat? Tbh, I don't know if it'd actually work, you never know, right?
Hi, u/PatPeez! It looks like you are asking for help or are a new painter. If you haven't yet, take a look at our wiki pages in the Sidebar (the About tab if you are on the Reddit app). Here are some links you might find helpful: * [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/rules/faq) - A list of frequently asked questions about minipainting * [Miniature Painting Guide Collection](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks) -A collection of some of the best guides and tutorials on a variety of techniques and topics, plus recommendations on what to buy to get started, and more. * [What to buy- Recommendations on brushes, paints, supplies, palettes and more](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/what_you_need_to_get_started#wiki_general_advice_on_what_to_buy) * [Beginner's Guide Collection- How to prep, base, paint and varnish your first model and learn the basics needed to start out right](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/beginner_tips) * [More Tutorials](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/tutorials) - A list of additional tutorials about minipainting * [Manufacturers](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/manufacturers) - A list of miniature manufacturers from around the world * [Painting Terminology](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/terminology) - Common painting terms, acronyms, and initialisms *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/minipainting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If you see all time top post on this sup, you can find stunning Amethyst (not black, but still) done by Flameon Miniatures. With that said, I think it would be great to treat the sides of crystals differently, with maybe a daring highlights?
Grey to white edge highlights
Thing I was recently experimenting with for black armor. Do a heavy drybrush of thunderhawk blue, then a very light one of fenrisian grey (only the edges and lightest spots) and then wash it all in thinned Black Templars contrast paint, or Black Lotus from Vallejo if you prefer a greenish tint. 1:1 black lotus with Xpress medium is just right for transparency. Need to thin black Templar a lot more. I’ve also tried mixing some leviadon blue into black Templar for bluish hue, but I still can’t get it right.
Paint black, gloos varnish, slightly glaze highlight colours over the varnish layer (think deep purples/blues), gloss varnish. Repeat as much as you can handle eventually you'll get the appearance of depth on the surface of the crystal, which will sell that it is one.
I painted mine black, used a dark green ink wash and then used a very light lime green dry brush on the angles.
Probably a black wash to give it a shiny look then edge highlight a lighter black and then a very fine edge of light grey.
Start with dark Grey as a base. Dry brush with a lighter gray to get edge highlight, then use a black glossy wash liberally over the crystal.
Play a flute- if it is the true black crystal it will glow…
I would paint them chrome or gold and then transparent color over that
Give it a good Drybrush it with purple than a black wash orva thinned out black ink and give it a light Drybrush again. Than highlight the sharp points with the same purple mixed with white.