Painted Emperor Palpatine for Star Wars Legion

I picked up a set of Star Wars Legion minis that contained this Palpatine mini that was painted to a basic standard with a very dark grey cloak.

I changed the cloak colour to a dark blue so that Palps would stand out from Darth Vadar who is usually done in true black.

Painting Palpatine’s Cloak

I wanted to experiment with a technique for painting materials that look textured, and so Palpatine’s cloak provided an excellent opportunity. I built up highlights using lots and lots of fine horizontal lines, dragging them towards the point of brightest highlight. I’d repeat this process with lighter colours to build up the highlights. While it took a long time when compared with other methods of highlighting, it was worth the effort.

Black Background Photography

I also experimented here with trying to take photos with a “perfect” black background. It took quite a bit of research and experimentation to work out how to do it with my particular set-up, but it is possible.

I ended up using the following:

  • 40cm x40cm Lightbox, lined with a custom black background painted with the Culture Hustle Black 3.0 paint.
  • A single small ring light poised just above and to the front of the mini (ie, not using the lights built into the light box).
  • My compact digital camera set to ISO400, F 8  with a shutter speed of ~1/10 or there about
  • Palpatine was placed towards the front of the light box, with me taking photos from ~30 cm away

 

Painted Emperor Palpatine for Star Wars Legion
Painted Emperor Palpatine for Star Wars Legion
Painted Emperor Palpatine for Star Wars Legion
Painted Emperor Palpatine for Star Wars Legion