Painting Black Horses...

[Harry Faversham]

Any tips from the Brethren on how to shade black beauty? Black horses with grey highlights look a bit naff, in my 'umble opinion. I was wondering if there was a better technique I could employ to get a nice highlight on a 15mm scale black horse?

[Citizen Sade]

VMC black grey paint & a black wash before adding any socks, blazes etc?

[Major_Gilbear]

Try not using actual black and grey for the horses perhaps? I know it sounds a bit like something Father Ted would say, but black horses are not really "black", but rather a very, very, very, very dark colour (brown usually, although sometimes black with some blue added to it can work).

Similarly, highlights should either be very broad with just a hint of lightening, or relatively small and off-white.

A rather advanced painting example can be found here:

https://www.elgrecominiatures.co.uk/pages/painting-a-mounted-figure

Obviously, for 15mm scale models, I would pare this back to:

1) Add black to either a blue or brown, until it starts to register as "black" at a casual glance. Use this as your base coat.

2) Add a small quantity of the base colour to an ivory or warm light grey, and use this for a few small highlights. Less is more here, as you don't want to lose the effect of the main colour.

Optional) You can smooth any rough highlights with a glaze of the base colour, followed by a few spot-highlights again if required.

[Cubs]

For 15mm I'd start with a black base then give two highlights with a bluish-grey, with the lightest highlight just on the shoulders, bum and top-facing bits (there's probably better horsey terms for those that I don't know). This is a 28mm hoss I did a while ago for a Zhukov vignette, but it gives an idea of what I mean. You don't need to overdo it with the highlights on horses (which I think I did on the horse's legs below), but just putting a hint of a shine on here and there does give it a glossy coat.

[cgh]

Undergrad black, lightly drybrush grey then a heavy blue ink wash.  White markings to taste.  Easiest job ever.

[FramFramson]

Zhukov vignette

Er, do you mean Kutuzov? But what's a century here or there...

[Cubs]

Er, do you mean Kutuzov? But what's a century here or there...

That's another one of his names.

[Blackwolf]

Why what colour do you want to paint it?

[Harry Faversham]

Thanks chaps, your assistance is most appreciated.
 

[JollyBob]

I'd echo Cubs here, a black base coat, and a highlight with Coat d"Arms Tank Blue-Grey, then a null oil wash and you are golden.

Well, blueish, greyish black at any rate.

[Codsticker]

VMC black grey paint & a black wash before adding any socks, blazes etc?

Basically my approach except I use ScaleColour Eclipse grey.

[Yankeepedlar01]

I use a base of Foundry Prussian Blue shade and a thickish black wash, gives a decent black horse look I’ve found.

[Daeothar]

Vallejo Model Colour's German Grey is my go to for black surfaces.

It's slightly blueish, and with a black wash over it, it'll work very well as a black surface. If you need it to be more reflective (looking), you can highlight back up to the German Grey, and even all the way up to VMC Luftwaffe Grey, which is also a blueish grey, but lighter.

Quick tip; if you use a dark brown wash over the German Grey, it'll turn all black again, killing the blue undertones...

[Radar]

Depends what size your 15mm figures are tbh. True 15mm - quick and easy solution is to base coat not-black (RailMatch weathered black, or Foundry charcoal black), neat black mane & tail, then heavy wash with nuln oil. Then add horsey white bits.

[The Voivod]

What has really clicked with me when painting black, these last years is "never make the basecoat pure black". Just very near black, I prefer adding some dark blue in there and adding white to that for highlights. The blue teint must be very subtle.

This will allow you to do some shading and correcting the tone when you overdo the highlight and allows for more depth in the model. You could be very carefull with highlighting offcourse, but I find this is easier.