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Some thoughts on Non Metallic Metal (NMM) with Paolo di Poce

Por um escritor misterioso

Last updated 10 abril 2025

Some thoughts on Non Metallic Metal (NMM) with Paolo di Poce

Non Metallic Metal – the PRELUDE Hello to all. This is my first tutorial I’ve written for this blog, and I hope will be useful for people like me who has just started to paint in a more complex way than when playing war games. Just remember this is only one way to paint non metallic metal or indeed any other element. If you like it, you can use it as a starting point, or modify this adding something else. In these years I have attended several courses with some great painters like Alfonso Giraldes, Pepa Saavedra and Rusto. Each one of them taught me (or at least he/she tried hahaha) something special and personal. This is Joan Of Arc, sculpted by Pedro Fernandez for FeR Miniatures. I really like this model, the sculpting is top class and the cast is simply perfect. THE SKETCH What I took from Alfonso Giraldes lessons is mainly to define each volume of the figure, basically making a sketch (like drawing on paper) using black and white. This is probably one of the most important phases of the painting process. I obviously suggest you to join this workshop with Alfonso because it will give you a different way to approach your hobby. He doesn’t teach you what you have to do, there is no step by step process but he will open your brain and give you an alternative way to go. Draw shadows and lights and decide which you like and which ones to delete. Of course it depends on what kind of light and surface you decided to replicate in your painting. Your drawing will guide you to the process of light and shadowing. It will be quite easy using diluted colours because they won’t cover the colours below. The key to this work is make contrast, using a very dark black (my favourite is the model colour) and bright white (GW white is fine but I suggest Titanium White from Liquitex or Winsor & Newton), and do not be afraid to make mistakes or a mess, everything can be corrected further down the line. How can you decide what light and what reflection are correct? Basically look around you and choose a reference. Take in mind a metal surface reflects light in a different way than other materials, so a complex volume would be difficult to handle… basically you have to consider how much stronger is the light, where it comes from and it’s refraction from objects and their surfaces. A polished armor will reflect a much bright and larger light surface than an opaque one and probably you will see reflections of nearby objects. Do you remember the Excalibur movie? Armour styles and materials are different from each other: Mordred, Lancelot, Arthur. A SMALL INSIGHT INTO PAINTING THE FACE After you have done the sketch, you can relax yourself doing the face. She is a young girl so will have a clean and bright face. I created a basic colour using a red Andrea, Scale 75 deep blue, a yellow scale75, adding a little white when needed. Basically you choose the mix you prefer, if you want a Joan in Miami Beach you could use more red and white, if you want to make a Joan in Transylvania you could use less red and more blue and white. Then we are going to shade using base color + brown color in the lower part of the face and on sides then a very diluted layer with basic color + red. Use the base color for fading and blending areas between areas of light and shadow. To highlight just add white to the base colour (or a clear skintone) and a bit of satin to have a brighter and shinier skin. The process is simple because I do not need to add textures or wrinkles or scars to the face. She will appear ready to battle and beautiful. I then paint the interior eye with a clear flesh colour, then add a red line at the bottom of the eyelid and one brown line under the upper eyelid. I Also add a make-up effect using base colour + a little bit of blue and red vallejo model air using a brush. I use model air when I need a more liquid colour on a base colour, almost using them as an ink. On the lips just work with base color tonality adding some red to obtain a pink tone. SOME THOUGHTS ON NMM For doing a NMM we will use a miniature victim, in this case the chosen will be a pegaso gladiator bust. We will do two different versions of NMM, a golden one and a metallic on For gold we begin to give a base of Model Colour English Uniform on all the (black) surfaces. Then I add GW Bubonic Brown or Gold Brown as first light. Then use Skull White and Titanium White (I ‘ve used the Winsor & Newton one) for maximum point of light. Use Bubonic Brown (or Gold Brown by Model Colour) if you lose the Yellow tonality. Then I apply a layer (with a drop of water) of Winsor & Newton Sunshine Yellow, a kind of orange ink which is useful to add some warmth to the overall tone. Don’t add too much water or you will lose the intensity. Basically you have sectors of colour with sparkles of light. If you want to change effect, you can go with vertical lines of Bubonic/Gold Brown and pure yellow ink simulating a reflection of some objects. Use a brush with a good tip (I use Da Vinci Maestro 1 and 2) and carefully draw lines, without blending them. This will create an effect of “movement” on the surface. You can use W&N Yellow ink on base color, or drawing white lines and then adding Inc for a shiny effect. Remember using black in the shadow because you need contrast. It is predominantly down to changing the colour recipe for different types of NMM so the following