Von Carstein Vampire

Hey guys.

I finished up this guy a little while ago and thought you might like to have a look. I've also got a few questions on the subject. Anyway here he is;






This is one of the first models I've painted since getting back into the hobby after a 10/11 year hiatus. He is much better than what an impatient 15 year old version of myself could paint. However when I go to paint things now I seem to be limited to progressive drybrushing, while other techniques seem to fail. I've tried block highlighting but it just looks clunky... Any tips?

The dry brushing gives the mini an ethereal look that fits the subject SPLENDIDLY. Highlighting while the darker coat is still wet is a basic way to blend your colors & give a smooth transition of shades; the negative part of this is that it quite often doesn't show up well in photos...Cameras are Demonic Entities. 
That aside, the Vampire looks WONDERFUL. Your color choices are EXCELLENT; the armor & cape have a haunted feel to them, & the sword has a ghostly glow that is very appealing. VERY WELL DONE!   

I definitely like what you have done with the miniature.    

Thanks very much, I'll have to try highlighting while the darker coat is still wet. Any tips on how to get started with freehand work? I wanted to try painting some runes/inscriptions across the necromancers cloak.

I know when i started freehand I googled "how to draw *blank*" and you can usually find an easy template to follow. I am not very good at freehand so I find simple techniques work best for me.

Now for runes, paint the darker color, then just highlight the side or top edges. You can look at some fonts from MS Word to get a better idea.