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Painting Tautha Skirmishers
Tir Rangers and Sidhe Huntresses are the respective Elites of their tribes. They are
rightly feared by Aryidannan and Tentac alike, able to quietly move through lines
and territory to appear unexpectedly and rain down a shower of lethal arrows or to
slit a heroines throat whilst she sleeps in the night and perceived safety. On the
Meadow of Glamour they hover on the flanks in cover, always a deadly nuisance that
cannot be ignored, or for some Sidhe, rush into the midst of the battle to add their
knives to the violence.
What follows is a step-by-step painting guide of seven Shadowforge Tribal miniatures,
six tribals as Tautha, and one captive Aryidannan maiden.
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Step 1: Remove flash from the models and clean if they are greasy.
These Shadowforge Tribal range models have a good set of poses and nice
additional detail. The faces are a let down, being too toonish (round and
not much detail).
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Step 2: Apply the undercoat. For this GW's Bronzed flesh was used
to cover the entire model because so much of the model's surface is bare skin.
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Step 3: The only way Aryidannan and Tautha can distinguish each other
is by the colour of their hair. If this were not the case, a maiden from each race
standing side by side could not be identified. The Tautha have golden hair (yellow
and then gold layers) and the Aryidannan are fiery redheads (a dark orange highlighted
with a brighter orange). Each race also uses different coloured ribbons in their hair.
The Tautha orange, Aryidannan red.
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Step 4: Over the base coat a lighter layer for the skin was applied.
Already the maidens are coming to life as most of the surface of the models is now
at a basic level.
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Step 5: The faces were detailed with eyes using white and black and
a steady hand and fine brush. Tautha skirmishers don't paint their faces like other
maidens; to break up the plain skin GW's Dwarf Flesh (pink skin tone) was used to
fill the mouth. This colour was also used over a light brown for the maiden's
nipples.
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Step 6: The maidens' primary cothing colours were the next to be
base painted. As skirmishers, greens and browns were chosen. The captive Aryidannan
has a blue tunic, signifying her status (white is most common).
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Step 7: Completeting the clothes, straps and weapons and other ornaments
(these tribal figures have a few such as bracelets, tooth necklaces, and strips of
wood dangling from their hair or clothes) makes the figures battle ready. Again browns
and greens were the primary colours used, and some creams (notably for the damsels
with bows). The shields were left plain brown, additional detail can be added later
on. The archers received an extra bit of colour with the fletches of their arrows
being painted in bright colours - the feathers taken from local birds with tropical
plumages.
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Step 8: Adding extra detail to the figures greatly increases their
beauty on the gaming table or display case. Shadows and highlights were added to the
flesh, again using Dwarf Flesh to shadow creases (around cloth, beneath and around
their breasts and buttocks). A very watery white was used to highlight the raised
and curved surfaces (top of buttocks and breasts, shoulders, thighs and stomach).
Clothing also was given attention with highlights and splotches of green to give a
camoflauge effect.
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Step 9: The maidens are based on painted card and now ready for play.
Here a Unit of Tir Rangers leads regular Tir damsels through the treacherous Tentac
Delta.
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