How to paint Metallic / Iridescent Dragon Wings [Warhammer]

[@angerworm]

The gold lining was a nice gambit. Brilliant work!

[@KnarbMakes]

Those turned out so cool Alex! Good job with all those layers.

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks Knarb!

[@pronz72gh85]

Thank you for sharing your creative experience 😄

[@ThePickleJar]

I have been waiting for this for a long time. The dragons turned out awesome Alex, using the metallics on the wings is a great idea to make them look different.

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks Josh 👋 I’m glad I tried this and yeah, it looks great on the table :)

[@AbandonedMiniatures]

Watching them come together was so satisfying! Every layer made them better, even after I thought they already looked incredible. Awesome job!

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you Nic. I guess sometimes it about "not knowing when to stop" :)

[@inigoruizdeapodaca8427]

The effect is super cool. I've seen similar thing in the beetle Alarielle has.

[@CCMinis]

Majestic - great work 52!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks humbly CC!

[@T_A_WOW]

They look great! And another beautifully produced video! Really makes me want to try something like that. Just for the fun of it! 👍👍

[@52Miniatures]

It is worth it. For the fun. When the right model shows up :)

[@MitVorteil]

Probably my favorite paintjob of yours. Amazing how well the metallic wings make it otherwordly without distracting from the other details. Will try this approach on my gargantuan white D&D Dragon I haven't had the courage to start painting for three years now.

[@52Miniatures]

Great Mit, good luck!

[@Palon1983]

Even though the wings are “otherworldly” they look oddly natural/believable by mimicking the shimmer of the scales of something like a trout, awesome execution. Have you ever considered painting a mini completely with oil paints? Marco Frisoni always awakens the urge for me to try the medium.

[@52Miniatures]

I do plan to Paul, sort of slowly easing my way there :) thanks Paul 🙏

[@Palon1983]

@@52Miniatures can't wait for it :)

[@surtrpicks]

Would enjoy seeing someone of your ability take a swing at oils as well. Would be interesting to see.

[@52Miniatures]

@@surtrpicks The final miniature of my "painting undead" video was painted primarily with oils.

[@surtrpicks]

@@52Miniatures will watch, thx.

[@YohanPlaine]

Your videos are of very high quality in all aspects ! 👍🏻

[@jetswift]

Those look absolutely beautiful. I am still building mine, but your video has inspired me to get them built and painted. Brilliant.

[@52Miniatures]

They are lovely dragons!

[@saltfreegamer]

They turned out great, the wings were certainly worth the effort! Enjoyable video too, really interesting to see your process and hear your thoughts as the look evolves. 👍

[@52Miniatures]

Many thanks!

[@isisnmagic1812]

Stunning work, awesome video.

[@chrisseas6725]

Fabulous video! And I will be stealing these metallic wings for my black dragon in the future. Always worth the wait!

[@52Miniatures]

Oh please do!

[@Elfhelm]

Fantastic work, the metallic wings really worked out great in the end.

[@sierra_streams1915]

Okay… just got an airbrush and have these dragons 🐉 on my shelf. Thanks for this very inspiring video. Great job Alex. Well done

[@52Miniatures]

Hah! Thanks - and I mean - go for it

[@kosachilles2504]

Wow I love this idea! They look amazing!!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks K!

[@BSomme]

Awesome work Alex! :) Really like both dragons I will have to try metallic paints more on my minis. :)🐉

[@Boylei]

Incredible. Your concept for magic leather was perfectly realized. Beautiful work as always, Alex!
Also, is that you on the guitar in the outro song?

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you greatly B. I just love it when a plan comes together :) And yes. I am playing the guitar in all the music.

[@philgee486]

@@52Miniatures That's a certainty for avoiding copyrighted music!

[@ironbomb6753]

@52 Miniatures you are a wonderful artist Alec 👍❤️

[@EdwinK-13]

The oil work was inspirational. As always a fantastic job. Also the strobe was a fun touch. Thanks brother.

[@NigelMills]

They look great. My favorite thing about your videos is just listening. Your story telling is great and the pacing is perfect. :)

[@52Miniatures]

I did think I got the pacing down well in this one :) thanks Nigel

[@paulhempenstall5463]

Those look amazing!

[@kaotictube]

I listened to this video while doing house work, I could hear the realism of the leathery wings.

[@52Miniatures]

I’m glad you could hear the flap, creak and slither

[@knickknackminis2007]

Amazing work, I am in love with the blue dragon's handsome face! Love that you work with oils too, very nice results!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks K! It is a truly handsome face :)

[@mesa069]

Maybe your best work yet, phenomenal!!

[@52Miniatures]

I appreciate it S!

[@canuckchuck8836]

Utterly beautiful...again!

[@52Miniatures]

Ah. Thanks! 🙏

[@teejayv1]

Wonderful video, very inspiring

[@yfz450rider39]

Absolute love everything you did with these dragons, nailed the iridescent look!! The gold looks super epic.

[@Matt-md5yt]

Glad you did some Dragons my friend

[@52Miniatures]

Me too Matt!

[@stegotron]

Amazingly painted dragons and wonderfully shot as ever. The colours on the wings look really "fantastical", while still being grounded in reality (fish scales maybe), whilst tying in really well with the rest of the painting. Even the leather on the saddle is *chef kiss*

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you very much Michael 🙏

[@CarlConstantine]

“Time Management Department” - I definitely laughed out loud at that knowing EXACTLY about that which you spoke :) Man those turned out fantastic. I need to finish my hobby area (Reno’s) very soon so I can get painting myself.

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks Carl! Aye. It’s seems like a relatively large department sometimes, compared to the creative art department. But that reflects real life perhaps

[@cory7328]

Fantastic work. These are going to set your army apart from others when on the table.

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks Cory! Yeah :) I hope to dazzle

[@euansmith3699]

Hell's Bells! Those dragons look absolutely marvellous.

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks Euan!

[@rubenstam7604]

Amazing work

[@AvocationNation]

Amazing job, I love it!

[@stretch3281]

I love your videos,The philosophy mixed with your dry sense of humour, pionting out things to think about rather than instructing how to and great great results to look at too. All in all i find the whole experience very relaxing.

[@52Miniatures]

I’m very glad to hear it S, thank you 🙏

[@smoothbrush4722]

Epic looking dragon

[@emilykhan8706]

Beautifully done--phenomenal dragons!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks Emily!

[@kodehoved]

Great video! I love the theme of discovering ideas as you go. I can’t count the number of times I ended up with a very different mini than I initially anticipated. Some times it is worse than what I had hoped to achieve but other times it is better and that’s a fantastic feeling. Have fun exploring. I look forward to your next video and thanks for sharing your insights.

[@52Miniatures]

Same here Brian :) thank you!

[@AndrewCampbell84]

Finally planning to tackle my Frostgrave wizards next week. Maybe I should consider some metallics on the robes to help them look a bit more fantastic... Great video, thanks Alex

[@52Miniatures]

That’s a great idea Andrew!

[@Dragonfire-tn2jg]

Great job again.

[@Chase_Adams]

These are absolutely STUNNING. The wings are the star of the show to be sure but I’m also obsessed with the whole color scheme of the orange/blue dragon and your seemingly painless over brushing method to make it look nice quickly. I think I finally found a color scheme for my Carnosaur that has been sitting on my shelf, zenithal primed and collecting dust, for a year.

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks C! Yeah, everything here could be very translatable to anything with scales :) I hope you try it.

[@bunnybubblebutt7209]

This is amazing going to have give this a go

[@basileerla]

Absolutely great.

[@billcurran7210]

Wow, these look incredible. I’m going to have to give this a shot.

[@52Miniatures]

Oh please do Bill!

[@TheShine1]

They're Fantastic. Good inspiration and encouragement.

[@TheGlacialGeek]

These turned out INCREDIBLE! Awesome work as always and thank you for the awesome video!

[@bluefangs867]

Make way for the new 'Mother(?) of Dragons!' :D They look so good! All the time spend on them more than worth it in the end

[@52Miniatures]

Aye! I’m so glad I’m going to get to play with dragons..!

[@Aadyi]

Holy...that is absolutely amazing, both drakes have an ethereal magical quality to them. Pretty much like the video itself - first time on your channel and I am mesmerized :) Well done brother.

[@52Miniatures]

Welcome to the channel A and thank you

[@richh5038]

i love your slightly weird, meandering, wordy narrations. keep up the great work. thank you

[@SugarCandyMiniatures]

That gold lining on the scales must've taken ages!!!!

[@52Miniatures]

I have kind of made myself forget how long it took :)

[@klug5916]

Your approach and research for originality is really entertaining and bring a lot of inspiration or reflexion.
Thank you, as always, to share these rich and original videos!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks as always Klug! I do appreciate it.

[@applesaucemouse6987]

Alex.....these Dragons......art. Pure art. Love them.

[@52Miniatures]

Well thank you 🙏

[@jedi9935]

Wow, this is great. About a year ago or so I used metalics as an undercoat for some bloodletters. Primed black then I used a dark metal to dry brush and then used a red wash and then a couple red dry brushes. The skin did not reflect the metal pigments but it did change how the over all model appeared.
Glad to see this. Great work as always!

[@52Miniatures]

Sounds cool Jed! Great experimenting

[@ironbomb6753]

I always see new and different ideas on this channel. Its so great, all of it. 👍

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you very much!

[@brianv769]

Those look incredible. I would have never thought to use metallic paint on the wings, they turned out great!

[@52Miniatures]

I’m glad I went with the spur of the moment :)

[@MentoliptusBanko]

Beautiful! Now I want to put some Varanguard on dragons and us them for my Chaos army!

[@52Miniatures]

The more dragons the better.

[@VincBej]

The dragons look absolutely insane! Amazing work Alex!

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you Vince! I'm real glad with how they turned out.

[@Sokrat56]

simply amazing ! love it

[@monkeyhammer]

They look fantastic! I'd love to try something similar, but I'm not sure I have anything suitable. Maybe spooky metallic nighthaunt 🤔

[@52Miniatures]

Spooky metallic nighthaunt would be a thing! Or magical robes. Or Tzeench. Or space elves?

[@slimjimkirky86]

Though I'm sure they look even more impressive in person, your expert lighting and cinematography capture the shimmer beautifully.
Tremendous as usual!

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you Jim 🙏

[@Gokou3036]

Gorgeous magical creatures. I very much wish I could see them in person as you describe!

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you 🙏 Yes they are wonderful on the table

[@johnbruce4004]

I find myself repeating in comments. Alex, very thoughtful and encouraging, rather than scary. Also great narrative. Worth coming back for.

[@52Miniatures]

I appreciate the repetition John!

[@Wijkert]

Please use whatever you like to use when painting and don't worry about us. We are here because you make awesome video's.

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks W! I appreciate it

[@MrKazyFreak]

Looks so good! Ive always been intimidated by both oils and the airbrush. Gotta work up the courage to try them out.

[@markgnepper5636]

Great stuff friend 👏 👍

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you Mark!

[@ODonnchadhaBrian]

Top notch video, as usual. Colour, lighting, shot composition, script, all excellent. Thank you.

[@ODonnchadhaBrian]

And some Pratchett 👍🏻👍🏻

[@52Miniatures]

Oh yeas! Thanks Brian 👋

[@Ghostrider7132t]

Beautiful Metallic Dragons

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks you!

[@timothyyoung2962]

Been keeping my eye out for this ever since I asked how you painted the wings on those dragons a while back. Those look amazing and really do capture that metallic fish look with the scales.

[@52Miniatures]

I'm glad you finally got to see the video.

[@J50143]

Those are some great looking dragons. 👍

[@TheSmuey]

Oh man, i LOVE those paintjobs! And your timing could not have been any better, I just filled up all the small gaps on one of my 3D-printed dragons and it's a Silver one! I'll be taking some tips from this video for sure, thanks a lot!

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you Michael and good luck!

[@toddler_dragons]

Like always, your videos are so zen! Also great results!

[@markfrommontana]

Wow. I admire your boldness -- reacting to what you've already painted and trying something different. The results are indeed magjical. I'm sure your dragons look incredible in person since the pictures are quite impressive and magical. I fear that I'm almost always stuck in various stages of repetition with my military miniatures; perhaps I need to add some dragons to my army? Come to think of it, a pair of dragons would probably fare quite well vs. a few rickety biplanes. ;) Thanks for another wonderful show

[@52Miniatures]

I see a King Kong style diorama but with a dragon at the top of the skyscraper :) Thank you Mark!

[@BjornFriborg]

Ingenious! Love your never-ending originality!

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you very much!

[@philgee486]

Wow and Magical!
it's a research study and an exploration of the process, and it's a refinement of that process to extraordinarily superb results and stunning feature models on the table.
If you set aside the wonderful storytelling of those dioramas he does so well, then these are the best work I've seen Alex do.
They won't be unique for long, if I'd painted them already I'd be stripping them now to shamelessly steal every magical element

[@52Miniatures]

You spoil me Phil, with this comment. But thank you. I do hope some get inspired and try this with whatever means they have in front of them.

[@philgee486]

@@52Miniatures I understand your honest modesty Alex, but I'm spot on instead, very wise and perspicacious ;0). I'm not painting a dragon, but I have a bunch of flying models to use parts of your composite treatment and one special

[@Elsie1_z]

this and your roman stormcast video may singlehandedly convince me to make Stormcast my first AoS collection

[@52Miniatures]

High five! :)

[@SimonThorntonVideo]

Stunning

[@MarcinEstkowski]

My first thought was "how brave of you to mess such an excellent wings" just after the first layer done. But - wow, the effect is stunning.

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you very much!

[@bradsnyder1350]

These turned out incredibly!

[@theresalwayssomethingtobui944]

Oooh! I'e been waiting for this!

[@52Miniatures]

Yay!

[@BunsenB14]

These look great. You asked about tinting metallic paints. I like using Contrast Paint over metallic paint. I have done it on Ironman, from Marvel: Crisis Protocol.

[@52Miniatures]

Yeah! They are very good for that. And I guess if one starts with a neutral silver, one could blend different contrast paints for different effects.

[@TheEnd]

“Nice dragons” - said my mom. I agree, very cool dragons my fellow Alex. Cheers!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks The End’s mom! :)

[@thorikstoneshield3716]

Hi Alex, wonderful job, I have a "Young copper dragon" and a wyverne, (from Wizkids) for D&D to paint, but I'm a little scared by the colors and the mini itself, of course it's just a game mini, but the idea to put paint on a dragon really intimidates me, thanks for your video it will help me when the dragon will finally call me to face up to it

[@52Miniatures]

My pleasure Thorik and great to hear. One of my Patrons painted a dragon recently with a Nebula Copper "colourshift" paint from Greenstuff World. it seems to look very cool. One would kind of need an airbrush for that though.

[@martint6327]

Brilliant

[@AleriaStarlight]

Oh these have been on my list ever since they came out. Waiting to finish my internship this summer and was planning to pick them up and try my hand at sculpting a bit. Seeing you paint them was quite the surprise but damn, they look awesome Alex! ^^
Really wish they did more of these though as the mono poses are a bit of a draw back sadly.
You should give their bigger cousin a shot at some point! The really big Dragon they released along side these 2 that is. Working on mine and it's a really sweet 'mini' :D

[@52Miniatures]

I love them Aleria. I actually think these look slightly cooler than the big ones. It’s something about the sleeker shape that feels more fluid and menacing. Oh and yeah about the posing… but I think there was one more head option at least and maybe changing wing pose would be doable?

[@AleriaStarlight]

@@52Miniatures True, true. I do like the sleeker forms as well so I get what you mean. And hmm, yeah it's mostly the wing poses really, so if they could be changed a bit then that'd be awesome :D
I just really hope they star / forest dragons get new models one day. Their models in Warhammer total war 2 look so good!

[@52Miniatures]

@@AleriaStarlight yeah, forest dragon would be absolutely lovely! :)

[@keithtalbot9504]

Amazing

[@WasiKaBooM]

Magic ! Cheers 😀

[@52Miniatures]

Magick!

[@L0NELYBRICK]

Two thumbs up for Rincewind.

[@52Miniatures]

💜

[@Grabacr]

This is spectacular work!

[@looleeland]

just beautiful! 😂

[@FlesHBoX]

So instead of non-metallic metal, this is metallic non-metal XD LOVE how they turned out!

[@52Miniatures]

Hah! Yeah - metallic non metal :) can I patent that?

[@setra23]

I just use a watered down wash over a silver to tint the metallic towards the colour I'm after.

[@52Miniatures]

Nice 👍 thanks D

[@nateellis1779]

awesome

[@lomelyo]

Amazing 🤩

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you!

[@noahwilson422]

What a beautiful experiment! Curious if you'd looked into some gold pinwash options on the wing texture? Thanks again for the great inspiration...

[@52Miniatures]

I didn’t, for fear of getting metallic paint glitter everywhere. But a gold oil paint wash could maybe have worked. It would probably have been cool on the scales.

[@tyrxa]

Amazing! tack!

[@danjackco24]

Love the idea

[@CHbox]

I would love to die by the claws of these magnificent beasts. hypnotysed by their wings while they tear me appart. In all seriousness, your work was so great that it brought me tears, as always when I face something trully beautiful, congratulation.

[@52Miniatures]

Wow, thanks CH! What a comment

[@VASM160689]

2 Very exquisite dragons!! Honestly, I think the metallic dragons of D&D would look a bit like this. Your colour schemes look great and the only thing I think I would have done differently was to use silver instead of gold on the cold-themed one. But the effect is so slight that i think it doesn't really matter which. Also, I think it was a good choice to use the gold in the recesses, it helps in the shiny aspect.
Wow, the oil washes really make such a difference in minis with fur or scales.... I wonder if IRL side-by-side one can tell the difference between an oil dark wash and a normal acrylic wash.
Loved the video! Keep it going! :)
PS: Waiting eagerly for more Stargrave minis or the Spaceship painting video. :D (I don't think you painted the ship yet, did you?). Just watched the final season of the Expanse and I'm feeling my space pirate self itching. XD

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks! I think one of the major differences is that the oil wash I can clean off where I don’t want it. An acrylic wash would stain the entire surface. Oh and I did paint the spaceship - I think the thumbnail is me holding it