Brendan Roy Paints Phoenix Unleashed!

With the upcoming release of Phoenix & Phoenix Unleashed, today we’re taking a look at how to paint this iconic miniature. Follow along as Brendan Roy shares his steps on painting fire and lighting!

Fire can be a dangerous and scary thing. But that doesn’t mean we need to be afraid when it comes time to paint it! Here we’ll go through some quick and easy steps to get your fire looking hot and ready for the tabletop.

All paints used are from the ProAcryl line of paints.

The first few steps I’ll be using an airbrush to apply. It’s quick and easy, and the fluorescent paints work wonderful through one. If you don’t have an airbrush, these layers can be applied easily through drybrushing them, similar to how we’ll do steps 5-7.

1) We begin by priming the miniature in a white. I used the airbrush here to apply my first coat, but any preferred application will work. White is an important part of the equation as it provides a great foundation for any color afterwards.

2) Next we’ll use Fluorescent Yellow over all the white. The fluorescent paint creates a powerful contrast by the end, and the white base allows it to punch through.

3) Apply Fluorescent Orange while working from the outside of the miniature inward. Make sure to leave some of the previous layer behind in the central part of the miniature , as this is where we want the hottest part to be. This will make it feel like the flames are erupting outward from her body.

4) Last up on our airbrush journey, use Fluorescent Red on the tips and edges of the wings and fire on the base. It’s important to not go too heavy in this step and to allow the previous layers to show through.

Now that we’ve cleaned our airbrush and put it away, it’s time to drybrush! When applying the next few layers, try to just use strong brushstrokes in one direction, and preferably at the same angle. This will help control and keep your paint focused on where you want it, and repeated applications will make sure the paint is consistently applied and less chaotic than a back and forth drybrush motion that’s typically used.

5) Drybrush on Bold Pyrolle Red over top of the tips and edges of the wings and fire. This bright red creates a striking contrast that intensifies the fire.

6) Next we’ll drybrush some Orange over the center portions of the wings and to help soften the flames. If you were heavy handed, this can help blend the colors transitions.

7) Continuing with the previous step, we’ll use a Warm Yellow drybrush at the very center of the body and neck of the Phoenix.

After we’ve cleaned off our drybrush, break out a brush with your favorite tip and let’s finish it all up in the next few steps.

8) Let’s water down some Bright Ivory to enable a good flow and apply paint where we feel the hottest parts of the miniature should be. I’ve kept it centralized to draw in focus and made sure to get the eye of the Phoenix.

9) Once the previous step is completely dry, water down some Fluorescent Yellow and wash it over the previous step’s placements.

10) And now we’re finished!

Thanks for joining us for this hobby transmission from Brendan Roy. We hope that you’ve learned new ideas and are ready to jump into painting your Phoenix & Phoenix Unleashed. Available for pre-order now at your local friendly game store or through the webstore.

Until next time, Atomic Mass Games, signing off!