Introduction

The techniques used to create an artificial sense of light are some of the most visually interesting effects that can be accomplished on a painted miniature. Whether you call it lighting effects, object source lighting, OSL, or reflected light, the end result is the same: faking light. The effect utilizes an artificial light source, whether created on a model or external to it, and paints surrounding areas to give the illusion of light being cast on surfaces. The most common examples in IK miniature painting include fire light from torches, reflected glowing lights from warjack furnaces, and glowing electrical components/coils.

Caveat

This is not an article for beginners; this is an article for those people who have a grasp on applying paint to a model. This article assumes that you, the reader, have a basic knowledge of miniature painting. This article presents some very basic principles, but references many techniques with no explanation as to what they are. If you know what I’m talking about when I say “washing” or “highlighting” or “feathering” then things will be just fine. If not, I recommend getting some experience with mentioned techniques before continuing on.

This is also not meant to be a physics lesson. Some of the language has been chosen to more effectively get a point across; saying more with less. If you're a physics teacher, please don't email me with corrections and diagrams. *laugh*

Direction and Intensity

There are two basic principles to understand when working with light effects: direction and intensity.

Light travels in constant speeds and direct lines. Often we don’t see these direct lines, and instead see the effect of infinite lines going in infinite directions because typical light sources do not focus light.  We often see a forced direction to light when something is used to block light from traveling in given directions. Check a flashlight sometime. The light appears to travel in a beam because much of the light is being blocked by the flashlight housing. This is important for reasons you’ll see later. Needless to say, it will be important to understand how to develop the illusion of direction and path in order to create lighting effects. Light has direction, and if something gets in the path, there will be no light past it.

The other important principle is intensity. Objects “light up” because they reflect light shone on them. The closer an object is to the light source, the brighter, more intense the reflected light is. As an object gets farther away from the light source the reflected light will begin to diffuse, to look faded. Ambient lighting (lighting in the environment) is also an important factor for intensity. Ambient light will “pollute” light from lighting effects, decreasing the intensity. Reducing or removing ambient light will enhance the intensity of reflected light.

Here are real examples of how light is reflected from an object, with examples of direction and intensity. Both use the same lamp with the same blue bulb, at the same distance.

Note in the first picture the direction of the light. The light source is on [our] left of the skull. The light is traveling in a direct line to the right face, and all surfaces in the path are reflecting the light. The surfaces on the opposite side of the light source are not in the path of the light, and therefore remain dark. A really important example of the path the light is taking is with the crater in the forehead. The entire left surface is lit up, and then the crater becomes dark as light is blocked. However, along the right edge, some light does manage to travel past and you see that right edge lit up as well.

The intensity of the light in the first picture is also important. Note that the right face cheekbone and the very edge facing the light appear much brighter. The jawline and edge of the nose, too. Now, take note on the reduced intensity of the light across the forehead, and at the lighted portions of the crater, on our right.

In this second picture, ambient light has been added. You can now see the entire skull. The direction of the blue light hasn’t changed, so you should still see the same lighted and shadowed areas as before. The intensity of the blue light, however, is much less. Take a minute to study the two photos and understand how the light is working here.

Intensity is also changed at the light source itself. A more powerful light source can overpower the light pollution caused by ambient light. More on that later.

OSL in practice

The easiest way for me to explain this further is to work with an example. Here I have a Warder for a Druids of Orboros unit. My goal is to create a sense of light for this model as he draws on power for a Devouring. The model is about 75% complete. There is no right time to add light effects. It can be done at the beginning, before any other part of the model is done, at the end as an afterthought, or anywhere in between.

First off, choose a color for the light; something that when highlighted with white will give the illusion of glowing. P3 Arcane Blue and Necrotite Green work. You can also do this with fire using yellows and reds, but I'm going to stick with Arcane Blue for this.

The next step is to determine a light source and block off the colors for the source. You can see in the photos that I chose the right hand to be the light source, and have only gone in with straight Arcane Blue to cover the area that will be “the light”.

Remember that comment about the flashlight housing blocking the direction of light? Here’s where you get to see the concept start. Only the palm of the hand is painted, and the hand itself with serve to block light from passing “behind” it.

Once you’ve blocked in the light source, imagine lines of light extending out in all directions. You're going to have to eyeball where the light falls and where the intesity is greatest. Figure out where the light would go, and make sure to identify spots where things will block the light. A hand in between the light source and a shoulder will create a shadow on the shoulder, a bent leg will likely block light to the crotch, one side of the face will be lit and the other won’t be, etc.

Create the light source

Creating the light source is easier than you may think. Simply highlight it like you would anything else. In the case of my Warder, I have taken the Arcane Blue and added in highlights using progressively more Morrow White, to the point that the final highlight is straight white.

It really doesn’t look like much beyond a blue hand.

Low Intensity

Using what you know now about direction and intensity it’s time to start making things glow. We’ll start this Warder with a low intensity glow from his hand. The effect will create the sense of less power.

First, find the path of the light. Using the red direction lines from above I could plot out where light should fall. Next, figure out where to stop the reflected light. To accomplish this, pick a point where the light will effectively become too diffused to see naturally. From the Warder’s hand, it’s probably his shoulder. No artificial light should come past that point.

The painting of the light is really just using thinned down Arcane Blue to create a wash over the surface that is reflecting the light. The edges of the Arcane Blue should be feathered with a damp brush so that there aren’t hard lines.  The wash should cover enough of the surface to alter the color, but should not be so heavy as to obscure the base color beneath.

Care should be taken to not stray past the lines created by the direction of the light, and that things like the thumb should appropriately adjust the direction.

Now here’s the amazing part: that’s it. For a low intensity light, all you need is to map the path of the light color and use a wash to color the surface. Any highlights to the Arcane Blue are unnecessary. However, add a little bit of white to the Arcane Blue and apply a second wash and the light will “pop”.

This particular technique is especially useful when you want to extend the glow from a furnace, or add a glow to eyes.