Flatting Knight Miniature’s Batman
I know that I’ve discussed flatting before so it seems strange to dedicate an entire stage to it now. Still, I wanted to present a full step-by-step of my process so here is the flatted Frank Miller Batman from Knight Models:
Knight Models Frank Miller Batman flatted.
Finishing flatting a miniature is one of the most enjoyable parts of painting miniatures. It’s like a mini version of the feeling I get when I finish a miniature. Obviously a flatted miniature is a fully painted miniature to some people, which explains why I feel that little sense of accomplishment when I finish this step.
Unlike all the miniatures I’ve painted since I’ve taken up the flatting technique it has proved to be very important with this miniature. I’m trying to match the look of Batman near the end of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. In the beginning he had a bright blue cape and cowl with brighter yellow accents, including yellow in the bat symbol. Near the end, flying around with Carrie Kelley’s Robin, his suit has become monochrome with even his normal signal yellow utility belt is faded so much that it’s nearly white.
For the base I used a dark, dull green for the odd battlements Batman is standing on. I did this because I wanted to avoid the standard blue-grey used to represent concrete and stone. The primary difference between basecoating and flatting is that when flatting the colours used aren’t exactly the colours that will be used in the finished piece. However the grey grew on me as a splash of colour in an otherwise monochrome miniature and so I kept them this colour.
Following this tutorial I am thinking about creating an introductory series for new painters. Let me know what you think is missing from most painting tutorials in the comments. You can also find me on Twitter and Google+. Don’t forget to subscribe for the next edition in this series which covers the rendering techniques I used on this miniature.
