Hidden in the article library is this gem of an article Peregrine Took.

http://www.one-ring.co.uk/kb.php?a=62

Sadly he is no longer an active member on the One Ring but this fantastic explanation of how to go about the tricky technique of Non Metallic Metal (NMM) remains.

Check it out and see if you can use the technique in your own painting.

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Careful with that axe of yours... Dain!

Azog

Forum Guidelines
http://www.one-ring.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=25260

Been using this article for my Gandalf - definitely worth a read, it's wonderful.

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Manners maketh man

Thanks for the link, this is a super helpful guide in trying to understand NMM.

One problem I have is that I prefer the edges of my weapons to look sharp. In these examples the lighter tones are mostly away from the edges. If you pay attention to the Khazad Guard axe and the sword you will see what I mean. Is there a reason for this specifically? Is it because it is too small to shade in this way? Is it because it doesn't look right?

Another question is - how exactly do you build up the layers or get the shading right? Something that took me a long time to understand was layering and I still probably don't do the best job at it. So is it purely by watering down? is it drybrushing? As far as I understand it, its mixing to create the "recipe" and applying the progressively lighter shades further along the edges each time.

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My trade thread
http://www.one-ring.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=25957&p=325932#p325932