Painting Orc Skin - [6 different styles]

Does every Orc have to be green? Everyone has their own perception of the perfect orc. Hopefully this video can help you find yours.
In this video I paint 3 different types of green orc skin - also a red, blue and yellow orc. Lips, teeth and skin "fading" / "bleached skin" is also covered. The "recipes" are not set in stone, instead I try and focus on how to approach different looks.
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Paints used:
Vibrant Green Orc
-Black Forest Green (Scale75)
-Irati Green (Scale75)
-Blood Red (Scale75)
-Moonray Flesh (Fantasy & Game)
Icy Blue Orc
-Shadow Blue (WarFront)
-Adriatic Blue (Scale75)
-Kalahari Orange (Scale75)
-Moonray Flesh (Fantasy & Game)
Desaturated Orc
-Ardennes Green (Scale75)
-Field Grey (Scale75)
-Dunkel Braun Brown (WarFront)
-Lilith Yellow (Fantasy & Game)
Red Orc
-Deep Red (Scale75)
-Kalahari Orange (Scale75)
-Black Forest Green (Scale75)
-Lilith Yellow (Fantasy & Game)
Yellow Orc
-Peanut Butter (Fantasy & Game)
-Sol Yellow (Scale75)
-Violet (Scale75)
-Lilith Yellow (Fantasy & Game)
Alex's Favourite Orc?
-Field Grey (Scale75)
-Irati Green (Scale75)
-Cantabric Blue (Scale75)
-Lilith Yellow (Fantasy & Game)
-Golden Skin (Scale75)
-Sol Yellow (Scale75)
Lips
-Sandalwood (Scale75)
-Orc Demize (Fantasy & Game)
-Fusia (Scale75)
-Moonray Flesh (Fantasy & Game)

[@HeavyArms1993]

Watching this video just gave me a breakthrough on wetblending with zenithal priming. It just never made sense before, and this helped so much.

[@52Miniatures]

I'm glad it helped D! I've got a wetblend video as well that might help out further :)

[@stieefus9830]

@@52Miniatures do you use an airbrush to zenithal prime?

[@DeadBeatDevin]

I 100% agree with that. I never really understood it, but now that looks really doable.

[@52Miniatures]

@@stieefus9830 Yes, because I have one. But I used to do with rattle cans.

[@RobOngrui]

So much this. I've watched a whole bunch of full videos dedicated to wetblending and now it was explained perfectly within 1 scene. Magic.

[@MiniatureMasterClass]

The production value of this channel easily rivals anything on Netflix or American Cable TV. Astounding to see such content produced by one person in their spare time for free on KZbin. Bravo!

[@52Miniatures]

Well thank you M! I appreciate it. And yeah, these videos are not just "thrown together"... most of the time not at least.

[@kurthasedd7923]

I heard something a while back about the Incredible Hulk that might explain why the Orcs(Orkz) we think of and see now are green and not grey. Originally the Incredible Hulk was actually grey in his first edition, but grey printing ink was seen as too expensive so they decided to switch over to his iconic green. Original Orcs were described as being black so if they had to do color art for their Orcs they would be highlighting up in a greyish range so maybe that's why? Or maybe they just decided it naturally looked better than grey. Orcs are interesting, they have similar characteristics but are seem very individualistic, always trying to get a one up on another Orc, always trying to stand out. Like you could have an Orc that looks like some sort of mechanical monster or maybe you have an Orc that loves cowboys and he's riding around on a squig with a pair of revolvers, maybe he liked fighting a certain type of alien or other race and so slaps together make shift weapons and armor that looks like them. So why limit them to just one skin color? Orcs are just fun to work with

[@52Miniatures]

I believe the same goes for "The green goblin". I really enjoy working with orcs, its like they bring a lot of freedom to the desk :)

[@Bluecho4]

This was my thinking as well. It's a lot easier and cheaper in print media to color orcs green than it is to make them gray or black. There may also be a bit of evoking the same conventions as with depicting zombies or vampires or frankensteins. That is, the style for many years was depict all these as green. The reason likely has to do with a mythology gag, as film depictions of Frankenstein and Dracula, first appearing in black and white, painted their actors green. The reason for this was because black and white film would make greens appear lighter - paler - while pink would appear darker (hence why many "spooky" sets were painted pink). It's thought that cartoon or comic depictions of those characters were green for this reason (though cost may factor into it), as a nod to Hollywood productions. It wouldn't be out of the question that this convention might have migrated to orcs in fantasy art.

[@Dienomike.]

Ughhh yeahhhhh. This gonna be good, orcs are becoming my favourite thing to paint.

[@52Miniatures]

Glad to hear it D! Orcs are fun to paint :)

[@jordank1489]

I'm on the cusp of building an Ork army once my White Scars list is finished, so I can get stuck in to some conversions. This video landed right in the peak of my interest, synchronicity!

[@snoox27]

@@52Miniatures i love the freedom orcs give you when building and painting. The desaturated ork to me suits and older ork, in my mind they get darker/duller as they age/grow in size.

[@52Miniatures]

@@snoox27 I agree! A lot of freedom, quite liberating.

[@BillMakingStuff]

I LOVE your Ork space pirates.

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you Bill! They might love you too... but I'm not sure how that will all end. Stalked by orc pirate....

[@MrSupertrooper1]

Every frame of your shots is a painting.

[@52Miniatures]

Well thank you Sam!

[@M1tZk1]

Yes! Finally someone realised, that Orcs don't always have to be green!! I've had this issue for such a long time. Thank you

[@52Miniatures]

My pleasure M!

[@MrMagicchrisi]

The intro with the books and Legos is one of the best intros I have seen on youtube ever. Stunning!

[@52Miniatures]

Well thank you Christian!

[@g00gle5ucks5]

Instead of trying to decide which I liked the best I appreciated how the group ties together despite the different skin colors. In fact, these tend to be the most striking units or armies, which are able to find color cohesion and union without making everything look the same. It gives me that organic feel which is both striking and warm! Your technical skill I'd say isn't on par with great painters, probably not even my own, however, your sense for the palette and creativity makes your models stand out and transcend into art. I envy you!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks G. It would be a dream army. I'm kind of trying to do it with my Stormcast but it does take a lot of time :)

[@digitalwastrel]

Really love how you approach painting by feeling and mood rather than exact colour recipes. As someone who has never been neat enough to do the clean-lines `eavy metal style, I've been enjoying painting much more since i embraced painting as an art more than a science.

[@52Miniatures]

Well thank you. I am strictly trying to keep myself amused and having an "enjoyable" process. Whatever that is or leads to :)

[@markfrommontana]

I’ve only watched the first 4 minutes of this video, but I tapped the pause icon because I had to comment on your brilliant introduction: one imaginative shot followed by another, then another, then another. Your visuals and narration are amazing. 👍. Okay, I’m tapping off the pause now so that I can enjoy the various skin colors that follow. 😉 What a wonderful book collection btw. Cheers.

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you Mark! I’m having fun with all the “backstories”. It just ads a lot of fun to the creation process :)

[@CCMinis]

I'm quite partial to Blorcs (black orcs), but you had some lovely Blurcs (blue orcs), Rorcs (red orcs), Yorcs (yellow orcs), and the quite rare Oorcs (orange orcs) in there too. Lovely stuff and fantastic video 52 =]

[@52Miniatures]

Thank CC! Yeah, black orcs are great. And white orcs are a treat. And I’ve grown very fond of the Rorc :)

[@ramenron]

I have had that same encyclopedia for decades... Its pretty good. Love all your Orks too.

[@52Miniatures]

Yeah. It just feel very solid. I’ve had it since childhood but it still works.

[@beezany]

The last orc reminds me of a topographic relief map! Looks great!

[@52Miniatures]

Hah! That’s pretty cool. Thanks!

[@VillarsGimm]

3:46 Vibrant Green Orc 5:28 Icy Blue Orc 6:37 Desaturated Orc 7:46 Red Orc 8:42 Yellow Orc 10:01 Alex's Favourite Orc?

[@52Miniatures]

Wonderful :)

[@MelodicMethod]

thank you, good sir!

[@comicfan92]

Very very excited. I'm a huge fan of blue/grey orcs over other color types

[@52Miniatures]

Grey is nice! I was real happy with how the red one turned out :)

[@AleriaStarlight]

Got to love using Tolkien's work as reference ^^ Even though I'm not much of an Orc player / painter myself, it's always fun and inspiring to watch another one of your uploads Alex

[@52Miniatures]

Well thank you Aleria. I just keep trying to find different reasons to paint orcs :) They are such a joy to paint.

[@AleriaStarlight]

@@52Miniatures I can imagine so ^^ Maybe I'll give them a try after my current Lumineth-Realm lords project as the Orcs do have some great minis, especially from the new range for 40K they revealed not long ago. And I'd totally try some of the things you showed here to come up with a crazy fun colour pallet.

[@marcocardoso8745]

@@AleriaStarlight both aos and wh40k offered very nice new orc Models, but the kromlech ones are awesome. Also Artel W so have some very very tempting orcs.

[@AleriaStarlight]

@@marcocardoso8745 Hmm that so? Can't say I am familiar with those 2 brands. So I'll have to look them up. Thanks for the recommendations though ^^

[@thth-sv4bt]

my favorite way of doing ork skin is with using a different basecoat, then zenithal highlight, then yellow ink. And if the yellow looks interesting, then I start working on it, otherwise I'm going with random greens

[@52Miniatures]

Sounds like a very nice and efficient way of working P! Thanks for sharing.

[@acidcoen]

Utterly brilliant, as always. I've never painted an orc in my life but I do love those crazy bastards. I play an orc in every game I can, and gotta say I've never seen a blue or a yellow one before. And they look just amazing. Not only the paintjob's great but the ideas you have are genuinely inspiring! Over the past year or so you have become my absolute favourite youtube channel and everytime you drop a video it's like opening a giftbox. Not sure what's exactly inside but I know it's going to be good :)

[@52Miniatures]

I just seem to be trying to find reasons to paint orcs. They are just so much fun. And there is a lot of freedom involved. I'm very happy to have you along for the ride RK. Thank you.

[@gwingcommander]

I love M&M orks! These guys look so much more interesting than the normal uniform green approach. Also makes them feel like a chaotic mish-mash of creatures, rather than a highly organized/refined fighting force the way Space Marines are. Great video and paint job!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks G! Yeah, I think on the table this is going to be a lot of fun!

[@emilydowd-arrow3751]

I actually loved these orcs-and I’m not a war hammer fan. But then with you, there’s always a Tolkien references make me happy 🥲

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you E! I'm hoping to try and connect things every now and again. So many of us are "divided". But at the core we enjoy similar things :)

[@pieter-janvangucht2152]

I feel like there is a wealth of knowledge on colour theory behind this seemingly random painting frenzy. You're too humble mister 52!

[@52Miniatures]

I'm not sure its a wealth, but I do try and sneak in whatever I pick up on the way :)

[@Berserkerworks]

All the different colours give so much character and humour to the Kromlech orks. Really reminds me of the earlier editions of 40k and Paul Bonner's art.

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks B! These sculpts do bring out the "fun" in "orc" :)

[@KoraRubin]

💝 This video feels like a present just for me. Regular green Orcs are a pet beef of mine and I'm so happy to see something different. My husband, who likes Lore in contrast to myself, told me Orcs are connected to mushrooms in some way. There are no green mushrooms! Mushrooms don't need photosynthesis. And I just think, the standard green kind of boring and too comic like at the same time. So... thank you very much for all the different Orcs and all the different thought approaches.

[@52Miniatures]

My pleasure K! In the end, it’s a hobby, it’s our minis and we can do whatever we like to get them to look just the way we want.

[@Nergling]

Beautiful in blue!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks N!

[@graefx]

Long ago, I found a video that started me on my Ork journey and the idea of varied skin tones. The gist was to collect a range of base colors, some darker, some brighter, and randomly select one of them to start. From there, randomly chose either a wash for the lighter colors, or a brighter dry brush for the darker colors. I will always love seeing some more variety on the table top especially when it comes to the Ork rainbow

[@52Miniatures]

That sounds like a nice video. I think sometimes we get so stuck in the details that we forget to take a step back and look at the whole picture “objectively”. These colour differences just look so much fun on the table.

[@dusanpesic8286]

In his video about the inspiration for "World of Warcraft", BellularGaming found that the first depiction of Green Orcs was from Tim Kirk's painting "Road to Minas Tirith".

[@52Miniatures]

Nice! Thats very interesting! Thank you.

[@027shogun]

Misfits & Marauders, or M&M Orcs. Love your videos, they're always inspiring. And the wetblending over zenith just made that click for me, so thanks for that too!

[@52Miniatures]

Great to hear it! About the wet blending, I'm glad the small hint could help.

[@Matt-md5yt]

Glad to see your Orks painted up my friend

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks Matt! It was a lot of fun :)

[@jaekaelae]

Now that you mentioned World of Warcraft it came to my mind that not all Blizzard orcs were green. In their early game called Blackthorne, there was different colored orks as enemies.

[@52Miniatures]

Never played! but that's pretty cool. thank you for sharing.

[@rodagoose]

Those orks look incredible! Thanks for sharing!

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you R!

[@cromcraft3494]

Gary guygax (the inventor of dnd) resented Tolkien, so even though Tolkien created the modern fantasy concepts, when gary came to the mythological name orc, in his systematic writing of the monster manual, he ran as far from Tolkien and the old Germanic tales as he could, and said, 'they are human and pig cross breeds. Some where along the way dnd b&w stencil art got color and someone just decided that pigmen would be mossy brown.

[@52Miniatures]

As I said, shrouded in mystery and maybe even a bit of controversy :)

[@shayrazor]

Ah your videos always make me want to pick up my brush! I usually paint my orcs yellow or green, but I think I'll give blue a shot now.

[@52Miniatures]

It's a lot of fun so please do :) Thanks S!

[@lomelyo]

Outstanding approach to Orks.

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you L!

[@thomasbodin260]

Had to come back to this video to say thank you, I started painting orks and your video helped me so much! The difference between my first ork and the second one I painted following your tutorial is like night and day ! Cheers from France !

[@52Miniatures]

Wow, thanks T! I'm glad to hear it.

[@darkowl9]

I _suspect_ green may be a case of making it easier to grasp what would in reality be a complex, diverse and varied civilisation. Like saying all orks are violent. Elves are snobbish. Dwarves are short and like axes and forges. Fantasy shorthand. Coming back to colours though... given, at least in 40k lore, that orks are a type of sentient fungus, using the weird and wonderful world of fungal colourings could also be a great source of inspiration!

[@52Miniatures]

Agreed! Mushrooms would be a fab source of inspiration for orc skin. And not necessarily just toadstools. Thanks for the tip!

[@jg113]

arent orks green like all greenskins in warhammer lore couse they are able to do photosyntesis

[@52Miniatures]

@@jg113 Maybe! But I think it might be a construct done after they turned green.. but who knows?

[@Wolfsspinne]

The legend has it that Stan Lee is the grandfather of the green ork, as the Green Goblin from Spider-Man probably was a major influence for fantasy illustrations in the 70s and 80s.

[@52Miniatures]

Yeah, I've read that as well. Also in combo with "The Hulk". Thanks W!

[@n6356583]

A real joy to watch. I especially love the little '52' transfer on the back of the motorbike-minotaorc's back end, a nice little nod to your channel in your paintjob. Thanks again for the consistently wonderful content!

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you A! Yeah, some subliminal advertising is never wrong :)

[@od1452]

Ha ha... I'm glad I didn't take notes. Thanks very entertaining. I like when the traditional colors are challenged. The Hilderbrant Brothers were the "in" Middle Earth painters in the 70S when Tolken was re-found . I don't remember what their orcs looked like but their work kind of set the tone for future artist. Kind of like Frazetta and Conan or John Carter.

[@e1miniatures584]

Loving the stargrave progress videos, and what a great wee video, too long have the orks/orcs all been the same shade of green!!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks E! I'm enjoying the freedom and fun of having different pirates and crews that don't really have to match each other.

[@bitzbox]

I really like these and it's refreshing to see different skin tones for orks. I've seen a few people choose turquoise which I'm really liking atm

[@52Miniatures]

Yeah! Anything goes really. And it doesn't have to "shouty" either if one doesn't like that.

[@tomaveryta]

They look brilliant mate! Good fun & great bit of colour for the board or shelf

[@52Miniatures]

Thank Tom! Yeah, these look real fun on the table :)

[@silfreed1542]

Your gas mask dull green ork is gnarly as hell, i love it!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks S!

[@michaelcoull8590]

Just discovering your videos now - this one was fantastic. Love the desaturated ork in particular.

[@52Miniatures]

Welcome to the channel M! And thank you :)

[@liondrago]

Oh, thank you for this one. I've been struggling with differentiating my DnD orc minis' skins and while the greens looked okay-ish, going brown/gray/rust skin resulted in utter failures. You've given me a lot of tips there to try out!

[@52Miniatures]

Glad to hear you found some inspiration P :) good luck and thank you.

[@undeadch1cken523]

Ive always like orcs to be different colours along the earthy spectrum. Like the Urruks in shadow of Mordor being green, grey, yellow orange and brown

[@52Miniatures]

Yeah, that's a nice choice :)

[@higglypiggly]

You are so talented. I like how you show your techniques and approaches in detail. Really makes me want to try out with my Frostgrave Orc Band.

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you I! I appreciate it. Give it a whirl on you orcs :)

[@kosachilles2504]

They looks heaps good standing next to each other

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you K!

[@LexandroX]

Punk Ork Raiders or Punk Ork Pirates will be the perfect name for your Stargrave crew! Thanks for the video! Great to watch and always inspiring.

[@52Miniatures]

The POP's! :) Thanks L!

[@saka1062]

as a painter and decorater, i am very impressed by your understanding of colors! great work! All the Best from Switzerland

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks S! I appreciate it.

[@GhoblinCrafts]

I love orcs, I haven’t painted enough of them!

[@52Miniatures]

There is always an orc around the corner sainting to be painted :)

[@Terrainosaur]

You're becoming an even better painter. Well worth watching the progress.

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you. I am really trying to practice a bit of efficiency. This time going for a larger brush and "bolder" contrast. Having a lot of fun here

[@strongerandwiser2023]

Wow, the amount of citidel handles that you have to hold your miniatures! I just have the one... You have one for the whole squad!

[@52Miniatures]

I know! I was going to buy two... and then my son wanted one. So I got the pack with like 5? And then some friendly viewers have sent some.... and now I just got one from Redgrass... I can't complain on lack of handles.

[@saltfreegamer]

Another fantastic and inspiring video, great work! You orks look really good as a band of pirates. 👍

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks S! mission accomplished :)

[@cory7328]

I love these orcs are multicultural. They understand all different types of orcs bring something special to the crew.

[@52Miniatures]

Yeah! And colour is obviously not a divider. An orc will bash another orc over the head regardless of skin colour.

[@kaijuk]

Love the desaturated orc but all look amazing thank you 😊

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you Caroline!

[@yfz450rider39]

Each color combo looked awesome! My favorite is probably the yellow one!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks S!

[@Phamtomdark]

I did this exact same project just last year, I love orks for these kinds of practice projects.

[@52Miniatures]

Yeah, orcs do bring a sense of freedom to the table.

[@minipaintinjohn4490]

My goodness, this video was wonderful. I haven't painted in 3 months and this has given me fresh excitement. And your skills have noticeably improved since your earlier video. These miniatures all look fantastic. Bravo, Sir.

[@52Miniatures]

I'm glad to hear it Jack! Welcome back :) And yeah, as it turns out, the more one paints, the more happens in the skill department :)

[@dwNjvL]

I havent painted for 3 months, but i guess im learning wetblending now. Thank you so much for this video Alex, True inspiration.

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks D! I think it a very fun tool, wetblending :)

[@billcurran7210]

I really liked this. Think I might need to go paint a handful of colorful orcs.

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks Bill! Go for it :)

[@2leg947]

Great idea for space ork pirate gang) From the Stargrave perspective appears an obvious narative about orks using different chemicals to "tune" themselves)

[@52Miniatures]

True! I'm thinking various bits of distilled and chemically altered squig.

[@trovarion]

"HeLlo, ThIs Is gAmEs WoRkShOp, OrCs aRe OnLy GrEeN, oK?" If you enter a non-green Orc into a Golden Demon it will never win. ⛔

[@52Miniatures]

Yeah, that whole thing is a thing in itself. And now apparently other that gw bits kitbashed orcs would be "not eligible" for official comps. It's all a bit harsh me thinks.

[@johnmarshall4156]

@@52Miniatures but, but the new orruk base colours are a bit more off piste...is there a GW softening?

[@Mikey__R]

Trov, I have a White Dwarf from 1991 that begs to differ!

[@trovarion]

@@Mikey__R the future is NOW ;)

[@52Miniatures]

@@johnmarshall4156 I don't know? There's probably two ways of going in the coming age of 3d printing. Super soft or even harder :)

[@joshpickering5039]

Stay awesome dude... this was a lot of fun to watch. Sat down to a nice Ribeye steak dinner with a glass of wine and thought “I know what I can watch whilst I eat this” honestly love your videos, the scripting and videography is fantastic. Also the minis look pretty good too!! 😝

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks Josh! I’m glad to hear I’m good enough for stake 😂

[@evanstrong4064]

these are all lovely but the blue orc on the unicycle has to be my favorite!

[@52Miniatures]

The blue one is a keeper Evan :) Also that sculpt is so fun.

[@micklangan7544]

Excellent Video, great commentary with a wonderful painting style that explains the techniques of 'imaginative paint delivery'

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks Mick!

[@charleslatora5750]

I've just since Jan. gotten heavily into minis. Made my Ogres brighter green(or tried too) n my Orcs a darker looking green. this video is very helpful. thanks. subbed.

[@52Miniatures]

Welcome to the channel Charles :)

[@andrewponczocha9431]

Man I’ve been waiting for this video. A genuine rush of excitement when I saw it pop up

[@52Miniatures]

Yay! I hope it met your expectations.

[@Grabacr]

Always a real joy to watch. As a new painter, your videos are an inspiration and motivate me to keep trying.

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you G! I appreciate it.

[@DehDrowing]

What other miniature KZbinr could include b-roll of peeling a carrot and still be one of the most engaging miniature KZbin video

[@52Miniatures]

Ha ha! You're right. Not enough carrots around :)

[@meledward231]

Love your videos and this just happened to be the subject I needed today. Great variety and well done. Thanks

[@52Miniatures]

Lovely to hear, thanks Mel

[@tftf60]

Another really well made video with great painting.

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you T! I appreciate it.

[@dustinshorter2391]

I love all the research you do before a project. I need to do more of that myself and I think that might be part of the fun with the hobby! Figuring out what you like and don't like before you start cutting and painting. Nice work! Keep up the amazing work!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks Dustin! The small stories and facts are fun but also help me figuring out colour schemes and moods for the painting :)

[@Christian-qs2ft]

These looked so awesome! I love your style, I feel inspired now!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks G! Glad to hear it

[@Carbide-1]

Great film Alex! I always enjoy your perspective of our hobby! Great looking squad too 🎨 Green skin Origin: I learned a few weeks ago (Black library lore) that GW Orks were created by the 'Old Ones' pre history 40k lore, they were created to combat the Necron, they are asexual, created from fungus spores and it's thought that part of their genetics contains algae and that's why their green skin. Very interesting stuff, but obviously that's specific to Warhammer, so it feels like anything goes outside of that game system, but green is where my heart's at 💚

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks C! Yeah, GW is definitely doing their separate thing. It's fun lore! I'm kind of two minds about the whole thing though... I get the feeling that a lot of the lore is written to in the end actually make games and miniatures easier to copyright. (I'm not trying to take the fun out of things here, just pondering.) Imagine if Tolkien had copyrighted Orc's in the first place... they probably never would have become green :) I can definitely understand wanting to protect ones investments but it's kind of a shame when it affects the stories.

[@Carbide-1]

@@52Miniatures Totally agree! GW are fiercely protective of their, so called, IP and it was interesting to read Trovarian's comment stating that any Orks that aren't green won't get considered in their painting competitions lol. There are so many game systems and miniature companies now, who needs GW anyway?

[@52Miniatures]

@@Carbide-1 I really enjoy the amount of time / money ploughed into their sculpts. Not many, if any, companies have the resources to create the sculpts they are doing. And 3d printing hasn't really been able to do that yet. For now 3d printing seems to be about mass, and fast releases (understandable). So that is something I very much enjoy with GW. Apart from that... there is a lot of great games out there. The main reason we're all into gw so deep is because they are telling us to, and we are listening.

[@Carbide-1]

@@52Miniatures I think you're correct and speaking for the majority with regards to GW strategy. As you know I don't play Warhammer so I'm happy doing my own thing, but after seeing one tiny sprue of Cursed City heroes i.e 2 minis for £32.50 this weekend, I knew my exposure to GW would be very limited, probably just paints occasionally and secondhand Oldhammer of eBay 😎

[@Iwanttoregister]

I've read so many different theories for why the Orcs changed colour from black/dark brown to green, the most interesting one being that it was because of Spidermans antagonist Green Goblin. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created Green Goblin in the 60's which is about the same time that Tolkiens started to grow in popularity. Stan Lee loves alliterative names, making Green Goblin a result of an established pattern instead of a fashion statement. Tolkien made Goblins popular and Stan Lee and Steve Ditko told people that they were green. The rest is history. Another explanation could be that an artist decided that it's easier to add depth, shades and highlights to green Orcs than it is to do with black ones. Tim Kirk, a Tolkien artist, made a picture called "The road to Minas Thirith" for a Tolkien Calendar in 1975. All his paintings of Orcs made since then have been green.

[@52Miniatures]

Yes, I've read that too. The Green Goblin and perhaps "The Hulk". That art is wonderful, and the green just fits very well in that painting :)

[@sophiejenner8517]

I'm new here and new ISH to the hobby about 4 or 5 months now I think !! Your videos are so informative and just great. Love these orks I've yet to paint them... Emphasis on the yet!! They look like alot of fun and want to try. I love breaking the boundaries and changing up the colours from box art so your videos are perfect for me

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you Sophie and welcome to the hobby! I'm glad to hear the videos inspire, sometimes I think maybe my videos are getting to advanced for beginners so I'm glad to hear they work in one way or the other :)

[@SiPPOSiT]

It is amazing that this type of content is free to watch. Amazing production, narration and inspires me to try different things with my painting!

[@52Miniatures]

I know right!? This KZbin company thing really have something going :) No but seriously, thank you. I appreciate it greatly.

[@SiPPOSiT]

@@52Miniatures Haha :D Thank YOU for creating great content! :)

[@markgnepper5636]

Great stuff friend loving your journey. Thanks for sharing. 👏👍

[@52Miniatures]

My pleasure Mark, thank you :)

[@zramirez5471]

Man this is EXACTLY what I was looking for!!!! I HATE the 'modern ork' - I wanted inspiration for a desaturated grey-blue, desaturated red, and desaturated yellow: your recipe is incredible!

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you Ramirez

[@Gumlass1]

Love the pirates, and the video as a whole!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks G!

[@klug5916]

Interesting and bringing new ideas. I prefer this kind of format video where we see more about the miniatures (and inspiration sources) than yourself seapking in front of the camera, it brings more depth to your saying.

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you K! It started out of necessity, because of "lockdown". But I'm glad over this change :)

[@klug5916]

@@52Miniatures Well, thanks to you and other KZbinrs (like Trovarion, for example ^^), I went back to miniature painting as well, 'cause I was motivated again. Although, my painting still is very different from yours, but getting very specific styles is the most interesting IMO! Keep going, the quality of your videos improved with the experience you gained. ;-)

[@HacksawsHobbyBunker]

They are wonderful and do certainly capture that feel of "my M&Ms bag exploded". Alternatively, one could say "It looks like Walt Disney threw up" (of course in a good, colourful way). The techniques are wonderful food for thought when painting almost any mini so thats more of that "value added" thing we have come to expect from your videos. Cheers!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks H! Yeah, I've been itching for some more colour after my muted Stormcast. So this was fun. And I mean, these orcs really stand out on the table, in a very pirate kind of way.

[@Paul_Todkill]

Everyone out here about the paint jobs and I'm just ogling that sick carrot tracking shot. Tripod sliders are a helluva drug.

[@52Miniatures]

Carrot incoming! Thanks Paul.

[@ateliergallez7594]

Fantastic Video Alex, great fun, thank you! grtz, Axel

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you Axel!

[@squidly162]

Your videos amaze me. I love your thought process

[@52Miniatures]

Well thank you S! I greatly appreciate hearing this.

[@Tony-xh2xm]

Just found out about your quality channel! Thank you for doing this, I am quite amazed.

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you Tony, I appreciate it.

[@lucasthomas9184]

I love everything about your videos. Interesting topics, excellent paint jobs, and top quality filming. These videos motivate and inspire me to experiment and improve in my painting. Seriously, Thank you.

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you Lucas, I appreciate your comment very much.

[@frankierogers5556]

I myself am going to be doing more Ork based videos soon and I want to discolour some skin on character models. Your colour theory and tips in this video will be very useful. Amazing stuff as always!

[@52Miniatures]

Glad to hear you found some inspiration Frankie :) Good luck with the video.

[@benstephenson8988]

I really enjoyed this video. I like this video and how it shows all the variations. I feel that a lot of videos out there will show one or two examples then say something like, you get the idea. but your video shows and helps me to really understand. I have taken notes of things I want to try and my next painting sprint will be all tests and practices.

[@52Miniatures]

Glad to hear it Ben, thank you. I hope you get plenty of use out of your notes :)

[@EugenAnanin]

Your Orcs look great!

[@52Miniatures]

Thank you!

[@michaelsebi]

I was just asking myself how to make my Kruleboyz look more natural and diverse, your videos always inspire me to better myself at painting ! Great video 😎

[@52Miniatures]

Great to hear it M! Good luck with your orcs :)

[@ryandukeman5390]

I agree. I love the design of the Kruleboyz and I can't wait to experiment with them and see what I can come up with.

[@Nyarda]

After working alot on my ork 40K army, I kind of got burned out with continuously painting green. Definitely going to keep this video in mind when I continue work on my army! :)

[@52Miniatures]

I can see how that happens. I have the same with human skin, and therefore vary that as much as I can. I mean, orcs don't have to be shouty icy blue, but just tastefully varying in some other colours would be nice I think :)

[@Nyarda]

@@52Miniatures Keeps things fresh as well! I've noticed that I don't have that much trouble of repetition with human skin, since they can very quite a bit. But saying this, there's absolutely no reason why fungi space brutes only need to be green with yellow highlights. :o

[@ponzewaaagh]

Great video qnd tutorial mixing colors. Gracias!

[@madeyoulook6392]

I really like the icy blue, I have a demonic imp to paint as a present for my son and I think this could be a great scheme to get away from the usual red 🤔 loved the vid 👏

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks! Yeah, icy blue imp sounds just right :)

[@drewbrake7548]

Love the ideas but I was a little sad to not see a Tolkien inspired black or dark brown skin. Loved the video just the same!

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks D! Yeah, white is a pretty fab one as well. But I think my main thing is just to show that one can do whatever one feels like. And show some thoughts on saturation and stuff like that on the way. So whoever wants to do any other orc can just go ahead :)

[@coreymcarthur7835]

What a phenomenal video! Really well put together and super inspiring

[@eusebe823]

When I was younger I had some black reach ork which I painted them purple, I loved this color on them I don't know why. I have never finished my work on them, if I could find them again in my parent's garage I would love to have them all different color skin

[@52Miniatures]

I hope they show up one day E!

[@tinchoide]

i like that the yellow one aint wearing a hat

[@ChefoberbossM]

Great Video with a great introduction into orcs! I gave really enjoyed your Video and the final coloured orcs All look great! All the besz Chefoberboss

[@52Miniatures]

Thanks C! I appreciate it.