Hello,

I'm new to the hobby. I was thinking of painting black horses with black barding. I've seen online images of "shaded" figures in 28mm that show where two similar color are together but one is made lighter/darker than the other. How is that done?

Respectfully,

Gsayhi

With 6mm horses and figures, I find it is better to think of 'highlighting' rather than 'shading'. The same colour on a 28mm figure will appear darker on a 6mm figure. For a black horse, I would use a deep blue. The Wargames Foundry paint triads are a useful starting point. Deep Blue 20B and 20C work well (link). Paint the horse with 20B and then go over the base colour with a thin black wash such as Nuln Oil from Citadel. Redo the flanks and other surfaces with 20B again, then highlight with 20C.

Here is the effect with the Chestnut triad, as an example of the process that I use:

Hopefully you can make out that the flanks, surfaces of the back legs facing upwards, head, upper sides of the neck, etc have the lightest shade of the triad.

I would use the Black triad (link) for the horse hair and for the barding. Black 34A would be the base colour for both. Then highlight with 34B for both. Either the hair or the barding (probably the latter) can then be highlighted further with small touches of 34C. This should give you enough contrast between all three 'black' areas - the horse body, the hair, and the barding. 

The Russian Orthodox priest in this photo has been painted with the Black triad. His hair is only 34A with 34B highlights. His cassock has further highlighting with 34C.

Another option for variety is the Black Leather triad (link).

The triad paints save a lot of effort because the highlights are already pre-mixed for you. With Black, it is helpful to have all three versions of the triad. It is a common go-to. In many cases, however, you only need two of the three (they can be bought separately). The paint is easy to apply, as is the case with most acrylics. I keep a thinner on hand and add a little bit (4-5 drops) plus a quick shake before painting. They have lasted several years.

Robert

A close-up view of cavalry, illustrating the effectiveness of the Chestnut triad as an example:

The highlighting appears stark in the close up shot but the overall effect is blended when looking down on a tabletop battlefield.

Robert

Wow! beautiful!