This week on Warhammer+, our Citadel Colour Masterclass host has tackled one of the most complex and interesting painting techniques currently out there – Object Source Lighting. This technique brings dramatic lighting and gorgeous glowing effects to miniatures, but it also can be tricky to make work effectively. We caught up with Ed to ask him more about OSL.
Warhammer Community: For those who don't know, what is OSL?
Ed: OSL is short for “object source lighting” and it broadly covers the idea of making objects on a miniature, or within a wider scene, look like they are glowing or giving off light. We have a full technique named after it because there is so much range within the topic – it covers everything from adding subtle glows around the eyes, to theming an entire miniature or diorama around lighting. The light source being painted can either emanate from an object within the piece, or from an external object projecting a light over the scene.
WarCom: When might you use this technique?
Ed: There are loads of great opportunities to use OSL on a miniature. For a simple but refined look, we can take small lights and screens on a tank or piece of armour and build up a delicate tint around them, with a few glazes to show how they are giving off a small amount of light. For this kind of OSL we would pre-paint the miniature and then add our glazes in at the end to carefully adjust the hue.
Alternatively, we could take a torch or lantern, and revolve the entire paint scheme of the miniature around this source. Here, we would be aiming to make the light source the be-all and end-all of the project, and would aim to paint everything on the model using either the colours of our flame, or in cold, desaturated colours anywhere our light doesn’t reach.
WarCom: Are there any hot tips you have for making OSL look effective?
Ed: The hardest part of painting OSL is making it look believable. We are trying to trick our eyes into seeing something as glowing when in reality it’s an opaque piece of plastic – and one that is also interacting with real-life lighting that is falling over the model and casting shadows.
The most important tip to starting any piece of OSL is to plan to include it from the beginning rather than trying to slap it on at the end. Secondly, it's always worth starting subtly and building up the effect slowly to reach the stopping point. It’s too easy to overload a model with loads of colour that obfuscates what is below.
Finally, I’d recommend starting out with small glowing effects – in-suit torches, for example – and getting comfortable with glazing before moving onto more dominating OSL effects, such as plasma weapons bathing miniatures in the after-glow of super hot death.
WarCom: Do you have any particular references in mind that really show off this technique?
Ed: There are so many fantastic examples that it’s hard to pick just a few to talk about!
James Cordwell really blew me away with his Illuminor Szeras entry which took Gold in the Warhammer 40,000 Large Model Category at Golden Demon USA in 2022. The entire back of the piece is bathed in a green glow emanating from a yawning portal, and while it’s very heavy on the OSL, it doesn’t take away from the rest of the miniature.
More recently, Darren Latham painted a masterful diorama for the Open Category at Warhammer Fest 2023 (earning him a Silver!) in which Galen Ven Denst is brandishing a burning brand casting a more subtle glow onto himself and nearby archway, as well as smaller flickering flames providing light sources of their own. It’s a fantastic example of how to incorporate a more subtle OSL element.
Finally, a personal favourite of mine is Michal Pisarski’s diorama, The Tribute, which won the Slayer Sword at Warhammer Fest 2017. This piece is lit externally and when viewed from the front is painted to show Nagash in all his undead majesty, yet when the viewer moves around the sides of the diorama we can see how quickly colours become muted and lost in shadow, showing the care Michal took in making everything work from the golden angle.
Thanks for that, Ed! Subscribers can watch the latest Citadel Colour Masterclass right now, and access a library of excellent, high-level painting tips. If you aren't subscribed, Click on the button below – you also get to choose from two free miniatures when subscribing for a year!
That’s not all on Warhammer+ this week. Loremasters updates us on the story of Dawnbringers: Book – The Shadow of the Crone, and provides information on the mysterious servant of Morai-Heg, Krethusa the Croneseer.
