Crackle Medium and Hordebloods Troll Rune Mage

 Crackle Medium is a nifty supply because it creates some really cool textures and effects just by letting it dry. There are multiple brands and they all work a little differently, so you should definitely read the instructions and test before using it on a real project.

I've previously looked at a crackle medium that does thinner or a more subtle look.

Essentially, crackle medium is a gel or paint that dries in such a way that you're left with a "cracked" texture or pattern. This is great for creating lightning and other special effects or dry desert-like surfaces.

I used crackle medium on my Troll Rune Mage, (Just posting photos now.) as well as Gul'Doomshaper and a Warlock.

This medium from Kroma is milky clear and can be mixed with pigments or paints. It's thick, so you have to be careful applying it. Because in this case, I was using iron paint, I used a toothpick so I wouldn't damage a brush.

Higher quality than average, I picked this up from a local art store.

 As I mentioned, this medium is thick when applied, but loses a lot of volume as it dries. See how above, the base is filled? Now look left. The medium is no longer near his robe because so much evaporated.

Also, things got messy and I had to touch up the paint.

I probably mixed a little too much paint in to the crackle on the Rune Mage, so here are some better examples of how the medium turns out when it's dried.

On the left is a test base and below is Doomshaper's base.

See those gaps? This crackle medium isn't a glue and won't stick by default to a base, especially if it's smooth. You'll want to varnish on top or use some thin super glue to hold loose bits down.

Again, the medium loses a lot of volume once it's dry. Both these bases were full just past the brim while wet.

Another Example of Kroma Crackle

Here's another example of the crackle medium in action, one that's a little more cleaned up.

1. Make sure your base is painted a contrasting colour that you'd like to show through once things are dried OR a lighter colour you can apply a wash to afterward. (You'll notice in the photos below I had to redo some of the steps because I painted it white first and didn't get the contrast I wanted.)
2. As above, the medium mixes well with paints, don't be afraid to mix it to the colour and consistency you'd like to get.
3. Use a tool like a metal pick or pin to scoop and apply the mixed medium to the base of the miniature. Be sure to apply it thick because it's going to lose a lot of volume as it dries.
4. Once it dries, you can scrape and repaint the edges to get the form and space you're after. 

Another type of Crackle

Take a look at the dagger on the right. With this style of Crackle Medium, it's a layering process. You can read the whole post on this type of crackle.

1. Paint the dagger red.
2. Cover the dagger in crackle medium
   With this type, the thickness determines how much it crackles.
3. After so many minutes or once the medium has dried, paint the dagger black.
4. Wait

As the crackle medium fully dries, it pulls apart the top layer of paint, showing the red underneath.

I got this one from Michaels. (Hobby Lobby would probably work too.)

Here's the completed project of the Troll Rune Mage.

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Take a look at my Step by Step page for the entire Hordebloods project. Here you will find each model broken down into links showing each step: Concept, Works in Progress, (for both modelling and painting) and Final Shots