My current idea is the phoenix. The High Elves are led by the 'Phoenix King' and the 'Everqueen.' Their banners typically show a phoenix rising from the ashes. Their homeland Ulthuan is metaphorically a phoenix. One of their new special hero units is a fiery 'Dragonmage.' They have a special unit called 'Phoenix Guard.'
With all of this fire you would think the High Elf world would be very red, orange and yellow. No, people keep painting them green and blue because they are on the ocean all the time. Well I want a red army (Ulthuan is more akin to Atlantis than Russia in terms of location and presentation, so not a pinko commie army).
So I took a picture of one of the basic high elf warriors: a spearman, unpainted, unprimed. I used photoshop to select the details and then painted them. I'll be honest it is not very detailed but it gives me a better idea of what I want.
Original A B C D
The problem here is that... I like the green one better. What the hell? That was not what I wanted to happen. Now I do like the B, however I wonder if the gold/bronze would be too much? This is the basic unit, maybe I should use C to make them a little more bland and not detract too much from the main army? Also if I painted my whole army with gold/bronze armour then it would look rather bland. I want each unit to have a distinct feel.
Now here is the other problem: I am a 'beginner' painter. I am thinking: 'Should I go for the unified look and just paint every model the same in one unit or should I give each one a little variability?'
Perhaps, for now, I'll stick to the unified feel and then add in details as I get better. That way I can develop my skills between units and get the basics down before I attempt something too outrageous.
I think C for the spearmen/archers and B for the Phoenix Guard. I'll have to decide on my cavalry and White Lions later.
