How to paint skeletons?

[Johnny-Crass]

I wind washes fix that problem nicely.

My method is
Prime white
paint bleached bone
dry brush skull white
wash with 50%devlan mud 50% badab black mivture

 

[Kyo]

This might be a good thread to ask my question.
The thing is, I always have trouble keeping the eyesockets or the spaces between the ribs black. Like when I paint with Bleached Bone (or whatever it's called these days) the stuff just gets everywhere (including the recesses)
Are you guys just really careful when you paint or do you use (black) washes for that effect?

Eye sockets I'm guessing just be careful around.
As for rib cage not having painted a skellie yet I would think try brushing up and down the ribs rather than across, or if it seems like its pooling a bit dry off a lot of excess paint, not quite to dry brush standards but jut not as wet if you get me.

Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs but that's what advice I could conjure from the problem

 

[SotF]

This might be a good thread to ask my question.
The thing is, I always have trouble keeping the eyesockets or the spaces between the ribs black. Like when I paint with Bleached Bone (or whatever it's called these days) the stuff just gets everywhere (including the recesses)
Are you guys just really careful when you paint or do you use (black) washes for that effect?

A wash tends to work best, and they're relatively easy to make if you don't want to buy them. Just mix black paint and water until you get a consistency you like

 

[Reaper]

This might be a good thread to ask my question.
The thing is, I always have trouble keeping the eyesockets or the spaces between the ribs black. Like when I paint with Bleached Bone (or whatever it's called these days) the stuff just gets everywhere (including the recesses)
Are you guys just really careful when you paint or do you use (black) washes for that effect?

Just use drybrush technique. I use washes, but then always apply drybrush of bleached bone (as posted right above you). Just try to wipe more color on paper and then, with relatively dry brush, apply the paint. Also be sure to make brushstrokes against edges rather than
along them

 

[Daoshi]

I have a sneaking suspicion that my skeletons are going to be over done. When I work out something that I am happy with, I will be sure to post it up here with some pics. I may start with a purple/rotting green shadow depending if it is going to to animated by magic or straight up rotting on its feet ! :zombie:

 

[Seelenberührer]

I'll get around to posting pics at some point, but I have a totally retarded process. I use Vallejo, but I've translated these into the (old) GW colours for simplicity.

1. Basecoat graveyard earth
2. Highlight (all but deepest recesses) 1:1 graveyard earth and bleached bone
3. Highlight bleached bone
4. Glaze graveyard earth
5. Highlight bleached bone
6. Highlight 1:1 bleached bone and skull white
7. Highlight skull white
8. Glaze bleached bone
9. Highlight skull white

This produces a really nice transition between shadow and light, and it would look really super impressive if I were actually a decent painter. As it is, the results are no more impressive than some of the basecoat+wash solutions on here.

 

[Rorschach]

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll be using them for my next batch of skellies.

 

[Brahm Tazoul]

Very quick, very easy, and nice results:

Prime Black
Drybrush with aged bone
Wash with Gryphone Sepia (or whatever the Sepia is called now)

Paint weapons & cloth at your leisure.

Cheers,
Brahm