Paint Warhammer Figures
Painting Warhammer figurines can be an engrossing and intricate hobby. To make your work look stellar and improve your skill, follow these steps.
Steps
- Assemble your miniatures. You should already have Warhammer figurines, as well as Citadel paints and brushes. If not, you can purchase them from Warhammer retailers or any good craft store. It's usually a good idea to leave parts like shields separate until you finish the model.
- Choose a colour scheme. Decide on two or three bright colours and one balancing dark colour. (For example, red, moss green and black; or rich yellow, bronze and dark brown.) Remember, you want your colours to reflect the identity of the character. Red and black are appropriate for any Chaos champion. Darker greens and blues work for just about any figure. You want to reflect on your army choice, for example, if your going for a mad Ork clan, then don't choose two bland colours, spice it up a little!
- Apply an undercoat. An undercoat provides a smooth base for subsequent layers of paint. Use Black (if you're planning on using lots of metallics), White (if you want to make your miniature colorful) or Grey if you want to be able to go both ways. You can apply an undercoat in a few different ways:
- Spray painting. This will give you the best results in the least amount of time, and it's faster than setting up an airbrush. Make sure you do your spray painting over a piece of cardboard or a sheet of scratch paper.
- Air brushing. Using the Citadel spray gun is similar to spray painting, but more exact. However, set-up takes longer.
- Hand painting. Painting the undercoat by hand takes the longest. You can also use hand-painted touch-ups to improve undercoats applied via spray paint or airbrushing. When you paint by hand, make sure you thin the paint with a bit of water first on your palette. Keep the coat light so you don't obscure any detail.
- Prepare your paints. Use a palette to separate different colors that you'll be using. Then, thin them by dipping the brush in a bit of clean water and mixing it with the paint. Do this little by little - remember, you can always add more water to your paint, but you can't take it back out. Daub a bit of the thinned paint onto your brush and hold the brush pointing straight down; if the colour drips off, you've gone too far. Thinning your paints makes them easier to work with, in addition to stretching out the product.
- Paint the basecoat. Base coating is the process of applying the first coats of the dominant colors to your miniature. Try to paint in steady, light sweeps and avoid putting on too much. If it's not as neat as you'd like, don't worry too much - you can always touch it up later. Don't worry too much about the details yet, and do as many light coats as needed.
- Shade the details. Certain parts of your model - such as crevices, fur, chainmail and so on - would naturally look shaded and darker. Use ink or extra-thinned black paint on these areas for realistic shading.
- Add dry-brushing. For dry-brushing, load your brush directly from the paint pot - no thinning necessary. Blot it on a piece of tissue or a paper towel until most of the paint is gone. Lightly brush upwards over the area you want to highlight - the paint will adhere to the raised areas of the figure. For example, for painting a Caucasian face, you’d start with flesh colour, then put darker shades under the eyebrows and jaw, and finally mix some white with the flesh paint and dry brush the forehead, nose, upper lip and cheekbones. On metals, mix metal with a little black/brown first, then use ink for the grooves and dips, and dry-brush highlights in unmixed metal colour.
- Add fine detail. Dilute paint to prevent clumping before painting the smaller parts of the model.
- Apply a Citadel Wash, if wanted. Citadel Washes will settle into the recesses of the model and highlight detail. You can apply the wash directly from the paint pot, or water it down on the palette first.
- Finish the base. Paint the base carefully and neatly in the desired color. Wait for the whole figure to dry, then brush glue onto the top of the base and dip it in sand. Shake off the excess and let the glue dry. Then paint watered-down PVA glue over the sand to make it stay, and wait for that layer to dry before adding Bestial Brown or whatever colour you want over the sand. After that's dried, brush the base with a lighter colour, such as Bleach Bone. You can also put little spots of glue on the base, pick up static flock and stick it on.
- Alternatively, you could glue the sand to the base before painting the model. After spray painting, the sand will be easy to dry-brush any color you like. The paint will help hold the sand in place as well.
- Protect the miniature (once it's completely dry and finished) with matte varnish.
- Strip your model down and start over. If you're unhappy with how the model turned out or you simply want to enjoy the process of painting it again, you can strip with some gentle solvents such as Simple Green cleaner, Dettol solution, Dawn Power Dissolve, acetone-free nail polish and similar products. Soak the model overnight, then use a toothbrush to remove remaining stains.
Tips
- Try working with a friend who also enjoys painting miniatures. You can share techniques and mentor each other's progress.
- For painting a realistic gold, apply a layer of Bestial Brown first, then Shining Gold.
- Remember that thin layers of different colours of paint can create interesting effects. Don't be afraid to experiment.
- It's always a good idea to record your painting methods step by step in a notebook for future reference.
- Small paint sets (such as the Night Goblin set)are excellent because they provide you with everything you need to try out painting miniatures and see if you enjoy them for a very low price.
- You can also use an acrylic primer rather than white or black paint to undercoat the model.
- Clean up your style by scraping off moldy orange remains or other human mistakes with a scalpel or penknife, or use modelling files as these give a much better finish.
- You'll almost inevitably have spare parts left after you assemble your miniatures. If you're not comfortable with painting yet, try it first on a slapped-together hodgepodge of bits (I even used a sprue side instead of the fellow's legs). You won't miss this test piece if you screw up, but the experience is still valuable.
Warnings
- Painting Warhammer miniatures can be a daunting task, but it's very rewarding to see your forces grow knowing you have accomplished it all by yourself.
- Don't use harsh solvents to strip your models - they'll eat at the plastic.
Things You'll Need
- Warhammer Figurines
- Citadel Paint
- Brushes
- Water
- Palette
- Sand
- Glue
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