Ye Olde Inn

I thought I would share some of my "recipes" to get (what I believe to be) a great result from your HQ minis with minimal effort, using GW paints.

I am in no way a master painter or believe myself to be, but as a contribution to this wonderful forum (seeing as there is no other thread canvassing this topic) I thought I would share-and this is in no way meant to preach to the converted or talk down to anyone...

(Note that all paints are GW/citadel)

General points first up, and #1 is WATER DOWN YOUR PAINTS. For many years I have been frustrated by my painting efforts and despaired at the hopelessness of continuing when no matter how I try the results are not great.
I am pretty much as lazy as it gets when it comes to painting, and despite reading in pretty much every guide over the years to water down paints I never did, it is too much hassle.
But lo-WATER DOWN YOUR PAINTS
Thin layers of watered down paint are the key to success in my opinion.
It really is worth it.

#2 is that great looking minis aren't in my experience the result of amazing skill or talent per se, it is more the result of multiple simple and easy techniques/layers combined.
Of course skill/talent is there, but again In My Experience it is actually just multiple, basic applications built on one another for the end result rather than one impossible task.

So here is my Greenskin formula.



SKIN: warboss green basecoat followed by moot green over the top, leaving the recesses warboss where possible. Final stage is a highlight of flash gitz yellow as a highlight over the raised and prominent features (cheeks, brow, jawline,knuckles etc)

CLOTHING: I have gone nice and easy with skraag brown, then a heavy drenching of seraphim sepia.
If I was really serious I would have highlighted the skraag with balor brown and then used the wash.

CHAINMAIL: leadbelcher, followed by a liberal dose of nuln oil. Job is done.

BOOTS: doombull brown followed by reikland flesh shade. If I was serious I might highlight the doombull with skraag before the wash.

WEAPON: leadbelcher, with runefang steel over the edge of the blade and the hilt. Give it a good wash of nuln oil and there you go.

TEETH: ushabti bone.

EYES: mephiston or evil sunz red.

I like the browns. I've been using Balor brown with seraphim sepia and going lighter from there. I like the way warpstone glow with saraphim sepia looks on the orcs and I also use moot green on the goblins. However, I've been afraid to go any lighter than moot green. I use the sepia wash and then highlight with the same color without the wash. Other than the balor brown, (and I add a really lot of sepia) this makes them look darker overall.
I would like to add that the washes work really well when applied carefully to just the crevices and wherever you want it to look deeper. (It can also hide small mistakes and straighten sloppy lines... Mummys and Skeletons, I'm looking at you) then I apply a light wash like normal.

I seem to have trouble with going too slow. The paint starts to dry and clump on the mini, looking kinda gritty... Need to water down more and not put more than I need on the pallet.

A little something I learned has great results for weapons:

paint them rusty coloured. I mix some red with brown. That's your basecoat. Then drybrush some metallic paint over that, from the edge towards the center. stroke some parts in two slightly angled directions so the thin lines intersect.
I do this with all monsters weapons now, looks awesome. Heroes of course have better cared for items, so no rust (unless it's an unsavory hero)

Interesting guys, I have considered rusted/badly kept weapons for at least the undead...

Here is a question somebody may be able to answer, where does painting blood on the weapons come from?

I have not seen it done in any of the old White Dwarfs etc-but the HQ minis I just got 2nd hand and even my own original space crusade space orks seem to have blood stained weapons!

I don't know where I got the idea from

Where does it come from?

This has been bugging me/spinning me out...

I don't really think blood on weapons "comes" from anything.
It's weapons - you use them to kill stuff - there will be blood
It illustrates the model is especially dangerous because he has drawn blood.

It's literally the most obvious "special touch" to paint on wargaming miniatures.

I think it is tacky. I keep my weapons clean. Monsters have more nuln oil the closer to the handle. Everybody know blood causes rust and weakens the blade.

It's tacky as heck! Only little kids actually do it!

Oh come on! Orcs with bloodless weapons? They pride themselves on their bloodied blades!

Hey, to each his own. in my opinion gore is better left to the imagination. Its about having class. And not offending sensitive peoples
Edit* I'm not opposed to it. It captures some action kinda plants a seed for storytelling. Its just not how I want mine to look like. If I get a bloody weapon on a miniature when I participate in the next exchange, I would not paint over it.