How to Paint a Skaven Warlord

*Squeek*

Below is a step-by-step guide to painting an Island of Blood Skaven Warlord. No claims that it is high-art or anything like that, but I think that it works pretty well on the table-top!

At a couple of stages I have added some WIP pics, and there are some images of the finished item at the bottom (Note that I painted this ages a go, so some of the steps may not be in order.)

Hope you like it...

EDIT: Following the launch of the latest Citadel Paint range in 2012, please note that the colours listed below are from the previous range. I hope to have time to rewrite in the future, but for the time being, you can use the conversion chart/ list I made here or use the official Citadel Conversion chart here.

1. Assembly.

• File away any flash or very carefully remove using a modelling knife. (My ratty fingers carry many scars that are mute testimony to how important it is to be careful...)
• Glue to base.

2. First Basing.

• Paint some slightly watered-down PVA glue to the base.
• Dip base into modelling sand.
• Shake away excess and leave to dry.

3. Undercoat.

• Undercoat whole model. (I use GW Chaos Black spray paint.)

4. Dry Brush base.

• Calthan Brown.

5. Basecoat.

• Boltgun Metal: Halberd blade, chains on the back-banner, fixtures on back banner symbol (holding symbol to pole), chainmail, front edge of helmet
• Dwarf Bronze: Armour, helmet, Skaven symbol on back-banner, brazier
• Bleached Bone: Skull, cords on back-banner pole, stitching at the top of the back-banner flags.
• Dark Angels Green: Warpstone fumes.
• Codex Grey: Plinth/ masonry, back-banner flag:
• Tallarn Flesh: face, hands, feet, tail.
• Ice Blue: Robes, halberd pendant. 
• Snakebite Leather: leather armour straps, pouch
• Knarloc Green: Back-banner flag.
• Skull White: Teeth, nails.
• Red Gore: Eyes, jewel on plinth/ masonry.

6. Layers.

• Robes/ Halberd Pendant: Ice Blue/ Skull White (50/50 mix), then Ice Blue/ Skull White (25/75 mix)
• Flesh/ Tail: Tallarn Flesh/ Dwarf Flesh (50/50 mix)
• Skull: Bleached Bone/ Skull White (50/50 mix)
• Back Banner Flag (Green): Calthan Green/ Skull White (50/ 50 mix) then Calthan Green/ Skull White (25/75 mix)
• Back Banner Flag (Grey): Codex Grey/ Fortress Grey (50/50 mix) then Codex Grey/ Fortress Grey (25/75 mix)
• Warpstone Pendant: Dark Angels Green/ Snot Green (50/50 mix) then Dark Angels Green/ Snot Green (25/75 mix)
• Warpstone Flame: Dark Angels Green/ Snot Green (50/50 mix) then Dark Angels Green/ Snot Green (25/75 mix) then Dark Angels Green/ Snot Green/ Skull White (50/25/25 mix)
• Pouch/ Leather straps: Snakebite Leather/ Skull White (50/50 mix)
• Eyes: Red Gore/ Blood Red (50/50 mix)
• Jewel on Plinth/ Masonry: Red Gore/ Blood Red (50/ 50 mix) then 25/75 mix, then Red Gore/ Blood Red/ Skull White (25/50/ 15)

If you want to add Skaven symbols to the back-banner flags, now is a good time to do it - before washes...

7. Washes.

• Devlan Mud: Armour, chainmail, halberd Blade, halberd pole, hatchet, robes, back-banner flags, back banner pole (not cords.), halberd pendant, Plinth/ masonry.
• Thraka Green: Warpstone amulet, warpstone smoke.
• Gryphonne Sepia: Cords on back-banner pole, skull.
• Ogryn Flesh: Flesh, tail, feet, hands.

8. Drybrushing.

• Shining Gold: Armour, brazier, Skaven symbol on back-banner
• Mithril Silver: Chainmail.
• Calthan Brown/ Skull White (75/25 mix): Halberd pole, back-banner pole
• Codex Grey: very lightly brush across the exposed fur on the Warlord's back.
• Banner Chains: Chainmail or Mithril Silver.
• Earth: Calthan Brown/ Snakebite leather (50/50 mix)

9. Highlights.

• Weapon edges: Chainmail
• Metal clasps on back banner/ Skaven Symbol: Chainmail or Mithril Silver.
• Add a dot of white on the jewel on the plinth/ masonry. (See images below)

10. Final Basing.

• Dab on a couple of spots of PVA glue.
• Dip in green flock.
• Leave to set for a few minutes then shake off excess.
• Carefully paint around base edge using Snakebite Leather.

11. Verdigris (Optional)

This is the light blue patina that you see on old statues or layers of bronze in museums or exposed to the elements. Having this will add an additional sense of age to any bronze parts. Please note, if you haven't done this before, experiment first, as if you get it wrong this is the last stage of the model, so it may be difficult to correct...

• Heavily water down GW Ice Blue. You'll have to experiment to find the right consistency, but I would say 1 part paint to between 7 and 10 parts water. It should be watery enough that you can wipe away WITHOUT leaving a stain. (Very important so you can correct mistakes if necessary!)
• Carefully paint onto any bronze parts where Verdigris would naturally appear so that it gathers. In the case of the Skaven Warlord, a good place is around the base of the shoulder spikes on his armour. (recessed areas, around nails, buttons and joins between bronze parts are also good too.)
• Quickly take a tissue, fold to a point, and dab away any excess, so it is left gathered around the parts mentioned above.
• Leave remainder to dry. (Be patient!)
• HINT: Only add Verdigris to one area at a time so you have time to wick or dab away excess before it dries. Don't add to ALL bronze parts on the whole model at the same time! 

FINISHED!

Grey Seer Stage-by-Stage Painting Guide

*Squeek*

Having completed my first Grey Seer, I posted a few pictures, but wanted to put up a stage-by-stage guide that I hope other new Skaven players will find useful. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of all the stages (one example being after layers but before washes...) but I think you'll get the general idea!

So here we go... (scroll down for finished pics at the end...)



EDIT: Following the launch of the latest Citadel Paint range in 2012, please note that the colours listed below are from the previous range. I hope to have time to rewrite in the future, but for the time being, you can use the conversion chart/ list I made here or use the official Citadel Conversion chart here.

1. Assembly.

• File down or carefully cut away any flash from the model.
• Glue to base.

2. 1st Basing.

• Paint watered-down PVA glue to the base.
• Dip base into modelling sand
• Shake away excess and leave to dry

3. Undercoat.

• Undercoat whole model Chaos Black (I use GW Spray paint.) 

NOTE: I was given this Grey Seer model by a gaming buddy, and it came without the original symbol on the staff, so I added the staff head from my bitz box...

4. Drybrush base.

• Calthan Brown.
• Snakebite Leather

5. Basecoat.

Apply base colours to all parts of the model.

• Boltgun Metal: Sword, helmet, base of staff.
• Tallarn Flesh: Hands, tail, feet.
• Dwarf Bronze: Staff symbol, guard on sword, talisman on chain, and chain.
• Bleached Bone: Skull on staff, horns on helmet, nails on hands/ feet, scrolls.
• Dark Angels Green: Sigil on sword, warpstone studs on robes.
• Fortress Grey: Fur.
• Bestial Brown: Staff, belt.
• Snakebite Leather: Leather pouch on belt, leather pouch on staff.
• Chainmail: Bolts on staff symbol.

6. Layers. (Before washes)

• Robes: Codex Grey/ Fortress Grey(50/50 Mix), then Codex Grey Fortress Grey (25/75 mix) and finally Fortress Grey with some Skull White (75/15 mix).
• Leather/ Leather Pouches: Snakehide Leather/ Skull White (50/50 mix)
• Skulls: Skull White over Bleached Bone.

7. Washes.

• Skin, Tail/ Ears: Ogryn Flesh.
• Everything else(!): Devlan Mud.

8. Highlights. (After washes)

• Armour/ weapon edges (e.g. Helmet): Chainmail.
• Nails on staff symbol: Mithril Silver.
• Skull: Bleached Bone/ Skull White (50/50 mix)
• Skin/ Tail/ Ears: Tallarn Flesh/ Dwarf Flesh (50/50 mix)
• Warpstone: Snot Green/ Skull White (75/25 mix) then building up...Snot Green/ Skull White (50/50 mix), Snot Green/ Skull White (25/75)
• Skin (Hands, Feet etc.): Dwarf Flesh/ Tallarn Flesh (50/50 mix) and/ or Dwarf Flesh/ Elf Flesh (50/50 mix)

7. Drybrushing.

• Staff symbol: Dwarf Bronze. 
• Robes: Fortress Grey. 
• Staff: Bestial Brown/ Skull White (75/25 mix)

8. Final Basing

In this case, I decided not to add anything to the base other than the colours added previously, but if you wanted to...

• Dab on a couple of spots of PVA glue.
• Dip in flock.
• Shake away excess and leave to dry.

Done!

...or not QUITE done, because following advice and comments on other models, I decided to have a go at adding some verdigris to the Dwarf Bronze staff symbol. I had tried this before and so followed the same method.

9. Verdigris Wash.

• Heavily water down ICE BLUE (10 parts water to 1 part Ice Blue.) You'll need to experiment to find the right balance of water/ paint...
• Paint or dab onto the bronze symbol, so wash gathers in recesses or raised areas. Feel free to apply quite heavily, but be careful it doesn't drip down the staff.
• Using a rolled up piece of tissue paper (so it has a point) carefully dab or drain away wash from flat surfaces, leaving the wash gathered around raised areas or in recesses.

NOTE: Don't totally drain away from smooth surfaces...leave a thin film of wash if you can so it dulls down the overall metallic effect.

The finished product. 

Let me know what you think - all comments and suggestions welcome!

;-)

*Squeek*

How to Paint a Skaven Warlock Engineer

*Squeek*

At the moment, I haven't even managed to get a game of WFB in, so I don't have any experience of using Warlock Engineers, but from what I gather from reading around these guys make an excellent addition to any force.

1. Decent magic - Warplightning coupled with a Condenser pumps out the pain...
2. Fun - Skitterleap next to the enemy flank and launch a Doomrocket along their line of assault.
3. Cheap - basic unit costs 15 points?? (although adding the fun bits above may not be cheap...)

But as the man says:

"That's not important right now."

'coz the purpose of this post is to look at painting up one of these guys. In particular, this is the sculpt from the new Island of Blood set. Looking around at other WE models on the net, I actually think this is one of the best. It's got some nice detail (posing on a High Elf shield) and yet pretty clean looking. (Unlike the current Ikit Claw model, which looks too "busy" for my taste.)

1. Assembly.

• File down or carefully cut away any flash from the model.
• Glue to base.

2. 1st Basing.

• Paint watered-down PVA glue to the base.
• Dip base into modelling sand
• Shake away excess and leave to dry

3. Undercoat.

• Undercoat whole model Chaos Black (I use GW Spray paint.)

4. Drybrush base.

• Calthan Brown.
• Snakebite Leather

5. Basecoat.

Apply base colours to all parts of the model.

EDIT: Following the launch of the latest Citadel Paint range in 2012, please note that the colours listed below are from the previous range. I hope to have time to rewrite in the future, but for the time being, you can use the conversion chart/ list I made here or use the official Citadel Conversion chart here.

• Boltgun Metal: Armour, glaive blade, warplock weapon barrel, telescopic site, band around warp energy condenser etc.
• Red Gore: Robes.
• Tallarn Flesh: Skin, tail etc.
• Dwarf Bronze: Warp Energy condenser, Skaven charm, armour details
• Bleached Bone: Skull, Glaive handle.
• Dark Angels Green: Warpstone, condenser and weapon pipes/ hoses.
• Regal Blue: High Elf Shield (under his feet)
• Skull White: High Elf Shield
• Blood Red: High Elf Shield

6. Layers.

• Robes: Red Gore/ Blood Red (50/50 Mix), then Red Gore/ Blood Red (25/75 mix) and finally Blood Red.
• Condenser Pipes/ Hoses: Snot Green
• Warpstone: Snot Green
• Skull: Skull White/ Bleached Bone (50/ 50 mix)

7. Washes.

• Skin, Tail/ Ears: Ogryn Flesh.
• Robes: Devlan Mud (example at left above) OR Gryphonne Sepia (example at right above.)
• Armour/ Glaive Blade/ Warplock weapon barrel: Devlan Mud
• Glaive handle: Gryphonne Sepia
• Skull: Gryphonne Sepia
• Elf Shield: Devlan Mud
• Warpstone: Thrakka Green

8. Highlights.

• Armour edges: Boltgun Metal/ Chainmail
• Edge of Glaive blade/ warplock weapon barrel: Chainmail
• Warp Energy Condenser: Dwarf Bronze
• Nails: Bleached Bone
• Skull: Bleached Bone/ Skull White (50/50 mix)
• Skin/ Tail/ Ears: Tallarn Flesh/ Dwarf Flesh (50/50 mix)
• Warpstone/ Pipes/ Hose: Snot Green/ Skull White (75/25 mix)
• Telescopic Sight lens: Snot Green/ Skull White (75/25 mix) then (50/50 mix). Finally a dab of skull white at the top of the lens

7. Final Basing

• Dab on a couple of spots of PVA glue.
• Dip in flock.
• Shake away excess and leave to dry.

Done!

Here's the finished Warlock Engineer...

Hope this is useful!

*Squeek*

Speed Painting Skaven Clanrats

*Squeek*

Having recovered from the exhaustion of painting x50 Clanrats in the space of week (you can see how they turned out here...) I can now use this brief lull between painting units  to provide some insight for other aspiring Skaven warlords who need to paint a large number of troops relatively quickly.


++WARNING+ +WARNING+ +WARNING+
The main goal here is to get a large number of models to the table-top, painted to an acceptable standard, in a relatively short time. The models won't look as good as if you spent hours on each one, or if you spent time detailing each model - but they WILL look good enough to be on a gaming table. (And you can always revisit the unit later anyway.)

This single-minded approach might not work for everyone, but it worked for me by helping me to paint faster than I usually could because I accepted this as my goal. Finally, the hints below come from my first experience of painting 50 models in a week. Some of them I tried, and some of them are things I didn't do, but I would try in the future. I hope they will all be useful!

PAINTING ORDER:

1. Assemble (glue parts and file away any flash)
2. Basing Part 1.
1. PVA glue and dip in sand.
3. Undercoat whole model Chaos Black Spray - including bases.
4. Basing Part 2. 
1. Overbrush Calthan Brown (or another dark brown)
2. Drybrush lighter brown (Calthan Brown/ Chaos White mix)
3. Lightly drybrush Fortress Grey.
4. Paint base edges in your preferred colour.
5. x1 basecoat colour in a sitting on all models. I could do 1 colour on 50 in two hours. (Just!)
1. All metal areas using Boltgun Metal.
2. All cloth areas using the army colour your choice (Ice Blue for me) in the next 2 hour sitting 
3. All furs using the basecoat colour of choice. (Vermin Brown?)  in the next 2 hour sitting 
4. etc.
6. Repeat step 5 until each model is completely base-coated.
7. Wash each model in Devlan Mud.
8. Admire how much you have managed to get done, then immediately start looking for mistakes and things to improve!  ;-)

10 TIPS:

1. Make a commitment...
• ...somewhere, somehow that will force you to keep going. On an earlier project (Doomwheel) I promised I would put the results of my painting up after a specific weekend. This helped me to keep going, even if I didn't quite make my deadline.
2. Set yourself a time limit... 
• Write it down somewhere visible in way that makes sense. (A calendar counting down the days in front of you?)
3. Promise yourself a reward for completion of the unit. 
• A bottle of Bugman's? Or a new unit to paint next?
4. Be iron-willed about the time you will allocate each day (or night in my case...)
• I said 2 hours max each night, so 2 hours it was.
5. Arrange your workspace in a way that is logical and removes thought from the process. For example...
• Arrange all models in a block on your left on a piece of card or movement tray. 
• Take the one closest to you.
• Paint.
• Set down on another piece of card/ movement tray to your right.
• Once all done with one basecoat, pick up the tray to your right and move it back to the left and begin again (if you can take another round!)
• Make your workspace portable so it is easy to put away and get out without taking a lot of time to prep or tidy up. (Not relevant if you paint in your own room, but in my case I'm working in the kitchen...)
6. Don't allow yourself to be distracted into working on details. No, no, no! If you do, before you know it you'll have wasted an hour doing the armour buckles on a few models. Remember, the goal here is to get as many models as possible onto the table. You could have painted a basecoat colour on x25-30 models in that time!
7. Take shortcuts and compromise to get the units to the battle on time.
• Not every Clanrat has to have the same fur colour. To save time, have 20-30% of your Clanrats with "black fur" (i.e. black undercoat only.) This adds variety to your unit and saves you some painting time. You can always drybrush a touch of grey later to add some flavor
• Don't bother with "Effects" - no rust, verdigris, sharp edge effects on weapons etc. (You can always do that later.)
• Don't waste time trying to get into the really difficult to reach bits under arms, in crevices etc. Someone looking at the model from above wouldn't see that anyway. Natural shadow and a black undercoat will fill the spaces anyway!
• Only drybrush the wood grain on shields.
8. That includes bases...
• Good bases make an average unit look better... 
• Great bases make a good unit look awesome... 
• but Basic bases get you into battle quicker. (Basecoat, overbrush, drybrush only. No flock, flowers or fluffy details are necessary.)
9. Good music makes the time go by...
10. Use confident, long brush strokes where you can... 
• Confidence is the key - if you make a mistake don't worry, Devlan Mud wash will cover most small errors and they won't be visible in a unit of 50 rats viewed from a couple of feet away. Don't be tempted to fix it.
• Good areas to use this technique on Skaven are tails, spears and robes. 

*Squeek*

NOTE:

a.) ...there will of course be faster ways than described above (using spray guns or only having 1 or 2 colours in the unit for example). I'm not claiming that this the fastest way (or the only way.)

b.) ...the beady-eyed among you (which is most, if you truly are Skaven Warlords!) will notice that the clanrat units in these images are different. That's because I didn't take any pictures of these specific Clanrats before I painted them. Nothing shifty going on - I promise. (On my honour as a Skaven Warlord. Cough, cough.)

Island of Blood Skaven Clanrat Gallery

*Squeek*

Phew - just finished this week's painting project...
x50 Skaven Clanrats from the new Island of Blood Box set. I painted for a couple of hours each night,  managing to add x1 basecoat colour to all x50 models in each sitting. Over the weekend I added details and washed the models.

In a bit of an experiment (that I'll write about in more detail separately) I washed x25 models when they just had basic colours and washed the other x25 after also applying highlights. On the latter (more detailed) batch, I also used different washes on different parts of the model, rather than just Devlan Mud on the first lot. Can you tell the difference? Was it worth it?

Photos...

I'll post a stage-by-stage in the next couple of days for these "Generation 5" Clanrats (to accompany the current Clanrat stage-by-stage, which is for "old-style" Skaven models...). Right now thought, I need a break...

...and a beer!

:-)

*Squeek*

Painting Skaven Plague Monks - Step by step.

After finishing my first 30 Skaven Plague Monks I thought I would post a step-by-step guide to the colours I used. I'm no painting expert, but these steps ended up giving me a unit painted to "tabletop" quality.

EDIT: Following the launch of the latest Citadel Paint range in 2012, please note that the colours listed below are from the previous range. I hope to have time to rewrite in the future, but for the time being, you can use the conversion chart/ list I made here or use the official Citadel Conversion chart here.

First, here is how the unit ended looking up:

Colours used: (All Games Workshop)
Knarloc Green
Codex Grey
Tallarn Flesh
Dwarf Flesh
Dwarf Bronze
Gunmetal
Chainmail
Mithril Silver
Skull White
Chaos Black
Devlan Mud (Wash)

The  process followed was:

A.) Undercoat and Base texturing:

1. After assembly, liberally apply PVA glue to base and dip in modelling sand.
2. Wait until dry, then undercoat. (I use Chaos Black spraypaint.)

B.) Base colours:

1. Fur: Calthan Brown.
2. Skin/ Tail/ Feet: Tallarn Flesh.
3. Cloth: Knarloc Green/ Codex Grey 1:1 mix.  Follow this with a lighter Knarloc Green/ Codex Grey (1:2) on raised areas of cloth/ edges. (Robes)
4. Metal: Boltgun metal. (Weapons, belt buckles, staff tips, banner chains)
5. Leathers/ Belts: Snakebite leather. (rope belt, wristband, armour crosspiece on the back of the Clanrat.)
6. Banner: Knarloc Green.
7. Parchment: Snakebite leather. (Lighter shades will be applied later - see H. below)
8. Ornaments: Chaos White. (Skull pendants om troops, staves and banners etc.)

C.) Apply Washes: Liberally apply Devlan Mud Wash all over. (Parchment optional)

D.) Reapply base colours: Layered up lighter shades/ colours: 

1. Skin/ Tail/ Feet: Dwarf Flesh on raised areas of face.  NOTE: Unlike my Clan Rats, I didn't use Dwarf Flesh on the tails for these guys, preferring to leave them a darker, dirtier feel...
2. Metal: Chainmail or Mithril Silver applied to blade edges, nails etc.
3. Leather/ Belts: Snakebite leather/ Skull white (1:2 mix). 
4. Flag: Knarloc Green/ Skull White (1:1 mix) on raised areas and into the center of the flag.
5. Parchment: Several layers of increasingly lighter shades of Snakebite Leather/ Skull White.

E.) Final Drybrushing:

1. Base: Drybrush Calthan brown, then Tallarn Flesh.
2. Fur: (Optional): Drybrush Calthan Brown/ Skull White (50/50).
3. Metal: (Optional): Drybrush Mithril silver (Weapon edges) buttons etc. (e.g. Rivets if the model has a shield etc.) or just apply as an "Extreme Highlight" on the edge of the weapon.
4. Robes: (Optional) Lightly drybrush Calthan Brown around the base of the robes.

F.) Final Basing:

1. Apply dabs of PVA glue onto the base and dip into green flock.
2. Paint base sides Knarloc Green.

G.) Final Details: Banner

1. Outline the Horned Rat symbol on the Banner in Chaos Black. Once satisfied, fill in. HINT: Practice first on a piece of paper at the same size as you will actually paint onto the banner. This will give you an idea of how it will look and it is good practice...
2. Horned Rat eyes: Snot Green. When dry, lighten with a Snot Green/ Skull White mix (1:1)

H.) Final Details: Parchment

1. Gradually build up to a lighter shade, using a Snakebite Leather/ Skull White mix in lighter and lighter shades.
2. Carefully add symbols and script using a slightly watered down Chaos Black (and a fine detail brush.)

Now I have some Clan Pestilens troops in my army....excellent!

*Squeek*

Painting Plague Monks - Washes

Unclean, unkempt and certainly unhealthy (to their foes...) your Skaven Plague Monks want to end up being looking pretty dirty and diseased on the tabletop. The models themselves offer lots of opportunities to get this effect due to the detail on the excellent new plastic models. Bandages, torn robes, boils, buboes and bulbous growths are all really well modeled.

Although I haven't completed my first Plague Monk unit yet, I have made some progress and thought I would put up some photos of some experiments I did with Games Workshop washes to give you and idea of the difference they can make to the overall look of a model.

For my base colour, I used a 1:1 mix of Codex Grey and Knarloc Green, which gave me a "Seasick Green" (Not an official colour!). It looks like this:

Onto the edges of this, I applied a lighter line of the same colours, (2:1 Codex Grey/ Knarloc Green) - no picture available sadly - and then I had to decide what wash to use to add depth and shadows. As my paint collection is quite small, I only have Thraka Green and Devlan Mud at the moment. First, here is what happens when a coat of Thraka Green is liberally applied...

It looks pretty green! In fact, this fellow wouldn't look out of place in Sherwood Forest...not quite what I had in mind. Now let's look at a model where only Devlan Mud is used...

A much muddier effect (obviously), but the underlying colour now looks quite washed out. That isn't necessarily bad as the robes looks older and dirty, fitting in well with the Plague Monks theme and with an army in the field (or that has just come of their tunnels under the earth...)

To make the difference even clearer, here are a couple of samples side by side:

Quite a difference!

I'm undecided which I like better at the moment...

...any comments or preferences?