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*

Skaven Plague Monks - Finished!

Phew, after worrying about what colour wash to use, I finally finished my first unit of 30 Plague Monks to a level I could put on a gaming table! (Thanks to the advice of the experienced Skaven Warlords over at The UnderEmpire forums...)

I'm hoping that these Clan Pestilens troops will be a hefty part of my Warlord's army as I have around 80 of them in total (which I will use with my Plague Furnace in larger games). I'll post a "Step-by-step" when I can, as there were a couple of firsts for me here, such as painting the parchment on the single "Bringer of the Word" figure and trying to paint a unit banner freehand for the first time.

In the meantime, here are some photos...

As usual, photos make all the little mistakes and things I have forgotten to paint immediately (and depressingly) visible, but at least I have a second unit to my army now if I had to play a game tomorrow.

I'm going to take a break from painting units for a week or so, and take on one of the characters in the army...
The pestilent, repulsive, Plague Priest!

*Squeek*

Great Skaven Leader Thought of the Day (3)

It is not sufficient that I succeed--all others must fail.

Ginkhiss Khaaaan 

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?

Plague Monk Painting Update...

*Neek*

I haven't updated the site for a few days - my role as a corporate (Skaven) slave has kept me busy - but here are a few pictures of the unit of Plague Monks I have been working on and a quick update...

They aren't finished yet as I'm about halfway through the painting process. I have added most of the basic colours and have started to do some of the detailing (belts, weapons, bandages etc.) but haven't started doing highlights, drybrushing, washes or bases etc.

At this point, I'm in two minds about the colour of the robes, which consists of a 1:1 Knarloc Green/ Codex Grey mix. I think it is quite a "good" green for plague monks and it fits in with their theme, but overall it is just a bit too close to a standard Knarloc Green to be interesting. I'm hoping that the following might all magically combine to dilute the current "sameness" of the green and make the overall unit look more interesting.
...some washes of Devlan Mud or Thraka Green
...some highlighting
...a decent unit-banner (which may be a total failure as I have never done a banner before!)
...some variety provided by the different colours from some Plague Censer Bearers I am working on.

More updates to come soon!

*Squeek*