Painting HeroQuest for Beginners: Episode 3 - The Dwarf

Steps

1. 1 Base coat the skin — face, hands, and exposed leg — with Charred Brown, painting over the finger rings for now.
2. 2 Base coat all the steel armor, weapons, and the headpiece with Leadbelcher.
3. 3 Base coat the hair and beard with Black Grey.
4. 4 Base coat the boots and the fabric trim around the bottom of the chainmail with Ultramarine Blue.
5. 5 Base coat the armor's gold trim — shoulder armor, headpiece, back piece, boots, and axe blade trim — with Glorious Gold, using Leadbelcher and Glorious Gold for the hair jewelry.
6. 6 Base coat the belt with Bosh Chesnut.
7. 7 Paint the whites of the eyes and teeth with Offwhite, then add the pupils with a fine black pen.
8. 8 Highlight the hair and beard by mixing progressively more Offwhite into the Black Grey base, focusing on the front and any raised areas that catch light.
9. 9 Once the hair looks grey, apply a thinned wash of Black Ink to darken it back toward black.
10. 10 Shade all the blue and gold areas with a Druchii Violet wash.
11. 11 Highlight the skin — face, ear tips, knee, arm muscles, and fingers — by mixing Charred Brown with Flat Flesh, building up more Flat Flesh over smaller areas; soften any stark highlights with a thinned Charred Brown glaze.
12. 12 Shade all the steel parts and the leather belt with Nuln Oil.
13. 13 Highlight the steel by reapplying Leadbelcher (keeping dark lines between areas), then mix in Runefang Steel for a brighter pass, and lightly dry-brush the chainmail to pick out texture.
14. 14 Highlight the gold by reapplying Glorious Gold, followed by a brighter layer of Gold.
15. 15 Highlight the belt by reapplying Bosh Chesnut, then apply a final top-edge highlight using a mix of Bosh Chesnut and Cokum Copper.
16. 16 Reestablish the blue areas with Ultramarine Blue, then highlight with Ultramarine Blue mixed with Brown Rose.
17. 17 Paint the bases entirely with Hull Red to match the other hero figures in the series.
18. 18 Fill in the gemstones on the armor, headpiece, rings, and axe — Beherit Red for the red stones, Surfer Orc Flesh for the green, and Magic Blue for the blue.

Paints used

• Beherit Red (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Red gemstones on the female armor front, headpiece, dragon eyes on the axe, and axe blade

• Black Grey (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Base coat for the hair and beard, mixed with Offwhite for highlights

• Black Ink (Vallejo, Game Ink)

  Thinned with water and washed over the hair to darken it back toward black

• Bosh Chesnut (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Base coat for the leather belt; reapplied and mixed with Cokum Copper for belt highlights

• Brown Rose (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Mixed with Ultramarine Blue to highlight the blue fabric trim and boots

• Charred Brown (Vallejo, Game Color)

  Base coat for the skin; mixed with Flat Flesh for skin highlights, and thinned into a glaze to soften stark highlights

• Cokum Copper (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Mixed with Bosh Chesnut for the top highlight along the belt

• Druchii Violet (Citadel)

  Wash over all the blue and gold areas to shade and enrich them

• Flat Flesh (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Mixed in increasing amounts with Charred Brown to highlight the skin

• Glorious Gold (Vallejo, Game Color)

  Base coat for the gold armor trim, shoulder armor, headpiece, back piece, boots, axe blade trim, and hair jewelry; first layer of gold highlights

• Gold (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Second, brighter highlight layer over the gold armor and trim

• Hull Red (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Base coat for the miniature bases, matching the other heroes in the series

• Leadbelcher (Citadel)

  Base coat for steel armor, weapons, headpiece, and steel hair jewelry; first highlight layer on steel, and mixed with Runefang Steel

• Magic Blue (Vallejo, Game Color)

  Blue gemstones on the finger rings and axe

• Nuln Oil (Citadel)

  Wash over all steel parts and the leather belt to deepen recesses and add a worn look

• Offwhite (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Whites of the eyes and teeth; mixed with Black Grey for hair and beard highlights

• Runefang Steel (Citadel)

  Mixed with Leadbelcher for the second steel highlight layer and dry-brushed over the chainmail

• Surfer Orc Flesh (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Green gemstones on the finger rings and axe

• Ultramarine Blue (Vallejo, Game Color)

  Base coat for the boots and fabric trim underneath chainmail; reapplied and mixed with Brown Rose for highlights