Painting HeroQuest for Beginners: Episode 4 - The Elf

Steps

1. 1 Base-coat all exposed skin — hands, face — with Vallejo Model Color Brown Rose.
2. 2 Base-coat the cape with Braineater Azure, applying a second coat if needed for full coverage.
3. 3 Base-coat the armor with Leadbelcher for a clean, shiny suit of armor.
4. 4 Base-coat the hair with Ulthuan Grey for a white, ashen look that matches the game artwork.
5. 5 Base-coat the leather belt and pouches with Bosh Chesnut, and the hanging fabric piece on the front of the tunic with Miskatonic Grey.
6. 6 Paint the whites of the eyes with Vallejo Model Color Offwhite, adding a touch of flow improver to help it release from the brush.
7. 7 Wash the armor's recesses with a thinned Payne's Grey ink wash instead of a Citadel shade, since the ink won't dull the metallic sheen as much.
8. 8 Drybrush the cape in three progressively lighter passes, mixing more Lendanis Grey into the Braineater Azure base each time and aiming higher passes at the upper surfaces only.
9. 9 Highlight the armor and sword with a layered approach: mix Runefang Steel into Leadbelcher for the upturned areas and hard edges, then hit the brightest edges with pure Runefang Steel — keeping the middle of the sword blade dark for a non-metallic-metal look.
10. 10 Wash the entire cape with Druchii Violet, letting it pull into the recesses to shade and blend the drybrush highlights together.
11. 11 Apply Citadel Contrast Apothecary White over the whole head of hair for definition, paint the headband with Braineater Azure, then dot in the eye pupils with a fine black liner pen.
12. 12 Clean up the sword's non-metallic-metal transitions by blending thinned Leadbelcher (with a little flow enhancer) between the highlights and the dark center, then deepen that center further with a near-black Leadbelcher wash blended in with a finger.
13. 13 Highlight the leather in a couple of layers by mixing progressively more Flat Flesh into the Bosh Chesnut base, then shade the whole leather area with Agrax Earthshade.
14. 14 Paint the belt potion vials — Jorildyn Turquoise for the blue ones and Genestealer Purple (mixed with a touch of red for contrast against the cape) for the purple one — pick out the belt's buckles and snaps with Runefang Steel, then wash the area with Agrax Earthshade.
15. 15 Wash all the skin with Reikland Fleshshade, working carefully around the eyes so it doesn't pool on the whites.
16. 16 Add a small Offwhite highlight line to each potion vial, and highlight the raised pattern on the hanging tunic piece with Offwhite mixed into Miskatonic Grey.
17. 17 Build up skin highlights in progressively smaller passes, first with straight Brown Rose over most of the skin, then with Brown Rose lightened by more and more Flayed One Flesh, focusing on the cheekbones, nose bridge, forehead, chin, and ears — and pick out the individual fingers, leaving dark gaps between them.
18. 18 Prep the sword with gloss varnish, paint the engraved runes in white ink and wipe the excess off the raised surface with a finger for a clean inlay, paint the display base in Hull Red (the same red used across the whole hero series), and add a Nuln Oil wash to the hanging tunic piece for extra contrast, avoiding the raised pattern.

Paints used

• Agrax Earthshade (Citadel)

  Wash over the leather (belt, pouches, buckles) to add depth

• Apothecary White (Citadel)

  Contrast paint applied over the whole head of hair for definition

• Bosh Chesnut (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Base coat for the leather belt and pouches

• Braineater Azure (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Base coat for the cape and the headband

• Brown Rose (Vallejo Model Color)

  Base coat for the skin and the first pass of skin highlight

• Druchii Violet (Citadel)

  Wash over the entire cape to shade it and blend the drybrush highlights

• Flat Flesh (Vallejo Model Color)

  Mixed into Bosh Chesnut to highlight the raised areas of the leather

• Flayed One Flesh (Citadel)

  Mixed into Brown Rose for the later, brighter skin highlight passes

• Genestealer Purple (Citadel)

  Purple potion vial on the belt, mixed with a touch of red for contrast against the cape

• Hull Red (Vallejo Model Color)

  Paints the display base, the same red used across the whole hero series

• Jorildyn Turquoise (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Blue potion vials on the belt

• Leadbelcher (Citadel)

  Base coat for the armor, and thinned with flow enhancer to smooth the sword's non-metallic-metal transitions

• Lendanis Grey (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Mixed progressively into Braineater Azure for the cape's drybrush highlight passes

• Miskatonic Grey (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Base coat for the hanging fabric piece on the front of the tunic

• Nuln Oil (Citadel)

  Wash added to the hanging tunic piece for extra contrast, avoiding the raised pattern

• Offwhite (Vallejo Model Color)

  Whites of the eyes, small highlight lines on the potion vials, and mixed with Miskatonic Grey to highlight the tunic pattern

• Payne's Grey (Daler-Rowney)

  FW Acrylic Ink thinned with water and washed into the armor's recesses

• Reikland Fleshshade (Citadel)

  Wash over all of the skin

• Runefang Steel (Citadel)

  Mixed into Leadbelcher and applied pure for armor and sword highlights, and to pick out the belt buckles and snaps

• Ulthuan Grey (Citadel)

  Base coat for the hair