Painting HeroQuest: Episode 5 - SLAP CHOP Painting the Orcs

Steps

1. 1 Zenithal-prime the miniatures: black basecoat overall, then grey oversprayed from the front and sides, then white straight from above.
2. 2 Drybrush the whole miniature white before any color goes on — this pre-highlights the edges so they'll show through the speedpaint.
3. 3 Base-coat the skin with Orc Skin speedpaint, staying inside the skin areas since speedpaint coats resist covering each other.
4. 4 For variety, base-coat about half the orcs' skin with Ghillie Dew instead, which reads closer to the game artwork's yellower tone.
5. 5 Paint the loincloths, rotating through four colors across the group: Noble Skin, Brownish Decay, Dusk Red, and Ruddy Fur.
6. 6 Mix Broadsword Silver with Payne's Grey ink, thin it off on a paper towel, and base-coat all the armor pieces with it.
7. 7 Paint the eye pupils with Lilith Yellow, leaving a dark outline around each so they stand out.
8. 8 Paint the shoulder chain on the male orcs with Talos Bronze speedpaint.
9. 9 Paint the hair — mostly on the female orcs — with Grim Black speedpaint.
10. 10 Base-coat the leather belts with Hardened Leather.
11. 11 Base-coat the teeth opaquely with Vallejo Bone White, skipping speedpaint here since full coverage is needed.
12. 12 Pick out the gold emblems on the armor with Hoplite Gold.
13. 13 Paint the weapon handles with Dusk Red, then pick out the darker steel portions of each weapon type with the Broadsword Silver/Payne's Grey mix.
14. 14 Wash the teeth with Seraphim Sepia, then dab a touch of Agrax Earthshade into them for extra definition; also brush Agrax Earthshade over the bronze shoulder chain.
15. 15 Cover the remaining lighter steel of the weapons with Gunmetal, base the hammer heads in Gravelord Grey for a stone look, and paint the golden triangle details on the hammer, axe, and swords with Hoplite Gold.
16. 16 Mix black and brown ink and hand-paint fine lines to define individual teeth and outline the lips, since the sculpted detail there is too shallow for a wash alone.
17. 17 Drybrush Ironbreaker over all the metal areas of the armor and weapons to sharpen the edge highlights.
18. 18 Paint the bases, then mix a bit of Lilith Yellow into Orc Skin (or Bone White into Ghillie Dew, for the alternate-skin figures) to paint the toenails and fingernails.
19. 19 Thin Slaughter Red with speedpaint medium and freehand abstract red war paint — stripes, skulls, outlines — onto about half the orcs, following the card artwork.

Paints used

• Agrax Earthshade (Citadel)

  Dabbed onto the teeth for extra definition and brushed over the bronze shoulder chain on the male orcs

• Bone White (Vallejo Game Color)

  Opaque base coat for the teeth, plus mixed into Ghillie Dew for nails on the alternate-skin figures

• Broadsword Silver (Army Painter)

  Mixed with Payne's Grey ink and thinned to base-coat the armor and the darker steel portions of the weapons

• Brownish Decay (Army Painter)

  One of four rotating loincloth colors

• Dusk Red (Army Painter)

  One of four rotating loincloth colors, and the base coat for the weapon handles

• Ghillie Dew (Army Painter)

  Alternate skin base coat used on about half the orcs, closer to the yellower game artwork

• Gravelord Grey (Army Painter)

  Base coat for the hammer heads, painted to look like stone

• Grim Black (Army Painter)

  Base coat for the hair, mostly on the female orcs

• Gunmetal (Vallejo Game Color)

  Covers the lighter steel portions of the weapons and the rivets on the hammer heads

• Hardened Leather (Army Painter)

  Base coat for the leather belts

• Hoplite Gold (Army Painter)

  Gold emblems on the armor and the golden triangle details on the hammer, axe, and swords

• Ironbreaker (Citadel)

  Drybrushed over all the metal areas of the armor and weapons for edge highlights

• Lilith Yellow (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Eye pupils, plus mixed into Orc Skin for nails on the orc-skin figures

• Noble Skin (Army Painter)

  One of four rotating loincloth colors

• Orc Skin (Army Painter)

  Primary base coat for the skin

• Payne's Grey (Daler-Rowney)

  FW Acrylic Ink mixed into Broadsword Silver to darken and thin it for the armor and weapon metal

• Ruddy Fur (Army Painter)

  One of four rotating loincloth colors

• Seraphim Sepia (Citadel)

  Wash over the teeth to yellow them and bring out the recessed detail

• Slaughter Red (Army Painter)

  Thinned with speedpaint medium and freehanded as red war paint designs on about half the orcs

• Talos Bronze (Army Painter)

  Shoulder chain on the male orcs