Vast Painting Guide Ep. 1: The Paladin

Steps

1. 1 Prime the miniature black, then spray white primer from above to map out the highlights.
2. 2 Base coat the skin with German Camo Black Brown, and paint the entire tunic with Iraqi Sand as both the brown tunic color and the undercoat for the yellow parts.
3. 3 Base coat the brown leather areas (belt, scabbard, sleeves) with English Uniform.
4. 4 Base coat the yellow parts of the tunic with Flat Yellow, cut with a little flow enhancer for smoother coverage.
5. 5 Base coat the boots, fur cloak, and tunic trim with Lendanis Grey, then dry-brush a Lendanis Grey/Ivory mix over the cloak's raised texture before continuing.
6. 6 Base coat the shoulders with Khaki, and the chest medallions and sword hilt with Khaki as the darkest starting tone for the gold non-metallic metal.
7. 7 Base coat the belt buckle and sword cross guard with Mechanicus Standard Grey for the steel non-metallic metal, and the hair, eyes, and eyebrows with Black Grey.
8. 8 Wash the fur cloak and tunic trim with Nuln Oil, and the brown leather areas with Agrax Earthshade.
9. 9 Highlight the brown leather by thinning English Uniform over the raised parts, then mixing in Iraqi Sand for a brighter highlight, and edge-highlight the scabbard.
10. 10 Highlight the shoulders with Khaki mixed with Ivory, the cloak trim and boots with the base Lendanis Grey and then a Lendanis Grey/Ivory mix, and the skin with a subtle Black Brown/Ivory mix on the forehead, nose, cheekbones, and ear tops.
11. 11 Build steel non-metallic metal on the belt buckle and sword cross guard by working Ivory into the Mechanicus Standard Grey base in tightening bands toward light points, finishing with a near-pure Ivory edge highlight.
12. 12 Build gold non-metallic metal on the medallions with Khaki, Ivory, and a touch of Yriel Yellow, focusing the light points per the game art, then glaze the whole area with Yriel Yellow cut with Vallejo Glaze Medium to warm the tone.
13. 13 Highlight the tunic: Iraqi Sand mixed with Ivory on the brown parts, and Flat Yellow mixed with Ivory (plus flow enhancer) on the yellow parts, focused at the bottom flare and sleeve tips.
14. 14 Dark-line around the medallions with thinned Arbuckles Brown, and the rest of the miniature with diluted Black Ink mixed with English Uniform, then highlight the forgotten sword hilt with an English Uniform/Ivory mix.
15. 15 Shade the hair, eyes, and eyebrows with Nuln Oil, brushing top to bottom.
16. 16 Paint the base: Iraqi Sand as an undercoat, then Yriel Yellow on top to match the game piece, Black on the rim, and a dark line of English Uniform mixed with Black Ink around the boots for separation.

Paints used

• Agrax Earthshade (Citadel)

  Wash over the brown leather areas (belt, scabbard, sleeves)

• Arbuckles Brown (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Thinned dark-lining wash around the gold medallions, chosen for its purple undertone against the yellow

• Black (Vallejo Model Color)

  Rim of the base, painted last

• Black Grey (Vallejo Model Color)

  Base coat for the hair, eyes, and eyebrows

• Black Ink (Vallejo Game Ink)

  Diluted and mixed with English Uniform for the dark-lining wash on the rest of the figure and around the boots

• English Uniform (Vallejo Model Color)

  Base coat for the brown leather areas, highlighted with more of itself then a touch of Iraqi Sand; mixed with Ivory to highlight the sword hilt; mixed with Black Ink for dark lining

• Flat Yellow (Vallejo Model Color)

  Base coat for the yellow parts of the tunic, highlighted with Ivory mixed in

• German Camo Black Brown (Vallejo Model Color)

  Base coat for the skin, highlighted with a touch of Ivory

• Iraqi Sand (Vallejo Model Color)

  Base coat for the whole tunic and undercoat for the yellow parts, highlighted with Ivory; undercoat for the base before the Yriel Yellow top coat

• Ivory (Vallejo Model Color)

  Highlight mixed into nearly every base color: the cloak/trim, skin, shoulders, tunic, sword hilt, and both non-metallic metal builds

• Khaki (Vallejo Model Color)

  Base coat for the shoulders and for the medallions/sword hilt as the darkest tone in the gold NMM; mixed with Ivory to highlight the shoulders

• Lendanis Grey (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Base coat for the boots, fur cloak, and tunic trim; dry-brushed with Ivory for a preliminary cloak highlight; used again as a post-wash highlight, then mixed with Ivory

• Mechanicus Standard Grey (Citadel)

  Base coat for the belt buckle and sword cross guard, the starting tone for the steel NMM

• Nuln Oil (Citadel)

  Wash over the fur cloak and tunic trim; shade over the hair, eyes, and eyebrows

• Yriel Yellow (Citadel)

  Mixed with Khaki and Ivory to highlight the gold medallions, then glazed over them with Vallejo Glaze Medium; top coat for the base over an Iraqi Sand undercoat