Vast Painting Guide Ep. 3: The Wraith

Steps

1. 1 Prime the miniature entirely in white for a smooth, solid base to wet blend over.
2. 2 Sketch out the base colors: Genestealer Purple over most of the body, leaving the tips bare where the red and blue zones will go.
3. 3 Base coat Screamer Pink onto the back ridges, shoulders, hands, and (as an artistic liberty) the top of the head.
4. 4 Base coat Macragge Blue onto the lower body and tail.
5. 5 Wet blend the three base colors together directly on the miniature, mixing Liquitex Slow-Dry Medium into each color to extend working time, and blend purple into pink and purple into blue along their transition zones.
6. 6 Highlight the pink areas by mixing Emperor's Children into the Screamer Pink base over a few layers, finishing with pure Emperor's Children on the ridge tips and fingertips.
7. 7 Shade the bottom of the miniature by glazing Eldandil Violet mixed into Macragge Blue into the recesses and under the arms.
8. 8 Paint an inner-glow effect on the eyes and mouth: base coat with Mephiston Red, layer thinned Evil Sunz Scarlet, then Wild Rider Red, then progressively more Moon Yellow mixed in for the brightest glow.
9. 9 Dark-line around the eyes with Druchii Violet, and dark-line the inside edge of the mouth with Carroburg Crimson.
10. 10 Add finishing detail to the face: outline the lips and highlight the forehead with Genestealer Purple, boosted with a touch of White for the most intense spots.
11. 11 Darken a few more shadow areas with Druchii Violet, and highlight the tip of the tail by mixing Azure into Macragge Blue.
12. 12 Paint the base to match the game piece color: Genestealer Purple on top and Black on the rim, with a Druchii Violet line separating the model from the base, then seal with matte spray varnish.

Paints used

• Azure (Vallejo Model Color)

  Mixed into Macragge Blue to highlight the tip of the tail

• Black (Vallejo Model Color)

  Clean-up coat on the rim of the base

• Carroburg Crimson (Citadel)

  Dark line around the inside edge of the mouth

• Druchii Violet (Citadel)

  Dark line around the eyes, extra shadow darkening on the purple areas, and the line separating the model from the base

• Eldandil Violet (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Thinned into a glaze with Macragge Blue to shade the bottom of the miniature

• Emperor's Children (Citadel)

  Highlight mixed into the Screamer Pink base, up to a pure highlight on ridge tips and fingertips

• Evil Sunz Scarlet (Citadel)

  Thinned layer over Mephiston Red on the eye corners and mouth for the inner-glow effect

• Genestealer Purple (Citadel)

  Main base coat for most of the body; used again with a touch of White to outline the lips and highlight the forehead; base coat for the base

• Macragge Blue (Citadel)

  Base coat for the lower body and tail; shaded with an Eldandil Violet glaze; highlighted with Azure on the tail tip

• Mephiston Red (Citadel)

  Base coat for the eyes and mouth, for the inner-glow effect

• Moon Yellow (Vallejo Game Color)

  Mixed in increasing amounts into Wild Rider Red for the brightest layers of the eye/mouth glow

• Screamer Pink (Citadel)

  Base coat for the back ridges, shoulders, hands, and top of the head

• White (Vallejo Model Color)

  Touch added to Genestealer Purple for the most intense highlights

• Wild Rider Red (Citadel)

  Brighter layer over Evil Sunz Scarlet on the eyes and mouth, then mixed with Moon Yellow for the glow