RAY LAROSE · MINIATURES
Notes from my painting desk
The paints and steps behind each finished model, and the recipes I come back to.
Try
56 painted schemes 280 photos 44 recipes 162 paint matches
Fresh off the bench
The newest finished schemes, each with every paint and step.
Find your army
Paint schemes for Warhammer 40k, Blood Bowl, Age of Sigmar and Necromunda and more. Pick a game or an army to see how I painted it.
Learn a part
Miniature painting recipes for one part at a time, like armour, flesh and weapon, each a short list of steps you can follow at the desk.
Switching paint brands?
162 Citadel colours matched to Vallejo, Pro Acryl and Two Thin Coats, by eye, with how close each match really is. Search any name from any brand.
Open the conversion chart →New to painting? Start here
Four short recipes, in this order. Each one adds a single new skill.
1
Gold
4 stepsThe basecoat, wash, highlight sequence most metal is built on.
2
Ultramarine Armour
4 stepsThe same idea with an edge highlight, which is what makes armour read as armour.
3
Rust
3 stepsStippling and drybrushing, and hard to get wrong.
4
Ork Flesh
9 stepsThe whole ladder: a basecoat, two layers, a highlight, then glazes to blend it together.
Start to finish
How I paint a Space Marine
10 stages, from the box to the table, with a photo at each step and the paints and recipes for each.
Before you start, and what the technique words mean
- Thin your paint
- Almost everything here goes on thinner than it comes out of the pot. Neat paint dries thick and fills in the detail you paid for. Add water a drop at a time on a palette until it runs somewhere between milk and heavy cream, depending on the brand, then build the colour up in two or three coats rather than one.
- Start on a primed model
- Unless a step says otherwise, every recipe here begins on a model that has already been primed - paint will not sit properly on bare plastic. Black unless the scheme says otherwise, which is what most of these were painted over.
- The same words mean two things
- Wash, shade and layer are both things you do and names Citadel puts on pots. The badge on a step is the action. The Type column in the paint list is which range the pot came from. A step badged "layer" is often painted with a Base paint, and that is not a mistake.
- basecoat
- The first solid colour over primer. Two thin coats beat one thick one.
- highlight
- A lighter colour on the parts that would catch the light.
- layer
- A slightly lighter colour over part of the coat below, leaving its edges showing.
- wash
- Thin, watery paint that runs into the recesses and shades the whole area at once.
- edge
- A highlight along a sharp edge only, painted with the side of the brush.
- shade
- Darker paint placed deliberately in the shadows rather than left to flow.
- glaze
- Heavily thinned paint over dry paint, to tint it and soften the join between two colours.
- stipple
- Dabbed on with the tip of the brush for a broken, rough, mottled surface.
- drybrush
- Almost-dry paint dragged across raised texture so it catches only the high points.
- blend
- Two colours worked into each other while both are wet, so there is no visible line.
- special
- Anything that is not one of the above. The step note says what it is.
Paint Schemes
How I painted each model: the exact paints, the order they went on, and the finish they gave.
Before you start, and what the technique words mean
- Thin your paint
- Almost everything here goes on thinner than it comes out of the pot. Neat paint dries thick and fills in the detail you paid for. Add water a drop at a time on a palette until it runs somewhere between milk and heavy cream, depending on the brand, then build the colour up in two or three coats rather than one.
- Start on a primed model
- Unless a step says otherwise, every recipe here begins on a model that has already been primed - paint will not sit properly on bare plastic. Black unless the scheme says otherwise, which is what most of these were painted over.
- The same words mean two things
- Wash, shade and layer are both things you do and names Citadel puts on pots. The badge on a step is the action. The Type column in the paint list is which range the pot came from. A step badged "layer" is often painted with a Base paint, and that is not a mistake.
- basecoat
- The first solid colour over primer. Two thin coats beat one thick one.
- highlight
- A lighter colour on the parts that would catch the light.
- layer
- A slightly lighter colour over part of the coat below, leaving its edges showing.
- wash
- Thin, watery paint that runs into the recesses and shades the whole area at once.
- edge
- A highlight along a sharp edge only, painted with the side of the brush.
- shade
- Darker paint placed deliberately in the shadows rather than left to flow.
- glaze
- Heavily thinned paint over dry paint, to tint it and soften the join between two colours.
- stipple
- Dabbed on with the tip of the brush for a broken, rough, mottled surface.
- drybrush
- Almost-dry paint dragged across raised texture so it catches only the high points.
- blend
- Two colours worked into each other while both are wet, so there is no visible line.
- special
- Anything that is not one of the above. The step note says what it is.
Recipes
Methods I reuse across models - skin, metal, armour, cloth and the rest. Each step is one named paint, one technique and a note. Unless a step says otherwise, every recipe here starts on a primed model - the scheme that uses it usually says which colour.
Paint Inventory
The paints I actually own - every pot on my shelf, not a catalogue of what exists. This is what the schemes and recipes are painted with.
| Paint | Brand | Type | Hue | Used in |
|---|
Paint Conversion Chart
Citadel colours matched to their closest Vallejo, Pro Acryl and Two Thin Coats equivalents, by eye, over time. Nothing here is a measured colour match - the dots say how close each one really is.
Still filling this in: 8 of the 112 colours used in the recipes here have no row yet. Mostly Vallejo. A blank means not mapped, not that no equivalent exists.
How close the match is:
near identical
usable
avoid
4 how many of my recipes and schemes use it - tap one to see them
Convert to:
| Citadel | Vallejo | Pro Acryl | Two Thin Coats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abaddon Black4 | Black (72.051), Black | Charcoal Black, Coal Black, Matte Black, Black Brown | Doom Death Black |
| Administratum Grey8 | Cold Grey (72.050) | Light Neutral Grey | Carcharodon Grey |
| Agrax Earthshade30 | Smokey Ink (72.068) | Transparent Brown | Battle Mud Wash |
| Ahriman Blue | Tidal Blue (72.103) | Jade | Cursed Blue |
| Altdorf Guard Blue | Ultramarine Blue (72.022) | Ultramarine | Ultramarine Blue |
| Athonian Camoshade2 | Pastel Green (70.885) | no direct equivalent | Necrosis Green Wash |
| Auric Armour Gold | Glorious Gold (72.056) | Gold | Dragon's Gold |
| Averland Sunset | Scrofulous Brown (72.038) | Golden Yellow | Dark Sun Yellow |
| Baharroth Blue3 | Sunrise Blue (72.118) | Grey Blue | Ray Gun Glow |
| Balor Brown | Plague Brown (72.039) | Yellow Ochre | Fur Brown |
| Balthasar Gold | Bright Bronze (72.057) | Bronze | Spartan Bronze |
| Baneblade Brown | Khaki (72.061) | Khaki | Vambrace Brown |
| Barak-Nar Burgundy | Black Red (70.859) | Burgandy | Royal Cloak |
| Biel-Tan Green1 | Green Ink (72.089) | Transparent Green | Orc Flesh Wash |
| Blood for the Blood God5 | Transparent Red (70.934) | Transparent Red | no direct equivalent |
| Blood Reaver Flesh | Burnt Red (70.814) | Dark Flesh | Paladin Flesh |
| Blue Horror1 | Wolf Grey (72.047) | Grey Blue | Ion Blue |
| Brass Scorpion | Bright Brass (71.067) | Bright Gold | Chaos Bronze |
| Bugman's Glow4 | Bronze Flesh Tone (72.036) | Red Brown | Barbarian Brawn |
| Cadian Fleshtone | Flat Flesh (70.955) | Shadow Flesh | Dwarven Skin |
| Caledor Sky | Magic Blue (72.021) | Blue | Eldar Blue |
| Calgar Blue1 | Flat Blue (70.962) | Blue | Elysium Blue |
| Caliban Green | Heavy Blackgreen (72.147) | Dark Green | Wyvern Green |
| Canoptek Alloy | Brassy Brass (72.058) + Vallejo Silver (72.052) | White Gold | Platinum Crown |
| Carroburg Crimson5 | Red Ink (72.086) | Transparent Red Oxide | Hellion Red Wash |
| Casandora Yellow | Yellow Ink (72.085) | Transparent Yellow | Hazard Yellow Wash |
| Castellan Green | German Uniform (70.920) | Dark Camo Green | Fury Green |
| Castellax Bronze | Copper (77.710) | Dark Bronze Signature | Overlord Brass |
| Catachan Flesh | Charred Brown (72.045) | Brown | Druid Flesh |
| Celestra Grey | Pale Grey Blue (70.907) | Bright Neutral Grey | Wolf Grey |
| Coelia Greenshade | Green Ink (72.089) thinned | Transparent Green (thinned) | Aztec Turquoise Wash |
| Corax White | Dead White (72.001) | Bold Titanium White | Trooper White |
| Corvus Black9 | German Grey (70.995) | Dark Neutral Grey | Death Reaper |
| Daemonette Hide | Alien Purple (72.076) | Dark Plum | Incubus Purple |
| Dark Reaper | German Grey (70.995) + Blue Wash | Charcoal Black | Faust Blue |
| Dawnstone8 | Stonewall Grey (72.049) | Neutral Grey | Wizard Grey |
| Death Guard Green2 | Camouflage Green (70.894), German Field Grey (70.830) | Olive Green | Contagion Green |
| Deathclaw Brown | Beastly Brown (72.043) | Burnt Sienna | Satyr Brown |
| Deathworld Forest | Olive Grey (70.888), Yellow Olive (72.064) | Olive Green | Military Green |
| Deepkin Flesh | Deck Tan (70.976) | Mossy Green | Pestilence Green |
| Dom Yellow | Pale Yellow (72.097) | Golden Yellow | Sun Bleach Yellow |
| Doombull Brown8 | Charred Brown (72.045) | Burnt Red | Boar Hide |
| Dorn Yellow | Ice Yellow (70.858) | Ice Yellow | Pale Sand Yellow |
| Drakenhof Nightshade | Blue Ink (72.088) | Transparent Blue | Tempest Blue Wash |
| Druchii Violet2 | Violet Ink (72.087) | Magenta + Transparent Medium | Magi Tone Wash |
| Dryad Bark4 | Camo Black Green (70.941), Panzer Grey | Dark Umber | Scorched Earth |
| Elysian Green | Elysian Green (72.031) | Green | Goblin Green |
| Emperor's Children1 | Squid Pink (72.013) | Hot Pink | Hot Pink |
| Eshin Grey17 | Black Grey (70.862) | Dark Neutral Grey | Ashen Grey |
| Evil Sunz Scarlet21 | Bloody Red (72.010) | Red, Bold Pyrrole Red | Demon Red |
| Fenrisian Grey1 | Wolf Grey (72.047) | Light Neutral Grey | Frost Blue |
| Fire Dragon Bright1 | Orange Fire (72.008), Elf Skin Tone (72.004) | Orange | Orange Flare |
| Flash Gitz Yellow | Moon Yellow (72.005) | Bright Yellow | Yellow Flame |
| Flayed One Flesh | Pale Flesh (72.003) | Ivory | Pale Skin |
| Fuegan Orange2 | Orange Ink (72.091) | Orange (Thinned) | Orange Tone Wash |
| Fulgrim Pink1 | Squid Pink (72.013) | Pink | Cyber Pink |
| Fulgurite Copper | Copper (77.710) | Copper | Bright Bronze |
| Gal Vorbak Red | Black Red (70.859) | Burgandy | Amphora Red |
| Gauss Blaster Green | Verdigris (72.096) | Light Green | Elixir Green |
| Genestealer Purple | Blue Violet (70.811) | Purple | Sorcerer Cloak |
| Gorthor Brown | Leather Brown (72.040) | Neutral Leather | Boot Strap |
| Grey Knights Steel | Chainmail (72.053) | no direct equivalent | Blue Steel |
| Grey Seer | Pale Grey Blue (70.907) | Bright Neutral Grey | Pale Grey |
| Hashut Copper | Hammered Copper (72.059) | Copper | Copper |
| Hoeth Blue | Sunrise Blue (72.118) | Sky Blue | Leviathan Blue |
| Incubi Darkness4 | Black Green (70.980) | Dark Jade Signature | Hydra Green |
| Ionrach Skin | Interior Grey Green (71.305) | Olive Flesh + Bright Ivory | Zombie Rot |
| Iron Warriors | Gunmetal (72.054) | Dark Silver Metallic | Dwarven Iron |
| Ironbreaker | Silver (72.052) | Silver Metallic | Plate Armour |
| Jokaero Orange1 | Orange Fire (72.008) | Orange, Orange Red | Orange |
| Kabalite Green | Jade Green (70.838) | Jade | Jade Green |
| Kakophoni Purple | Royal Purple (70.810) | Faded Plum | Spectral Purple |
| Kantor Blue1 | Night Blue (72.019) | Dark Blue | Abyss Blue |
| Karak Stone5 | Khaki (72.061) | Khaki | Temple Stone |
| Khorne Red12 | Carmine Red (70.908) | Burnt Red | Asmodeus Red |
| Kislev Flesh | Light Flesh (70.928) | Tan Flesh | Elven Flesh |
| Knight Questor Flesh | Brown Rose (70.803) | Mahogany | Bard Skin |
| Krieg Khaki1 | German Uniform (70.920) | Olive Green | Kobold Grey |
| Lahmian Medium8 | Glaze Medium (70.596), Elfic Flesh (72.098) | Glaze/Wash Medium | Spirit Medium |
| Leadbelcher26 | Gunmetal (72.054), Aged Metal Base (77.139), Aged Metal Air Brush (77.179) | Dark Silver Metallic | Sir Coates Silver |
| Liberator Gold | Glorious Gold (72.056) | Bright Gold | Glistening Gold |
| Loren Forest | Cayman Green (72.067) | Light Green | Gung-Ho Green |
| Lothern Blue | Electric Blue (72.023) | Sky Blue | Seafarer Blue |
| Lugganath Orange | Salmon Rose (70.835) | Nova Orange | Solar Flare |
| Lupercal Green | Black Green (70.980) | Black Green | War Master Green |
| Macragge Blue, Macragge Blue (Air)1 | Ultramarine Blue (72.022) | Dark Blue | Marine Blue |
| Mechanicus Standard Grey25 | Cold Grey (72.050), Dark Sea Green (70.868) | Neutral Grey | Dungeon Stone Grey |
| Mephiston Red21 | Gory Red (72.011) | Red | Sanguine Scarlet |
| Moot Green8 | Lime Green (70.827) | Yellow Green | Ethereal Green |
| Morghast Bone | Dark Sand (70.847) | no direct equivalent | Sandstone |
| Mournfang Brown | Beastly Brown (72.043) | Red Brown | Noble Steed Brown |
| Naggaroth Night | Hexed Lichen (72.015) | Dark Purple | Von Evile Purple |
| Nuln Oil32 | Game Wash Black (73.201) | Transparent Black | Oblivion Black Wash |
| Nurgle's Rot2 | Vallejo Still Water (73.110) + Lime Green (72.019) | Transparent Green + Gloss Varnish | no direct equivalent |
| Nurgling Green2 | Dead Flesh (72.035) | Yellow Green | Rotting Green Highlight |
| Ogryn Camo | Dead Flesh (72.035) | Light Green | Rotting Green |
| Ork Flesh (Contrast) | Orc Skin (72.408) | Yellow Green + Green (Thinned) | no direct equivalent |
| Pallid Wych Flesh | Off White (71.270) | Off White | Ivory Tusk |
| Phalanx Yellow | Ice Yellow (70.858) | Golden Yellow | Serpent Eye Yellow |
| Phoenician Purple | Hexed Lichen (72.015) | Purple | Enchantress Purple |
| Pink Horror5 | Warlord Purple (72.014) | Dark Hot Pink | Glistening Gums |
| Rakarth Flesh4 | Khaki (72.061), Tan (72.066) | Khaki | Griffon Claw |
| Reikland Fleshshade11 | Skin Wash Ink (72.093) | Transparent Red Oxide | Flesh Wash |
| Retributor Armour15 | Polished Gold (72.055) | Rich Gold | Dragon's Gold |
| Rhinox Hide7 | Charred Brown (72.045), Dark Flesh Tone (72.044) | Dark Umber | Cuirass Leather |
| Runefang Steel | Silver (72.052) | Bright Silver | Shining Silver |
| Runelord Brass6 | Brassy Brass (72.058) + Silver (70.997), Aged Metal Light (77.119) | Light Bronze | Battle Axe Brass |
| Russ Grey | Wolf Grey (72.047) | Neutral Grey | Wolf Grey |
| Screamer Pink | Warlord Purple (72.014) | Dark Hot Pink | Sword Hilt Burgundy |
| Screaming Bell2 | Hammered Copper (72.059) | Copper + Rust | Steampunk Copper |
| Screaming Skull | Deck Tan (70.986) | Ivory | Vampire Fang |
| Seraphim Sepia | Yellow Ink (72.085) | Transparent Yellow | Archaic Sepia Wash |
| Skarsnik Green | Yellow Green (70.954) | Yellow Green | Troll Snot Green |
| Skavenblight Dinge | Black Grey (70.862) | Dark Neutral Grey | Eidolon Grey |
| Skrag Brown4 | Orange Fire (72.008) | Burnt Sienna | Dry Rust Brown |
| Skullcrusher Brass | Brassy Brass (72.058) | Gold | Heirloom Gold |
| Slaanesh Grey | Stonewall Grey (72.049) | Grey Blue | Decadent Purple |
| Sons of Horus Green | Deep Dark Green (71.292) + Light Green (70.942) | Jade | Traitor Green |
| Sotek Green3 | Turquoise (72.024) | Jade | Antiquity Green |
| Soulblight Grey | Pale Blue Grey (72.049) | Bright Warm Grey (thinned) | Smoke Grey Wash |
| Squig Orange | Hot Orange (72.009) | Signature Orange red | Rust Orange |
| Steel Legion Drab | Japanese Uniform (70.923) | Camo Green | Dust Bowl |
| Stegadon Scale Green | Abyssal Turquoise (72.120) | Jade + Black Green | Oxidation Green |
| Stormhost Silver5 | Silver (72.052) | Bright Silver | Mythril Blade |
| Stormshield1 | Matt Varnish (70.520) | no direct equivalent | Satin Varnish |
| Stormvermin Fur | German Grey (70.995) | Dark Warm Grey | Rodent Grey |
| Straken Green | Elysian Green (72.031) | Camo Green | Green Beret |
| Sybarite Green1 | Foul Green (72.025) | Bright Jade | Ghoul Green |
| Sycorax Bronze | Bright Bronze (72.057) | Bright Gold | Top Brass |
| Tallarn Sand | Khaki (72.061) | Sand | Sandstone |
| Tau Light Ochre | Bronze Brown (72.036) | Yellow Ochre | Manticore Ochre |
| Teclis Blue | Magic Blue (72.021) | Blue | Relic Blue |
| Temple Guard Blue2 | Turquoise (72.024) | Teal | Mythic Turquoise |
| The Fang | Field Blue (70.964) | Dark Blue | Cold Corpse Blue |
| Thondia Brown | Gorgon Brown (72.124) | Dark Golden Brown | Scabbard Brown |
| Thousand Sons Blue | Turquoise (70.966) | Teal | Sentient Turquoise |
| Thunderhawk Blue | Field Blue (70.964) | mix | Shadow Blue |
| Troll Slayer Orange1 | Orange Fire (72.008) | Orange | Fanatic Orange |
| Tuskgor Fur5 | Gory Red (72.011) | Burnt Orange | Fur Coat |
| Typhus Corrosion4 | Weathering Effects - Rust | no direct equivalent | no direct equivalent |
| Ungor Flesh | Yellow Ochre (70.913) | Tan Flesh | Cerberus Brown |
| Ushabti Bone3 | Deck Tan (70.986) | Ivory, Pale Yellow | Skeleton Legion |
| Vulkan Green | Black Green (70.980) | Black Green | Field Grey |
| Waaagh! Flesh | Dark Green (72.028) | Dark Green | Orc Hide |
| Warboss Green | Intermediate Green (70.891) | Green | Goblinoid Green |
| Warpfiend Grey | Cold Grey (72.050) | Warm Grey | Enticing Purple |
| Warplock Bronze | Tinny Tin (72.060) | Dark Silver + Brown | Dark Bronze |
| Warpstone Glow10 | Goblin Green (72.030) | Green | Emerald Green |
| Wazdakka Red | Gory Red (72.011) | Red | Evil Eye Red |
| White Scar1 | Dead White (72.001), Surface White | Bold Titanium White | White Star |
| Wild Rider Red14 | Scarlett Red (72.012) | Red Orange | Centurion Red |
| Wraithbone4 | Bonewhite (72.034) | Ivory | Ivory Tusk |
| Wyldwood3 | Mahogany (72.472) | Dark Camo Green (Thinned) | no direct equivalent |
| Xereus Purple | Warlord Purple (72.014) | Purple | Amethyst Rayne |
| XV-883 | Leather Brown (72.040) | Golden Brown | Gyzmo Fur |
| Yriel Yellow | Sun Yellow (72.006) | Bright Yellow, Warm Yellow | Skulker Yellow |
| Zandri Dust3 | Desert Yellow (72.063), Sunny Skin Tone (70.845) | Khaki, Light Umber | Dragon Fang |
| Imperial Fist6 | Yellow Ink (72.085) | no direct equivalent | no direct equivalent |
| Shyish Purple4 | no direct equivalent | no direct equivalent | no direct equivalent |
| Apothecary White3 | no direct equivalent | no direct equivalent | no direct equivalent |
| Black Templar2 | Black Ink (72.094) | Black Wash | no direct equivalent |
| Flesh Tearers Red5 | Skin Wash Ink (72.093) | Flesh Wash | no direct equivalent |