Learn how to paint realistic skin tones for Warhammer fast with this excellent tutorial from Peachy and the Painting Phase.
Peachy has joined the Painting Phase, and not only do they make excellent tutorials on YouTube they also have great talks with some of the biggest names in the hobby as well! Plus, they have a really cool Patreon, so if you want to show some extra support and get great rewards, go check that out by clicking here!
This week, we’ll look at how to quickly paint four different skin tones that look great on the tabletop! Let’s see how to do it.
How-To Paint Realistic Skin Tones for Warhammer: Peachy Painting Tutorial
There are a lot of skin tones out there, but we’ll be focusing on light, olive, tanned, and dark. He will paint up Warcry models because they have a lot of exposed skin, but you can use these methods on any human model out there, no matter the medium!
Style 1: Light Skin Tone
He starts with Basic Skin Tone from AK Interactive and covers all the skin with this. He does a couple of thin coats to get good coverage. Then, he thins down Guilliman Flesh with about a 50/50 mix with water and applies this all over in two coats.
Once dry, he comes back with the Basic Skin Tone and picks out the raised areas like cheekbones, abs, etc. After that, he returns and does a final coat of watered-down Guilliman Flesh.
To finish off the skin, he uses Luminous Flesh and picks out the final highlights on raised areas.
Style 2: Olive Skin Tone
He starts with Tan Yellow and applies a couple of thin coats for this. This time around he’s using Peachy Flesh (which he says is the best-named paint), thins it down like the previous paint, and applies it all over the skin.
Once dry, he comes back with the Tan Yellow and picks out the raised areas like cheekbones, abs, etc. For highlights, he uses Radiant Flesh and picks out the most raised areas, and even highlights some of the muscles to make them pop and even a vein or two.
Style 3: Tanned Skin Tone
He starts with Cork for this and, again, does a couple of coats to get good coverage. This time, he’s using thinned-down Aged Hide for the wash stage and applies it all over.
Once dry, he returns with the Cork and picks out the raised areas like cheekbones, abs, etc. Then Peachy uses Tan Yellow and hits the most raised areas for highlights.
Style 4: Dark Skin Tone
He starts with Leather Brown for this and, again, does a couple of coats to get good coverage. Now, instead of moving right to the wash, he’s building up the skin tones with Mahogany Brown, leaving the recesses without the new color, basically doing the third step from the other colors second, and then moving onto the wash.
To help tie those colors together, he uses Noble Skin and does a thinned-down wash over the entire model. For highlighting, he mixes Basic Skin Tone and Mahogany Brown in about a 50/50 mix and highlights all the raised areas.
Taking it a Step Further
These models have a lot of scars all over, so to really make those pop, he’s mixing Deep Red into each different base tone and using that to highlight all the scars (i.e., Basic Skin Tone, Tan Yellow, Cork, and Leather Brown).
Be sure to watch the video below for all the details!
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
