Col Festus is here, and this time he’s painting up some Genestealer Cults in a fast yet effective way in his latest painting tutorial!
Col Festus has some unique hobby content, and if you need some sweet painting tips, you should follow him to get up on all your painting and conversion techniques! He also paints up a ton of Makers Cult files, which are always fantastic, and you can score yours here!
This time, he shows how to paint up everyone’s favorite alien infiltrators. Let’s see how to do it!
Painting Genestealer Cults: Col Festus Tutorial
He starts by hitting it with a gray primer. He uses STYNYLREZ, but any brand should work pretty well here. Just keep in mind he does use a few mixtures of paints in a couple of spots, so check those out below, as they are pretty crucial:
Special Sauce Black Wash Recipe
- 25 Drops Monument Hobbies Glaze Medium
- 5 Drops Liquitex Flow Improver
- 1 Drop Liquitex Raw Umber Ink
- 1 Drop Liquitex Carbon Black Ink
Paint List:
- AK 3rd Gen Warm Grey
- AK 3rd Gen Medium Grey
- AK 3rd Gen Pale Grey
- AK 3rd Gen Basalt Grey
- AK 3rd Gen Light Orange
- Army Painter Speedpaint Dark Wood
- Army Painter Speedpaint Gravelord Grey
- Army Painter Speedpaint Fire Giant Orange
- Army Painter Speedpaint Plasmatic Bolt
- Army Painter Quickshade Purple
- Vallejo Model Air Steel
Now, let’s get into the true painting steps!
Step 1:
Let’s start with some basecoats. He uses Medium Grey for the shoulder pads and armor. Then, for the flesh, he uses Warm Grey and Vallejo Metal Steel for all light metal areas.
The cloth he paints black with whatever paint you like the most. Then for all the dark metallic areas, he hits them with a mix of black and silver (in a 50/50 ratio). For the loin cloth and the gun bandage, he paints that with Light Orange and finally boxes out the one area of gold with Steel and Umber Ink.
Once dry, he covers the cloth with the secret sauce black mix.
Step 2:
Next, he starts by hitting all the metallics with the Gravelord Grey. Then to highlight the orange, he applies the Fire Giant Orange. For the flesh, he begins with a wash of Crusader Skin and then does a quick matte varnish here to seal everything in.
To continue with the face, he blocks in the mouth and eyes with black, then does a couple of dots of white in the eyes and paints the teeth white. Then he blocks in the raised areas with Warm Grey to highlight the face.
Step 3:
To start highlighting, he combines Warm Grey and white and hits the most raised areas, starting with the middle of the head.
He slowly adds more white to the mix and does progressive highlights. Next, he takes Old Rose and hits the bottom lip to define it. Then for a more alien vibe, he adds Quickshade Purple, does this in the recesses, and then does a few dots on the top of the head.
Next, he hits the darkest recesses with Dark Wood to add definition to the loincloth. He then comes back with the original orange color and does some light highlighting to bring out the details.
Step 4:
Now it’s time to move on to the armor. First, he takes the Warm Grey and does some light edge highlighting and chipping on the armor here.
With the white done, he highlights all the silver with the Vallejo Steel and does some chipping as well. Anywhere he wants to have a glowing effect, he paints the area with white, then paints them with a light blue. For the black areas, he highlights them with Basalt Grey.
After that, he paints some red stripes on the shoulder pads and then chips them with white.
Step 5:
The final thing to do is paint up the base! He starts with Basalt Grey and paints the entire base. He then drybrushes some Pale Grey over the majority of the base, and then when that’s dry, he paints the whole thing with the secret sauce from above.
To finish it off, he paints the rim of the base black and gives the whole thing a coat of varnish.
Finished Model
There you have it, a great-looking model with all the steps broken down!
Be sure to check out the video below for all the tips!
Follow Col Festus on YouTube Here!
What do you think of how to paint Genestealer Cults in this painting tutorial?
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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!
