This is a quick and easy method I use for the white warpaint on my orky vehicles. The base coat is a foundation color, which is great for going on over the blue paint of the hulls. Now you don’t have to get all fancy and neat and stuff, cause it’s the grots that are doing the painting after all. 🙂
Step One
Slap on some Adeptus Battlegrey in basic shape of whatever you want. Here I’m painting some warteef so some triangles for them, and I filled in the skull on the armor plate on the left.
Step two
Layer some Codex Grey over top the Adeptus Battlegrey. Remember to be messy!
Step Three
Layer Ghostly Grey over the last highlight. With this step you just want to hit the highest most edges to create a little sloppy shading with it. At this point the warpaint should be the brightest part of the vehicle. You want the warpaint noticed first, then the rest of the vehicle. That way you draw the viewer’s eyes into the model. If its not the brightest part you can try mixing in some white to the Ghostly Grey and it should help.
Step Four
Now you gotta shade the warpaint a bit. All I do it just take some Mordian Blue and trace the edges of the shapes. I left the bottoms of the triangles open and messy, but you could trace them too if you don’t like the look. The skull is left as is, because being recessed it formed shading on its own.
So thats it. Orky warpaintz. The best part is this method works well over red armor as well. Just use Mechrite red to shadow your warpaint instead of the blue.
Blue ones go fasta, Waaaaaagh! -MBG
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at the Las Vegas Open, each of which attracts thousands of players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the 2011 Adepticon 40k Team Tournament. He was even featured for his painting in issue #304 of Games Workshop’s White Dwarf Magazine.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
