Tutorial: How to paint Cadian Shock Troops

Here is a step by step tutorial on how to paint a great looking Cadian Guardsmen in a minimum of time. It took me about 60 minutes to finish, so with assembly-line style of painting and a little bit of practice you should be able to pump out guard squads in days!

Notice that the paint scheme in fact is a simplified version of the one I used for my Vostroyans.

1. Prime with Army Painter Matt Black. Cover the sand of the Base with Charadon Granite, then drybrush heavily with Formula P3 Trollblood Highlight and Menoth White Highlight.

2. Paint the uniform with P3 Thornwood Green, then wash with slightly thinned Badab Black. When dry, drybrush heavily with Thornwood Green and lightly with Traitor Green. Then pick out the most extreme folds and edges with Traitor Green. Because of the light drybrush before the transition won’t be that harsh.

Paint the skin with Tallarn Flesh and wash with Ogryn Flesh. Highlight with P3 Midlund and Ryn Flesh. I didn’t paint the eyes in order to save time, plus they are barely visible under the helmet anyways. But you should take the time on your characters.

Paint the leather with Scorched Brown, generously wash with Badab Black, then highlight with Scorched Brown and P3 Bootstrap Leather.

Cover the armour with black again.

3. Paint the metal with Boltgun Metal, then wash with Badab Black and when dry, glaze with thinned Devlan Mud. Highlight with Boltgun Metal.

Paint the brass areas with VGC Brassy Brass, wash with Devlan Mud and highlight with P3 Radiant Platinum.

Add battle damage with Chainmail as a highlight to the black armour.

Finish off with glueing some snow flock to the base and varnish with your favourite matte varnish (I used Genius Pro Universalsprühlack Seidenmatt, really matte finish, you can get it in German hardware store Toom Baumarkt).

Have fun!