Tutorial: How to paint Skaven Clanrats from Island of Blood

This is a tutorial in which I’m going to explain how I will paint my Skaven army. Of course it is a great starting point for all of you who picked up “Island of Blood” in order to start a new Skaven army! In my paint scheme I took extremely well care to acchieve a high painting standard in a very reasonable amount of time. You can finish a single Clanrat in 60 to 70 minutes (without drying time or assembly). When batch painting you can churn out a rank easily in two evenings.

1. After assembling and texturing the base, prime the model with “Leather Brown” Colour Primer from The Army Painter. Fix any areas not covered by the primer with Calthan Brown (it’s a bit darker than the primer but you won’t tell on the finished model).
Heavily overbrush the base with Dheneb Stone, then lightly drybrush the wood on spear and shield. Give the base a generous wash of Gryphonne Sepia.

2. Neatly paint the rags with Formula P3 Trollblood Highlight, the armour with P3 Pig Iron (or Boltgun Metal), the green clothes with Knarloc Green and the fur with P3 Battlefield Brown. Then wash all areas painted in this step except the green clothing with slightly thinned Badab Black.

3. Highlight the rags with Trollblood Highlight. Layer Battlefield Brown on the muscles and highlight with a 3:1 mix of Battlefield Brown and P3 Beast Hide. Highlight the fur with this mix as well and then with pure Beast Hide afterwards. Shade the green clothes with thinned VGC Heavy Blackgreen and highlight with Reaper Master Series Olive Green (Pegasus Olivgrün).
Paint patches of Vermin Brown in the recesses of the armour and highlight them with Macharius Solar Orange. Highlight the armour with scratchy streaks of Chainmail.

4. Paint the skin Dheneb Stone and give it a gentle wash of Ogryn Flesh. Wash Asurmen Blue around the eyes. Highlight the skin with Reaper Master Series Aged Bone followed by Polished Bone (you can use Dheneb Stone mixed with White as well). Paint the eye with Fiery Orange, then wash the whole eye socket with Baal Red. Paint pimples with Elf Flesh, then wash Leviathan purple around them. Paint the mouth Dark Flesh, paint the teeth with P3 Menoth White Base and highlight with Menoth White Highlight (you can use Bleached Bone mixed with White as well).
Paint the leather bags and straps with Calthan Brown, wash with Devlan Mud and highlight with Snakebite Leather. Paint the bandages Gretchin Green, then layer Menoth White Base and highlight with Menoth White Highlight.
Paint the trim of the base with P3 Guncorps Brown (you can use Graveyard Earth as well) and add some static grass. I used Winter/Dead Grass from Gale Force 9.

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