Tutorial: How to paint Bombur the Dwarf from The Hobbit

This is the sixth tutorial in the series. This time I tackle Bombur. Read on to discover how I painted this rotund Dwarf in just 23 steps.

This tutorial assumes you have a basic understanding of how to paint. For the beginners, I will explain the techniques as I go along. Each picture below shows four chronological steps. Underneath each picture are the corresponding instructions. Each step shows the paint I used during that step. It’s good to have reference material close to hand to check colours. I used google images for film stills and Games Workshop’s 360º pictures on their website were a great help. 

Paints you will need for this tutorial:

Black Undercoat (technical)

Cadian Fleshtone (layer)

Bloodletter (glaze)

Doombull Brown (layer)

Kislev Flesh (layer)

Skrag Brown (layer)

Jokaero Orange (base)

Eshin Grey (layer)

Stormvermin Fur (layer)

Dawnstone (layer)

Elysian Green (layer)

Seraphim Sepia (shade)

Karak Stone (layer)

Loren Forest (layer)

Rhinox Hide (base)

Gorthor Brown (layer)

Baneblade Brown (layer)

Abaddon Black (base)

Leadbelcher (base)

Agrax Earthshade (shade)

Runefang Steel (layer)

XV-88 (base)

Stirland Mud (texture)

1. Undercoat the model. The details are small, so I hand undercoated the model (rather then use a spray) with Imperial Primer.

2. I painted the face, bald spot  and fingers with Cadian Fleshtone. I painted around the beard. 

3. I changed the hue of the skin using Bloodletter glaze. Dwarves are a little more red in complexion then humans.

4. Doombull Brown is a red based brown, I watered it down heavily and then shaded around the eyes, nose, inbetween the fingers and around the face. 

5. I highlight the face with Kislev Flesh. Also if you’re feeling brave, this is the opportunity to paint the eyes with a thin black line and two white dots.

6. Skrag Brown is used to paint the hair and beard.

7. Mix Doombull Brown with Lamium Medum to create a wash. Apply this all over the beard.

8. Highlight the raised areas of the beard and hair with Jokaero Orange.

9. Paint the gloves and trousers with Eshin Grey. 

10. Stipple Stormvermin Fur onto the trousers. Stippling is like dry brushing but instead of brushing, you’re dabbing. If you don’t have a stipple brush, my top tip is take an old brush you don’t use anymore and using scissors cut it down to about 4mm in height. 

11. Stipple Dawnstone on top of the Stormvermin Fur layer.

12. Paint the chest and arms with Elysian Green.

13. Wash over the Elsian Green layer using Seraphim Sepia. 

14. Create a 50:50 mix of Elysian Green and Krarak Stone and highlight the sleeves and chest.

15. Paint the belt with Loren Forest.

16. Paint the boots, overcoat, bag and ladle with Rhinox Hide.

17. Paint the bag fully with Gorthor Brown but only use Gorthor Brown to highlight the boots and over coat.

18. Highlight the boots and overcoat further using Baneblade Brown

19. Mix a lot of Lahmian Medium into Abaddon Black, use this mix to shade the creases in the trousers and the overcoat.

20. Paint the cleaver with Leadbelcher.

21. Wash the cleaver with Agrax Earthshade. Hold the model upside down while it dries to get the shading at the top of the blade.

22. Highlight the edges of the cleaver using Runefang Steel.

23. Paint a few wood grain lines on the handle of the ladle using XV-88

Finally base the model in a way which fits in with your collection. I used Stirland Mud texture paint highlighted with Karak Stone and the base edge was painted with XV-88. Static grass and scrub were glued on in small clumps.

For more Hobbit tutorials check out my Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin, Gloin and Goblin tutorials. If you found this tutorial useful, let me know in the comments. I may add another one. I would really love to see your models you’ve painted using these guides. 

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