Tutorial: How to paint Craftworld Iybraesil Eldar / Aeldari Guardians

You’ve seen the test models I did for my upcoming Eldar army of Craftworld Iybraesil, and I promised you a tutorial. Well, here it is. Enjoy the complete step-by-step tutorial for a Guardian Defender of Craftworld Iybraesil after the jump.

This tutorial assumes that you are familiar with the fundamental techniques of painting Warhammer miniatures. I will guide you step-by-step through the paints and techniques I utilized. Since my paint collection is quite varied, I will offer suitable alternatives from the current Citadel paint range [in brackets] whenever I use a paint that is not from Games Workshop or is out of production. However, if your goal is to replicate the exact outcome displayed, I suggest expanding your paint collection.

How to paint Iybraesil Guardian Defenders

1. The model was primed with a Army Painter’s Uniform Grey Colour Primer [any primer will do, but a medium grey makes a great undercoat for turquoise]. As you notice I kept the heads seperately, to be primed in a different colour later on. Once the primer was dry, I used my airbrush to apply an even coat of Vallejo Game Color Turquoise [you can also use Sotek Green, but it’s slightly darker and not as vibrant]. Finally I applied a thin coat of Vallejo Gloss Coat, with my airbrush as well. This will help with the wash later. If you don’t own an airbrush, you can apply multiple thin coats with a big brush instead.

2. I painted the sand texture of the base with XV-88. I drybrushed heavily with Terminatus Stone Dry paint [you can also use Wraithbone] and applied a generous wash of Warpaints Fanatic Strong Tone Ink [or Agrax Earthshade or a similar dark brown wash]. Where I hit the feet I restored the base colour and reapplied the gloss coat.

3. Originally I created a custom wash, made up of old Warpaints Blue Tone Ink, Coelia Greenshade, Guilliman Blue and Vallejo Glaze Medium at the (rough) ratio of 3:1:1:2. These days I use a mix of 2:1:1 Drakenhof Nightshade, Coelia Greenshade, and Contrast Medium instead. Also, the new Warpaints Fanatic Pine Hollow Grave wash from the John Blanche Masterclass paint set is perfect as well. I applied the wash all over the bodysuit. You’ll see there will be very little pooling – if there is still too much, add more glaze medium for a better result.

4. In this step I checked the model and refined the shadows with P3 Coal Black [or Stegadon Scale Green], if needed. I mixed a little bit of P3 Coal Black into VGC Turquoise, to match the colour of the bodysuit after the wash, and cleaned up any areas where the wash left an uneven result.

5. I mixed a little bit of VGC Dead White [White Scar or your favourite white paint] into VGC Turquoise and applied a first edge highlight.

6. I mixed more VGC Dead White into the base colour and applied a second highlight to the most pronounced areas. As you can see, I prepared a larger amount of both paint mixes in spare bottles.

7. I basecoated the gun and the armour details with Rakarth Flesh [Two Thin Coats Griffon Claw is a perfect match and bit smoother, which is what I use these days].

8. For this step I created a custom ink wash of VGC Black Ink, VGC Brown Ink and VGC Sepia Ink (which is now OOP) in a ratio of about 2:2:1. You can also use Wyldwood Contrast paint or thinned Two Thin Coats Scorched Earth, or use thinned Dryad Bark. I applied the ink directly into the recesses and cleaned up the result with the base colour where needed.

9. I painted all black areas with Abaddon Black.

10. I edge-highlighted the bone areas with Two Thin Coats Ivory Tusk [in fact, back then I used RMS Polished Bone from Pegasus Farben, which are relabeled Reaper Master Series paints, it’s essentially the same shade as TTC Ivory Tusk or Pallid Wych Flesh].

11. Finally I applied a second edge highlight with VGC Dead White [back then I used old WPF Matt White, but any white will do].

12. I highlighted the black areas with Eshin Grey.

13. I painted the hose that comes out of the grip with Adeptus Battlegrey [Mechanicum Standard Grey or Warpaints Fanatic Deep Grey] and washed it with slighty thinned VGC Black Ink [you can also use Basilicanum Grey or WPF Dark Tone wash].

14. I applied a second highlight of Dawnstone to the black areas (back then I used old Codex Grey). Highlight the hose of the catapult with Dawnstone, too.

15. I basecoated the blue ribbon with VGC Imperial Blue [or Kantor Blue], washed with Warpaints Fanatic Dark Tone wash [or Nuln Oil] and reapplied the base colour while leaving the recesses dark.

16. I applied a highlight of Caledor Sky.

17. Then I applied a second highlight of Lothern Blue and glazed the whole ribbon with Guilliman Blue [which is now OOP, so use either Talassar Blue thinned with some Contrast medium or the blue glaze from the Two Thin Coats range]. Don’t use the glaze like a wash, just take a little on your brush and spread it thinly over the ribbon to intensify the hue, don’t drown the model with it.

18. I basecoated the jewelry with VGC Brassy Brass and highlighted with Sycorax Bronze.

19. Back then I washed the jewelry with Warpaints Soft Tone [which had a different tone than WPF Soft Tone wash, so use Seraphim Sepia instead]. Once dry, I applied a final highlight of WPF Shining Silver [you can also use Runefang Steel, these days I prefer Vallejo Model Air Steel].

20. I basecoated the gems with Khorne Red and applied a first highlight with Wazdakka Red. When highlighting gems, concentrate more and more on the lower right half with every successive highlight.

21. I added two more stages of highlighting with Pink Horror and VGC Squid Pink.

22. I added a final highlight of P3 Carnal Pink [you can also mix white with Squid Pink instead] and a little dot in the upper left of the gem.

23. Finally it was time to paint the helmet. I primed the helmet with white spray primer from AK, but White Scar spray works just as well. I painted the eye lenses with Wazdakka Red and highlighted the lower half with Emperors Children. Paint the black faceplate as laid out in stage 9, 12 and 14.

24. I created a wash by mixing VGC Wolf Grey with Vallejo Glaze Medium [these days I use Contrast Medium instead, which is much better] about 2:3 and applied the mix into the recesses of the white helmet. I know, you can hardly make it out on the picture.

25. Then I took VGC Steel Grey [Fenrisian Grey], thinned it with some water and added an even darker shade to thelmet.

26. Finally I used several thin coats of WPF Matt White [or White Scar, or VGC Dead White] to neaten up the white helmet. The trim of the base was painted with Steel Legion Drab.

To complete the model, I added some bleached static grass (arid static grass by Gale Force 9), added a transfer with the guardian rune with the help of Microsol (check out the tutorial here) and applied a coat of matt varnish.

Finished Eldar / Aeldari Guardians & more tutorials

And here is the finished Guardian Defenders Squad in the glorious turquoise of Craftworld Iybraesil:

Paints you will need for this tutorial:

Do you want to free the maiden worlds from the taint of Chaos and Mon-keighs now? Or do you need to get some of those paints to recreate the tutorial? Then feel free to use our affiliate link to expand your collection:

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I also have more Eldar / Aeldari themed tutorials here:

And, always helpful, a guide for painting gemstones:

How do you like my Craftworld Iybraesil paint scheme? Leave a comment or question below!