Tutorial: How to paint Grey Knights

In this step by step tutorial I will show you how I paint my Grey Knights using the new range of paints from Citadel. In just 39 steps you can replicate the above paint job.

I’ve designed this tutorial so established painters find it interesting but also so new comers to the hobby can learn some basic and advanced techniques. I will use terms such as glazing and washing, don’t worry if you don’t know what these mean because I will elaborate and explain during that step.

Paints you will need for this tutorial:

Runefang Steel (layer)

Kantor Blue (base)

Abbadon Black (base)

Gulliman Blue (glaze)

Hashut Copper (layer)

Rhinox Hide (base)

Auric Armour Gold (layer)

Khorne Red (base)

Wazdakka Red (layer)

Evil Sunz Scarlett (layer)

Flash Gitz Yellow (layer)

Ceramite White (base)

Fenrisian Grey (layer)

Warplock Bronze (base)

Leadbelcher (base)

Mournfang Brown (base)

Ushanti Bone (layer)

Russ Grey (layer)

Lothern Blue (layer)

Temple Gard Blue (layer)

Teclis Blue (layer)

Stirland Mud (texture)

Mourn Mountain Snow (texture)

In case you need to expand your paint collection, head over to Wayland Games or Slave to Painting, which both stock a huge selection of paints at competitive prices.

Stage 1 – Blue Steel Armour and Gold Trim

Firstly, I just wanted to say I don’t paint straight from the pot. I prefer to use an old white tile and I always add water to my paints, even when I’m using Lahmian Medium (Glaze Medium).

Step 1.1

I use Vallejo Surface Primer with my Airbrush, you can read how in this review I wrote.

Step 1.2

Runefang Steel, Kantor Blue and Lahmian Medium are mixed together to create a metallic with a blue tinge. This is a thin mix that should go on in 2-3 coats. Paint this on as smooth as possible. If it’s lumpy all the imperfections will show on the shiny armour. Use an airbrush if possible, especially if you’re painting an army to save time.

Step 1.3

I create a dark blue mix with Kantor Blue, Abaddon Black and Lahmian Medium and proceed to line all the armour joints to create depth.

Step 1.4

I enhance the blue armour by using Guilliman Blue Glaze. This doesn’t act like a wash, so you have to do the previous step to get the shading.

Step 1.5

Mixing Lahmian Medium with Runefang Steel I highlight the armour which instantly brightens up the model.

Step 1.6

I base coat the Gold areas with Hashhut Copper and Lahmian Medium. This medium gets used a lot with the metallics because they’re a bit thick and gloopy for my tastes, so this thins the paint better then water.

Step 1.7

Now I create my own wash by using a lot of Lahmian Medium with Rhinox Hide mixed with Abaddon Black and run this over the gold. This has a different surface tension to a pre bought wash and I prefer it for this stage, it shades deeper then a wash. A wash tends to colourise an area, where as this flows in and covers completely.

Step 1.8

Add a quick highlight of Auric Armour Gold with a touch of Lahmian Medium.

Stage 2 – Red and White

Step 2.1

Base coat the area with Khorne Red. On a side note, this is a better match for the old Mecharite Red then the new Mephiston Red. Don’t forget to paint the Storm Bolter and Sword handle like I did in the picture.

Step 2.2

Highlight with Wazdakka Red.

Step 2.3

Highlight with Evil Sunz Scarlett.

Step 2.4

Shade with a mix Khorne Red and Rhinox Hide. Add plenty of Lahmian Medium and just paint it into the recesses or the lower halves of the flat red areas.

Step 2.5

Mix some Flash Gitz Yellow and Ceramite White into Evil Sunz Scarlett to create a colour to edge highlight with. I didn’t use this colour on the cloth areas. Cloth doesn’t tend to be very shiny (unless it’s satin) so it doesn’t need the extra shiny highlight.

Step 2.6

For the white areas of the model base coat with Fenrisian Grey. 2 coats.

Step 2.7

Then highlight with Ulthuan Grey. 1 coat.

Step 2.8

1 coat of Ceramite White is used as the final highlight. Building up the colours like this cuts down the number of coats need to paint white and you get some shading as well.

Stage 3 – Gun Metals and Bone/Parchment

Step 3.1

Basecoat the gun metals with Warplock Bronze.

Step 3.2

Highlight with Leadbelcher.

Step 3.3

Final edge highlight of Runefang Steel.

Step 3.4

Basecoat all the skulls and purity seals with Mournfang brown.

Step 3.5

Mix a touch of Mournfang Brown into Ushabti Bone and paint over the whole areas leaving the previous layer showing though the overlapping parchment joins.

Step 3.6

Use pure Ushabti Bone to highlight with.

Step 3.7

Watered down Rhinox Hide is used to add very very thin lines to the parchment as mock text.

Stage 4 – Black joints and Nemesis Force Weapon

Step 4.1

Use Abaddon Black to paint all the ribbed areas between the armour. This is a good point to tidy up any other areas with black as well.

Step 4.2

Paint some thin lines using Russ Grey as highlights.

Now for the bit you’ve been waiting for and the bit I was dreading! The Nemesis Power Sword, blending colours with close up pictures… Gulp!

To save myself repeating myself, mix Lahmian Medium in at every stage to aid blending. I found these Citadel paints blended smoother then Vallejo.

Step 4.3

Paint the whole blade with Lothern Blue.

Step 4.4

Then paint opposite quarters with Temple Guard Blue. Paint along the length of the blade, not across it. This will help avoid banding.

Step 4.5

Using Teclis Blue repeat the above step but make sure you leave some Temple Guard Blue showing. You should start to see the colours blend together. Don’t load up with heavy brush. Light thin coats blend better.

Step 4.6

Mix a touch of Kantor Blue into Teclis and paint that over the previous layer. Remember, paint along the length the of the sword for all these layers leaving some of the previous layer showing through.

Step 4.7

Repeat 4.6 but add more Kantor Blue. 50:50 is about right for this step.

Step 4.8

Kantor Blue with water and Lahmian Medium is used on the far ends now as the darkest colour. I have gone to near black in the past, but to keep steps down and keep a softer look to the blade just Kantor is fine.

Step 4.9

Now we do the reverse. Using lighter colours we will blend the highlights. Mix Ulthuan Grey into Lothern Blue and paint the opposite ends you’ve just been painting.

Step 4.10

Pure Ulthuan Grey mixed with Lahmian Medium is used on the ends. This should be roughly 1/3 of the blade.

Step 4.11

Very carefully paint Ceramite White on the edges. Use the side of the brush to do this. Don’t forget the central edge of the blade. I can not stress how careful you need to be now. Don’t get any on the blends, becauseit’s really hard to tidy up a blended colour.

Stage 5 – Basing

Step 5.1

Basing is personal preference and I just made this up quickly to fit in with the rest of the army. It’s a lump of slate pushed into some modelling putty with some skulls glued to it. I paint the slate with Rhinox Hide.

Step 5.2

Then using a couple of greys I drybrush the rock being carefully not to get any on the skulls I painted at step 3.4

Step 5.3

Stirland Mud is slapped on with an old brush where the rock overhangs.

Step 5.4

Mourn Mountain Snow is then painted onto the rock, the skulls, around the edges and the bottom of the boots.

Step 5.5

To finish, I glue a piece of scrub to the base (I forgot to paint snow on top of it – doh) and then edge the base with black.

There you go, quite simple really. The colours are pretty much spot on compared the Vallejo paints I used for other Grey Knights. Thank you for reading my tutorial, it’s taken 20+ hours to create but I’ve enjoyed every single minute. Please do share it with your hobby communities and friends or repost it on your own blogs. Leave me a comment if you enjoyed it to, what I’d really love to see is you guys trying it out yourself and posting the results in the comments.

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