Tutorial: How to paint brass and verdigris

I got quite a few questions about how I painted the armour on my Grave Guard, so I wrote this little tutorial for you. Learn how to paint a reddish copper/brass tone with a subtle verdigris effect in this easy-to-follow painting guide.

This tutorial assumes you know the basic grips of painting Warhammer miniatures. Step-by-step I explain all the paints and techniques I used. I have a rather eclectic paint collection, so when I use a paint that is not from Games Workshop (or out of production), I’ll try to provide you with suitable alternatives from the current Citadel paint range [in brackets]. However, if you want to achieve exactly the same result as shown, I recommend expanding your paint collection. You’ll find a list of all the paints used in this tutorial at the end of the post.

How to paint brass and verdigris

Basecoat the armour with Balthasar Gold.

Apply a wash of The Army Painter Warpaints Strong Tone Wash [or Agrax Earthshade or Targor Rageshade]. Try not to let it pool too much, and soak up any excess with a damp brush.

Next, mix about 1 part of Warpaints Wizards Orb [or Kabalite Green] with 3 parts of Contrast Medium and apply it directly in the recesses where you paint the verdigris effect to be. Repeat this process one or two times to build a stronger colour.

Finally, mix Balthasar Gold with Canoptek Alloy about 1:2 and apply an edge highlight [Hashut Copper also works very well if you have it].

Here we have the completed effect, as seen on many of my Soulblight Gravelords and Nighthaunt models. You can check out more pictures of my Grave Guard here.

A complete PDF painting guide for my Deathratte paint scheme can be found on my Patreon:

But I also got another freebie for you. If you want to know how I painted the magical Wightblades, check out this tutorial right here:

If you need to expand your paint collection to follow the tutorial, check out our partner stores Wayland Games, Element Games, and Taschengelddieb, which offer an amazing range of paints at a discount.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If so, leave a comment or reaction below, and if you got any questions, leave them here or on the Tale of Painters Discord so I can answer them for you.