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. Try not to let it pool too much, and soak up any excess with a damp brush.

Next, mix about 1 part of Warpaints Wizard Orb [or Kabalite Green] with 3 parts 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.