Today, we’re going back to the roots of Tale of Painters with one of our popular painting guides. Step by step, I’ll show you how to paint the Glade Guard of the Wood Elves. We’ll use a combination of Contrast, Slapchop, and additional highlights to get units on the table quickly, but still to a high standard. The techniques demonstrated can easily be adapted for a wide range of organic and green-toned models – and it’s also the first time I’ll be trying out the new Quick Gen paints from AK.

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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.

You’ll find a list of all the paints used in this tutorial at the end of the post.

An arrangement of a painted Wood Elf Glade Guard mode, two bottles of AK Quick Gen paint, a bottle of Two Thin Coats paint, and a white drybrush, on a white background, photographed for a painting tutorial

How to paint Wood Elves Glade Guard

Slapchop-style zenithal basecoating

To prepare the model, I use a combination of a zenithal airbrush basecoat, finishing with drybrushing only for the final step for a smoother result. If you don’t have an airbrush, feel free to create a dark to light gradient purely by drybrushing, true to the classic Slapchop technique.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 1 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Prime the model with the black primer of your choice. I used black primer from Vallejo.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 2 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Basecoat the model with Warpaints Air Oak Brown [or Rhinox Hide]. I used an airbrush for this but you can do it with a brush as well.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 3 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Apply a zenithal highlight of Warpaints Air Yeti White [or Corax White or a similar white grey], holding the airbrush at about 45 degrees to create a natural gradient.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 4 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

For a smoother result when applying the one coat paints later, I sealed the model with a coat of Vallejo Mecha Color Matt Varnish [any matte or satin varnish will do].

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 5 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Gently drybrush the model and base with Vallejo Game Color Dead White [or White Scar] to bring out the sharpest details. I recommend a large synthetic drybrush with a domed head for this, I love Chronicle’s Techlon Tiger brushes (review here).

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 6 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Apply a layer of Vallejo Xpress Color Armor Green [Militarum Green] to the texture of the base.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 7 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Then, drybrush the sandy texture with Pro Acryl Ivory [or Wraithbone]. Later we’ll add some weathering powders to make the base more interesting.

Blocking in the colours

With the preparations done, I use various Contrast-style one coat paints to quickly and easily bring the model up to a battle-ready standard.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 8 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Layer the robes with two coats of Gutrippa Flesh. You might even need a third coat in some places. Gutrippa Flesh is quite opaque, and the idea is to get an even coat on the flat areas of the cloak while letting the pre-shading shine through on the pronounced areas like the folds.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 9 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Mix 1 part of Pro Acryl Black Green [or Caliban Green] with about 3 parts of Contrast Medium to create a glaze. Apply this selectively in the recesses of the folds and where the cloak meets the quiver.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 10 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Gently drybrush the edges and folds of the cloak with Vallejo Model Color Pastel Green [or Krieg Khaki].

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Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 11 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Apply two layers of Speedpaint Burnt Moss [or Black Templar mixed with some Militarum Green] to pick out parts of the robes with a dark grey-green.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 12 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Apply a coat of Quick Gen Space Dark Green [or Dark Angels Green] to the parts of the robes you want to be dark green.

Please note: AK’s new Quick Gen paints are launching on 17th June 2025. AK kindly provided me with the paints for testing ahead of time.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 13 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Layer the parts of the robes you want to be a lighter green with Vallejo Xpress Color Orc Skin [or Mantis Warrior Green]. Later on I decided to give these parts of the model a more yellowish tint, so please refer to step 21.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 14 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Thin 2 parts of QG Dark Leather [or Cygor Brown] with about 3 parts of Contrast Medium and apply this mix all over the leather.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 15 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Pick out all the straps and bindings with a coat of QG Bone Brown [or Armageddon Dunes].

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 16 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Apply two layers of SP Peachy Flesh [or Reikland Fleshshade] to the bare skin.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 17 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Wash the hair with a coat of QG White Shadow [or Apothecary White].

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 18 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Paint the wooden parts of the bow with a coat of SP Turnbull Turquoise [or mix Akhelian Green 1:1 with Black Templar].

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 19 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Basecoat the steel with Vallejo Mecha Color Light Steel [Stormhost Silver].

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 20 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Wash the steel with Coelia Greenshade.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 21 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

As mentioned in step 13, I felt the light green needed to be a bit more yellowish, so I applied another coat of QG Bile Yellow to the light green clothes [you could also use Bad Moon Yellow thinned with Contrast Medium]. You can also do this directly after step 13.

At this point, the model is battle-ready; you just need to paint the base. Scroll down to step 34 for details.

For more natural variety, you’ll definitely want to experiment with different skin and hair colours and perhaps incorporate other shades of green for the clothing. The perfect reference for this is my “one coat” paint comparison chart:

Banner for Stahly's 6-in-1 One Coat paint comparison chart, V3.0

This hand-painted swatch is available in my Patreon shop for a small donation (or by becoming an Autarch tier member). I also have swatches for Citadel, Vallejo Game and Model Color, Warpaints Fanatic, AK 3rd Gen and more – all cross-compatible with each other so you can compare colours across different brands. Check out my shop for details.

Adding extra highlights and details

From here, I’ll elevate the battle-ready Glade Guard to Parade standard. You can decide how much time you’d like to invest. You might choose to follow my tutorial from start to finish, or focus only on focus points like skin or weapons. Perhaps you could also reduce the level of detail on models positioned further back in the unit. It’s entirely up to you.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 22 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Highlight the edges and creases of the light green cloth with Warpaints Fanatic Vivid Volt [or mix Dorn Yellow with some Moot Green]

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 23 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Highlight the dark green clothes with WPF Evergreen Fog [or Sons of Horus Green] in the darker areas and WPF Medieval Forest [or Sons of Horus Green mixed with some Corax White] for the more prominent areas.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 24 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Refine the drybrushed highlights of the pale green cloak and cloth with VMC Pastel Green [or Krieg Khaki].

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 25 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Highlight the edges of the grey green clothes with AK 3rd Gen Medium Sea Grey [or Greyseer mixed with a little bit of Catachan Green].

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 26 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Layer the leather with some rough, sketchy highlights of VMC Burnt Red [or Doombull Brown mixed with Tuskgor Fur].

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 27 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Build up the texture with more rough highlights of Two Thin Coats Fur Cloak [or Tuskgor Fur].

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 28 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Add a final, thinner highlight of TTC Dwarven Skin [or Cadian Fleshtone] to the leather parts.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 29 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Layer the more pronounced features of the hands and face with WPF Barbarian Flesh [or Ungor Flesh] while leaving the recesses darker.

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 30 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Pick out the most pronounced features like knuckles, nose and lips with Vallejo Game Color Elf Skin Tone [or Ungor Flesh mixed with white].


Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 31 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Highlight the hair with VGC Dead White [or White Scar].

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 32 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Highlight all the straps with VGC Bone White [or Screaming Skull]

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 33 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

Add a highlight of AK Dark Blue Grey [or Thunderhawk Blue mixed with a little bit of Corax White] to the bow.

Finishing the base

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 34 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

For an authentic 90s / early 2000s Goblin Green look, paint the trim of the base with TTC Goblinoid Green [or a 2:1 mix of Warboss Green and Ogryn Camo].

Half-painted Wood Elves Glade Guard model in front of a paint bottle, illustrating step 35 in Stahly's How to paint Wood Elves tutorial

To add an earthy undertone, work Abteilung 502 Vietnam Earth and Vallejo Pigments Burnt Umber into the base and the feet and lower part of the cloak. Bear in mind that the effect of pigments becomes significantly more subtle if you wet them, for example, by varnishing.

At this point, I checked the model for any mistakes I missed and corrected them. Then I added patches of green static grass. Finally, I varnished the model with my custom mix of ultra matt and matt varnish, if you don’t have an airbrush I can recommend Mr Topcoat Premium Flat (you can find a list of more of my matt varnish recommendations here).

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Wood Elves Glade Guard painted by Stahly

Wood Elves Glade Guard model with green base on a clean white background, painted by Stahly
Back view of a Wood Elves Glade Guard model with green base on a clean white background, painted by Stahly

And here is the finished Glade Guard. Painting this model to a battle-ready standard took about half an hour (not counting drying time). Adding all the highlights and details was about an hour longer, but you could easily bring this down with batch-painting. You’ll find more pictures and my thoughts behind the colour scheme in this post.

Paints you will need for this tutorial:

AK 3rd Gen

Citadel (Games Workshop)

Two Thin Coats

Pro Acryl

The Army Painter

Vallejo

Other

Has my tutorial inspired you to protect Athel Loren from intruders? Then feel free to use our affiliate link to expand your collection:

Start your Wood Elves collection

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