Hey guys Cavalier here, commission painter for Frontline Gaming and co-host of the Splintermind Podcast back again this time with a painting tutorial.
So are you looking for a quick and stylish paint scheme for you army? Paint it black. All you need is primer, 2 highlights in key spots on the model and some snazzy splash colors and you’ll be done.
Back towards the tail end of 7th edition I started separating my Eldar collection into 2 different warhosts my Y’nnari Lions of Asuryan in red and gold and my Umbral Watchers in all black. At first it started off with my Rangers but when I took the plunge and converted my counts-as Striking Scorpions/Ghost Walkers I started to fall in love with the all black color scheme.
No shading, no base coating. Just straight primer and highlights. I fell in love. So often I’ve seen all these elaborate tutorials on painting black, but I’m hear to tell you that none of that is necessary to get a good looking army in black.
Highlighting:
Lets break it down. So start off by priming your model Chaos Black. Then let me introduce you to a paint that should be a go-to in your arsenal: Eshin Grey. This color is absolutely amazing! Its very close to black, goes on like a dream and is very easy to correct should your highlights get messy.
The final step is just hitting the model with Dawnstone Grey at only the most extreme edges or high profile details and you are done with your highlighting!
So often I see people over do it with highlights on all black armies and whether it be individual units or an entire army, when you look at them the highlights stand out more than the intimidating jet black which should dominate the model.
The key is to only highlight the areas of interest that lend shape to the model. You dont even need to hit Eshin Grey on every edge. Just do it where you feel it needs it and call it a day! Again its important not to over do it with the highlights because the model will end up looking more grey than black and thats the last thing you want.
Detailing:
After that just hit the details with a limited range of accent colors. For my Dark Angels on the other hand its Celestra Grey (another MUST have in your painting aresnal), Ushbatii Bone for the purity seals and simple Leadbelcher.
As you can see I added a little bit of weathering just by dry brushing a little Leadbelcher on the powerfist to show he’s not just been sittin’ pretty in the Thunderhawk, but smashing stuff like a proper Astartes. Here are some examples where I took the detailing a little further but still maintained the restricted array of splash colors and weathering. This approach is very simple and will get your army on the tabletop very quickly and it’ll look great too.
When all is said and done you can go back and lavish details onto the models at some point down the road. Since my time to paint my own models is so limited with all my commission works, this is the approach I’ve taken with my Dark Angels.
As you can see the approach is very similar on my Umbral Watchers Eldar with the accent color are still predominately Khorne Red and Balthasar Gold.
They key is to keep it minimalist and let the bold color choices do the work for you. Remember you can give a lot of attention to the details but keep those color choices extremely limited because you don’t want the colors on the detailed areas to overwhelm the sleek and stylish black.
So guys I hope you find this article of use. Doing all black army is a great way to get a new army painted up quick and stylish. its also very easy to go back and give some more love to as you develop gem painting techniques, glow effects and weathering techniques. If you have any questions feel free to hit me up in the comments section and I’ll be happy to answer your questions. If you like this content, stay tuned as I’ll be writing weekly here for Frontline Gaming and if you want more check out Splintermind the Dark Eldar Podcast where I co-host and talk all things Eldar!
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
