Hey guys Cavalier here, co-host of Splintermind the Dark Eldar podcast and commission painter for Frontline Gaming. Sharing my technique for painting Daughters of Khaine!
I’ve painted a lot of models in my time, but I’ve never had as much fun as I have painting these models, but its a lot easier when you have a repeatable process, so let me take you through it!
Step 1- Priming
First thing I do is do an undercoat of Grey Seer, then I hit the model with another coat of Corax White. Grey Seer is a ridiculously awesome primer that goes on smooth as can be. It helps you do just a light coat of the notoriously fickle Corax White primer. With this technique I’ve not had a single issue and I’m 60 Wych Elves in to this current project.
Step 2- Reds
My next step is to block out all the cloth, with the beautiful new Gal Vorbak Red. This will take about 2 coats but is a beautiful smooth new paint from GW that has become one of my favorite colors in the entire range. Its very, very dark but you can do a lot with it with super subtle shading and highlights. I start with this because its the trickiest to clean up if you get any on the skin. However like I said its a bit of a thinner paint so its really easy to clean up.
Step 3- Golds + Dotting the Eyes
Retributor Gold is our next weapon of choice. Just hit the greaves and knee pads, weapon hilts etc and you are good to go. This creates a strong counter point between the Gal Vorbak Red and the ultra pale skin and really helps the models to pop. I also dot the eyes with Abaddon Black at this point because we’re doing shading next and reshaping the eyes after you do your shading is always a pain after washes because of all the nuance of shading on the face.
Step 4- Shading
Now for shading we take Reikland Flesh Wash + Lahmian Medium and thin that Reikland Flesh Wash WAY down. Maybe a 3-1 Lahmian Medium to Reikland Flesh Wash. Dab any excess away and dont let it pool. We want classic alabaster white skin like right out of an old pulp Sword and Sorcery story! Then we actually hit the cloth with Reikland and a heavy coat of it. This gives a very subtle shading effect. Normally I’d use Nuln Oil on this color, but the surfaces on the cloth have almost zero recesses and it just ends up staining the red forcing you to repaint it for no real reason. The Reikland is more than enough and give a very subtle shading that will be amped up by some sharp highlights to come.
Step 5 Highlighting + Cosmetics
So for highlighting we actually use Pallid Wych Flesh for just a single highlight one, surgically applying highlights to only vital areas as the very thinned down shading should have created a near white effect. I really only hit her cheeks, shoulders, neck, lower ribs and her butt and very subtly (wow that sounds bad) and just let the smooth shading effect do all the heavy lifting. Here and there I’ll mix in a little Ulthuan Grey to get it super pale just to bring it up a little bit.
For the cloth I do a simple Khorne Red highlight on the edges of the boots, the knees and on any folds in the cloth. I finish it off with a sharp Mephiston Highlight which really pops on Gal Vorbak Red.
For hair and makeup I do Emperor’s Children for lipstick, eye makeup and a 50/50 mix with Lahmian Medium to give the hair a pastel effect, clean up the hair with Ulthuan Grey.
Step 6- Final Golds + Silver
So the final step is very easy. Highlight the Retributor Gold with Vallejo Gold and hit that dagger with Vallejo Silver. Do a 60/40 Lahmian Medium/Coeila Greenshade on the dagger to give a hint of poison and you are done!
Bonus Round
Doing a massive army of these fine ladies and the poses tend to get redundant a quick tip is to do a quartered pattern. In this I used Abaddon Black, highlighted with Incubi Darkness and Sotek Green for inky vinyl look.
Conclusion
This is a fairly quick technique so long as your shading game is on point. I’ve found these models a joy to paint and a fun challenge to infuse variety into an army. If you have any questions please post them in the comments below and thanks for reading! If you are interested in Aeldari discussion check out our podcast: Splintermind for exclusive Drukharii and all things Aeldari news and discussion. If you are interested in following my painting exploits check me out on Instagram! Thanks for reading and stay tuned!
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