With battles exploding around ruins all over the realms thanks to the headstrong Dawnbringer Crusades, you’re likely going to be painting a lot of stone terrain. Whether it’s for the battlefields of the Mortal Realms or the locales of the impending release of Kill Team, hobbyist extraordinaire Tyler Mengel has some straightforward but effective steps that will make your stone look like it was carved yesterday.
Tyler: I’ve always been a fan of lighter-coloured stone for buildings on tabletops. It’s fairly quick to paint and makes darker models pop visually.
When I cracked open the Warcry: Catacombs set, I knew right away that I wanted to try a sandstone technique I had been using for the bits of rubble on the bases of my Necrons. It pays to go for quick techniques that look good but don’t take a huge investment of time or effort when you’re painting scenery, so washes and drybrushing are your friends. With those ideas in mind, I picked one of the doorways from the set and got painting.
Step 1
To start, I primed the doorway with Wraithbone spray and then touched it up with some more Wraithbone out of the pot.
Step 2
All of the stone areas were then given a thinned wash of Agrax Earthshade.
Step 3
Next, I went back with undiluted Agrax Earthshade and darkened some areas, like the skulls on the pillars.
Step 4
This was followed up by drybrushing all of the stone with Wraithbone.
Step 5
Lastly, I finished the stone with a lighter drybrush of Pallid Wych Flesh to catch the corners and give it a final highlight.
Step 1
All of the gold areas were basecoated with Retributor Armour.
Step 2
The portcullis was basecoated with Leadbelcher.
Step 3
Both of these areas were then shaded with undiluted Agrax Earthshade.
Step 4
I then finished up with a light drybrush of Stormhost Silver to pick out the edges.
What dungeon would be complete without blood splatters? Using a little bit of Blood for the Blood God, I added some pools of blood on the floor part and a bit on the pillars where it would get splashed. Remember, less is more.
With that, your doorway is ready for the catacombs. This colour scheme can be applied to any of the other stone pieces from the set, like the Arms Stash. I’m even thinking of painting all of my Warcry ruins in the same way.
Thanks, Tyler. Whether you’re just getting started painting your own models and scenery or you’re an experienced hobbyist looking to take your skills further, the brand new Citadel Colour website is a fantastic resource packed full of tips, tricks, and tutorials.
While you’re at it, try out your newfound skills with the synthetic STC brush range, specially designed to give you the best performance possible out of your Citadel paints.