Last week, we looked at some of Warhammer TV presenter extraordinaire Emma Robinson’s favourite colours from the new Contrast paints range. Now, we’re sitting down with Emma once more to get her top tips on using the new (and freshly-reformulated) Shade paints.
Shade paints bring your miniatures to life by providing a dark tone in recessed areas to contrast with lighter colours on raised areas. The experts who make them know how vital Shades are, so they’ve reformulated the entire range to make it even better – Shades now flow even more smoothly into cracks and crevices, and colour the raised parts of your miniatures less, making them easier to use and more effective than ever before.
The Citadel Colour paint wizards have also created seven new Shade paints, adding even more options to your toolkit alongside perennial favourites like Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade. Here’s Emma to provide her expert advice on using these new tools.
The Citadel Colour paint range gets a truly blue Shade, which works wonderfully with colours such as Caledor Sky on the cloaks and capes of the Lumineth Realm-lords.
Emma: Tyran Blue is a lovely bright blue shade that looks great over light blues, and also creates some esoteric colour combinations when applied over silver and gold. Iron Hands Steel with a coat of Tyran Blue and a Stormhost Silver highlight gives you lovely magical steel, for instance.
The angriest of the new Shade paints isn’t just for the followers of Khorne – but it does work particularly well on them.
Emma: I love Targor Rageshade for really rugged light leathers, and for the tanned skin tones of warriors who roam the open plains of the Mortal Realms. It also looks great in the recesses of Rakarth Flesh for a pallid but wartorn skin tone – ideal for Chaos Space Marines.
Soulblight Grey is perfect for adding a more subtle depth to your miniatures. If you’re a fan of Drakenhof Nightshade but need something a little lighter, this Shade is for you.
Emma: Spooky but soft at the same time, Soulblight Grey shades with a light grey tone, perfect for the ghoulish skin and dirty bones of Grand Alliance Death models. I like using it over Screaming Skull for that weathered Deathrattle Skeleton bone, then drybrushing up from there.
Wait – maybe this is the angriest of the new Shades? Berserker Bloodshade is a great way to add a different, slightly redder finish to your miniatures than Fuegan Orange.
Emma: You can’t get better than a Shade with blood in its name! Berserker Bloodshade looks excellent over light and reddish tones for Chaos Daemons, or the tormented flesh of a Possessed. Shading over Rakarth Flesh or Ionrach Skin is a great way to achieve inflamed skin tones and sickly pale flesh.
Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade have been used by Warhammer hobbyists for years to dirty up models. Now, Mortarion Grime gives you yet another way to add filth to your recesses and stand out on the battlefield.
Emma: This is a fantastic shade for making things look grimy, but not too dark or green – perfect for the Death Guard. It also looks great over silver metals and light bone colours, and works a treat for the worn gear of Orks and Chaos alike. Love it.
It’s not just for Lord Kroak! This new Shade provides a lighter, fresher finish than Biel-Tan Green.
Emma: A nice light green Shade with a hint of yellow, Kroak Green looks great over light greens, whites, yellows, and even cream colours. I loved using it on some Tree-Revenant's spirit skin where I wanted more of a green hue over the pale teal, just to tie it into the forest tones used elsewhere. Try it over all manner of other greeny things – it’s also especially good for Nurgle miniatures.
If you prefer a slightly… unhealthier green, Poxwalker is right up your toxin-filled street.
Emma: Speaking of Nurgle, Poxwalker is a Shade perfect for everything gross and green. It's has grey tones, making it perfect for dying or dead flesh – such as Deadwalker Zombies. I also used this for the skin of Orks and Kruleboyz, as it gives a great worn green shade to their skin.
Cheers, Emma!
All of the new Shade paints are excellent, and the reformulation of the existing range makes adding natural-looking depth and shadow easier than ever before. Take into account the 25 new Contrast paints and the new White Scar spray, and we’re sure you’ll agree there’s never been a better time to be a painter.
The new Citadel Colour paints will be available to pre-order soon. We can’t wait to see what you do with them all – let us know what you think of the new paints, and how you’re planning to use them, on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using the #PaintingWarhammer hashtag.