HOBBY TUTORIAL: Golden Stormcast Armor
One of the most common questions I get asked is how I paint the gold on my Stormcast Eternals, so without further ado, here is a step by step tutorial on the process!
If you’ve been following me on Twitter at all recently then you know I am no stranger to painting gold. One of the most common questions I get asked is how I paint the gold on my Stormcast Eternals, so without further ado, here is a step by step tutorial on the process!
Step 1.
The first step is as simple as can be, a nice solid base coat of Retributor Armor. For my models I used the spray by GW, and I highly recommend it. It’s nice and even and covers fantastically, even if it’s a little pricey. I did have to touch up a few areas that the spray couldn’t reach, but it wasn’t a lot. The spray and the regular paint are slightly different in hue, but it’s not a huge difference, and won’t matter much in the end for this model.
Step 2.
Next I covered the whole model with Reikland Fleshshade to add depth. There aren’t really any tricks here, just make sure it doesn’t pool too much in any one area.
Step 3.
Now we start the more time intensive steps. This step will take the longest out of any of them. We are going to layer Auric Armor Gold on top of all of the golden armor plates. You want to let the shaded areas show through in between the armor plates as well as in areas that it makes sense. Auric Armor Gold is really thin, so you will have to do several layers to get the look you want, especially on larger areas. This isn’t a bad thing though because it allows you to use the translucency of the paint to create smooth transitions in the gold. For example, I left the area under the knee bulge shaded and used the translucency to create a blend towards it instead of just a harsh line. Other areas I did this on are the rims of the shoulder pads, the calves of his legs, the backs/sides of his thighs, and for the lack of a better word, his butt plate. Learning where to do this just comes with practice, but you can look at the studio army or even my models to get a good idea of where to have these transitions.
Step 4.
Before we move onto the highlights we are going to add a bit more definition to the armor. Take some Rhinox Hide and heavily water it down to about the consistency of a shade paint. You want to paint this into any of the lines dividing armor plates as well as around all of the rivets. This will really make the armor pop. Only do this for hard lines, not gradual changes or shallow dips., and be sure to keep your lines thin and controlled.
Step 5.
We are finally ready to start highlighting the model at this point. Paint Liberator Gold on to all of the edges of the armor plates. You want the highlights to be somewhat wide at this point. Just like with the Auric Armor Gold we are going to try and create some nice transitions. This paint isn’t as translucent though, so once you get to the areas you want to blend you will need to water it down a bit. You will essentially want to create blends on most of the larger armor plates. You can see that I painted most of the knee with Liberator Gold. When you paint large areas of a highlight like this, you definitely want to make sure you do a more subtle transition back into the underlying color. I did something similar on all of the same areas as I did in the step three.
Step 6.
The last and final step is to do a very fine edge highlight of Runefang Steel. You want to keep this as thin as possible, and may even just pick out select points on certain edges instead of the whole edge. I also pick out all of the rivets at this point, but make sure you are careful so that the dark brown ring around them stays visible.
That’s it, the gold is now done! If you are painting Stormcast with gold armor you are a little more then half way done with the whole model too. If you have any questions on how I did certain parts or are confused by how I phrased something just let me know in the comments below.
You can see even more of my day to day progress on my models by following me on Twitter @MengelMinis.
Tyler is a life long painter and hobbyist and took home his first Golden Demon award at the 2012 Chicago Games Day with a follow up at the 2013 North American Games Day. More of his work can be found at his blog, Mengel Miniatures.
