The Army Painter Academy: How to Paint Sniper Priests

Follow this with an all-over shade of John Blanche Masterclass Grove Hollow Shade.

After this has dried completely, re-layer the cloth with John Blanche Masterclass Midnight Olive, leaving the darker colour in the recesses. You can also mix this paint directly with Grove Hollow Shade to help blend the two colours in areas and create some interesting gradients.

Next, layer up the colour with Warpaints Historical Webbing Green. This is used to pick out folds in the fabric and create a gradient towards the top of a lighter colour. On this model, this was applied in a hatch-like pattern. This helps blend the colours without having to do super smooth blends, adds to the texture of the fabric, and reinforces the more grimdark aesthetic.

Follow this with a more refined highlight of John Blanche Masterclass Thicket Grove in the same style. By applying it in a smaller area within the previous step, it helps to reinforce the gradient from dark to light.

Finally, mix a small amount of John Blanche Masterclass Ivory White into the Thicket Grove for the brightest and smallest highlights. Really be reserved with this. If you need to, you can always go back and add more.

Next, shade these areas with a wash of Warpaints Fanatic Dark Skin Shade. Once the first coat is completely dry, apply a second to darken it down even more.

Pick out the edges of the leather with Warpaints Historical Camo Brown. You can apply this in a rougher, tippy-tappy pattern to simulate the wear and tear of leather, as well as some smaller scratches on the flatter areas.

For the final highlight, mix a bit of John Blanche Masterclass Ivory White into the Camo Brown and pick out the most prominent areas, such as corners.

Next, shade the skin with two coats of John Blanche Masterclass Warm Skin Shade, waiting for the first coat to dry completely before applying the second.

Create a 1:1 mix of Warpaints Fanatic Agate Skin and Warpaints Historical Fair skin and apply this as a layer all over the skin, allowing the darker colour to show in the recesses.

Follow this up with a more refined highlight of pure Warpaints Historical Fair Skin.

To add a bit of life to the model, apply glazes of Warpaints Fanatic Magenta Tone to areas like the lip, nose, and knuckles, and Warpaints Fanatic Purple Tone to the eyes. Once dry, you can mix a bit of John Blanche Masterclass Ivory White into the Fair Skin for a final highlight on just the face. At this point, the hair was also blacked out to more easily see what the finished face looks like.

Next, add a bit of depth with an all-over wash of John Blanche Masterclass Grimdark Shadow.

Finish these areas off with an edge highlight of Warpaints Fanatic Plate Mail Metal.

For the gold areas, apply a basecoat of John Blanche Masterclass Emperor Gold.

Shade these areas with Warpaints Fanatic Dark Skin Shade.

Next, apply a highlight to the edges with Warpaints Fanatic True Brass.

To add a bit of grit and age to the gold, heavily thin down Warpaints Fanatic Scarab Green and apply this around rivets and other crevices for a bit of verdigris. Don’t worry, we’ll come back and weather the steel shortly as well.

Next, shade this with a wash of John Blanche Masterclass Grimdark Shadow.

Apply the first highlight with Warpaints Fanatic Bootstrap Brown, picking out the edges, and if you’re up for it, a wood grain pattern on the flat areas. Our new Masterclass Brushes are perfect for this, with their pinpoint tips and excellent control.

Finally, you guessed it, mix a bit of John Blanche Masterclass Ivory White into the Bootstrap Brown for the last highlight. Ivory White really is an extremely versatile colour.

Once the wood is painted, we can apply the rust to the steel areas. Thin down some Warpaints Fanatic Effect Fresh Rust and carefully paint it into crevices. Less is more here, as it can be quite overpowering. It’s easier to go back later and add more if needed.

Next, shade both areas with a bit of Warpaints Fanatic Strong Tone.

After this is fully dry, highlight both areas with their original basecoat colours, followed by a second highlight of Warpaints Historical Light Battle Dress on the bandages.

Follow this up with a layer of a mix of Warpaints Historical Dark Olive and Warpaints Fanatic Uniform Grey. You can use the side of your brush for a lot of this to pick out the raised strands without getting the colour into the darker recesses.

Next, switch to pure Warpaints Fanatic Uniform Grey and repeat the process, but in a smaller area, creating a bit of a gradient.

Lastly, use Warpaints Fanatic Ash Grey to pick out the lightest areas, and if needed, you can apply a bit of thinned-down Warpaints Fanatic Matt Black into some of the darkest areas to push the contrast a bit more.

Last, but not least, add some bloody tears to the face with thin streaks of Warpaints Fanatic True Blood.