I’ve been getting numerous requests for paint “recipes” for my Raptors and Blood Angels of late; here are both recipes:
Raptors:
Black undercoat
Airbrush:
Knarloc Green
Castellan or Catachan Green
Agrax Wash
Athonian Camoshade Wash
Deathworld Green Highlight
Sometimes a little Camo Green final highlight.
Blood Angels:
White undercoat
Airbrush Khorne Red
Coelia Greenshade wash in recesses
Carrowburg Crimson Wash
Mephiston Red
Blood Red highlights
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So, there they are. I’ve read tons of recipes and studied many many pictures and tried to emulate painters who I admire. I’ve learned a lot from it. But I’ve never gotten another painter’s recipe to look anything like how they paint their own miniatures.
I read somewhere that there was a study done on bartender mixology where several bartenders were all given the same precise measurements of the ingredients to make a martini, and environmental controls were in place for each of them, and they all used the same methods to mix the drinks. They all still tasted different, and the study wasn’t able to figure out why exactly.
After many years of trying to improve as a painter, I sort of understand why now–it’s just impossible to paint something to look like anything other than your own style. Studying others’ styles is valuable for improving technique, but ultimately all lessons you learn will be filtered through your own experiences and attitudes and prejudices.
That’s just a long way of saying that these are the “best” Blood Angels I’ve painted to date in my own estimation, but as far as the recipe that made it possible, well, that would be nothing more than experience. I’m just a better painter than I used to be. I’m still nowhere near as good as I want to be, but I’m seeing progress which is exciting.
Just keep that in mind. If you came to this article from a google search for how to paint your Blood Angels, the recipe above is a good starting place, but the most important factor will be improving yourself as a painter as a whole. Go paint a dwarf, go paint something utterly not a Blood Angel. Do a lot of that. Your red marines will benefit in the long run.