How To Paint 40mm Viking Figures

Hullo folks,

The good news is - Vikings are easy to pigment! In fact, nigh 'Dark Age' models are. Its down largely to the simple tunics of the age, which for the regular folk tended to be plain died wool. This makes it simple for us to become slap-up results with a few bones colours and a little highlighting.

i.Associates and Undercoating. Its probably best to get with a light color for the undercoat as most of our colours today volition be manifestly, flat, and calorie-free.

ii. Research. There is plenty of good source material available on the internet for Dark Age clothing. Here is a good nautical chart which shows the dyes of the period, what source they came from and the kind of shades of color they produced.

three. Choosing Paints. Now we have the inquiry done, its but a thing of selecting colours that are similar to the dyes. Dont worry about getting exact shades, use whatever y'all have to paw as long equally they are shut enough it volition exist OK. Here are the viii I chose -

4. Base Coats. Pigment the main bodies starting time. Dont worry nigh painting over belts and pouches, or slipping onto the arms and legs. Just get the paint on the main tunics. We will tidy the rest up later. For now we just want block colours on the primary tunics.

Once you lot the tunics done, then we can do the arms and legs. This requires a trivial concentration not to sideslip onto the primary tunic, but dont worry if y'all accidentally exercise prune the tunic at this point, we have a flim-flam to sort that afterwards.

5. Painting the rest of the model. Once we have the tunics and arms/legs washed, its time to become the pare, beard, belt, pouches, shoes and whatever else the model may take. Everything but armour - dont worry well-nigh that just yet.

Pigment the flesh on the face, then the beard around that.

Take your time hither. The belt is tricky, but dont worry if you lot clip the tunic (nosotros nevertheless accept a trick in hand still to play). The pouch and straps are easy equally they are raised up from the model.

6. Ink wash. Optional, but easy! Use a chocolate-brown ink on the wood and leather, and a mankind wash on the skin and beard. Ink is easy to use and gives a real quick and proficient looking result. Advisedly castor the areas with ink, dont flood them. And again, dont worry if you lot slip upwards anywhere, we'll come to fixing mistakes in a bit.

With the beard and flesh - allow the ink see both areas. It gives a more than natural wait.

7. Highlighting. Remember the trick I mentioned to fix whatsoever mistakes? This is the part where nosotros tin can do that.

Now nosotros are going to mix the base of operations colour, with a little dollop of white, to provide a paler shade. The trick to mixing is H2o.

Drib a niggling patch of water on the area where we are going to mix, and then add the original base coat, and then stir in a little bit of white paint. Use only a piddling driblet of white, and mix until you tin can see a visibly lighter shade. So pigment this over the top of our tunic, leaving the original basecoat simply in the darker/shaded areas.

Y'all tin repeat this highlighting equally much every bit you like. The key to mixing really is Water. Not also much, but each shade you lot want to employ should be both,

one. A little lighter with white paint, and ii. A piddling more water.

This really is the key to 'blending'. Paint the lighter coat over any raised areas, or where the cloth calls for it. Merely be careful when adding water - besides much and it becomes also watery and not very good to use. With practice you volition become it though, so dont give up! Each lighter glaze should be on a smaller expanse than the one before.

For example, if the base coat is the entire arm, the first highlight should be 80% of the arm, leaving 20% of the arm in shade. The next highlight may exist just the elbow and the cuff. The highlight after that just the gage. Each highlight a piddling lighter with white, and little more watery.

8. Armour (and shields). Pigment any armour black. Helmets, swords, shield rim etc all black. Then apply a 'dry brush' technique for the silvery. If you dont know what dry out-brushing is, then just paint the silver on very lightly, run the brush over the area instead of trying to paint over the blackness. You should get an as practiced outcome. Recall - dont paint 'over' the black, instead run the castor gently over the top of it.

For the shield colour and blueprint, I took a little inspiration from a TV evidence. You can google 'viking shields' and yous should find plenty of designs and inspiration for your own.

And at that place nosotros become - told you it was like shooting fish in a barrel!

Remember - block paint tunic, then arms and legs. Then pick out the details of belts and pouches. Skin then bristles. Wash wood, leather and peel. Add together white and water to your base coat to highlight tunics.

Cheers for reading and enjoy your painting!

Chris