How to paint Blood Angels was the question one of you asked me in a comment on my YouTube channel. So I took the challenge on the fly and decided to make this new video dedicated precisely to the understanding of the Blood Angels.
How to paint Blood Angels with airbrush
In Warhammer 40,000, the Blood Angels are one of twenty Space Marine Legions. They are known for their bloodthirst in battle and feared for the curse they carry within themselves. They are among the Chapters of the oldest foundation among those that make up the Space Marines, at the service of the Emperor. The unmistakable characteristic of their armor is the red color that distinguishes them. In this video I will explain how to paint them easily in three steps, using the airbrush.
After applying the primer, black as usual in these cases, we will proceed by giving 3 shades of red:
- Khorne Red from below for shadows,
- Mephiston Red from above for halftone
- Evil Sunz Scarlet for the highlights
Before loading the airbrush, I diluted the color in an old blister to give it the right viscosity needed to be used with the airbrush. At this point with light strokes, I started coloring our Space Marine from below. Don’t be in a hurry, understand the shapes of the miniature well and try to cover only where you think the miniature will take less light, once turned upside down.
I have also repeated the process for Mephiston Red, applying this time the color from above. In reality, I only applied the last shade to the areas most exposed to light such as shoulder straps, face, chest or backpack.
Use the shader on the Power Armour
Before proceeding with the shaders, I applied black by brush to all those parts not of the armature and the miniature, not affected by the red. On the armor, I decided to use a mixture of two shaders: one from the red Vallejo and one from the black Citadel. In this way, I guaranteed the right shade in the shade with respect to the colors of the armor.
On Space Marines, the shader should not be given as a “wash” on the whole miniature, but a thin brush must be used, so that it insinuates into the inlets by capillarity, without “dirtying” the work done on the armature.
To conclude this miniature, it is enough to paint a few more details, starting with the silver parts such as the eagle on the chest, and some parts of the backpack. I used The Army Painter’s Gun Metal, a dark silver. With the same color, but with the drybrush technique, I also colored the Bolt Riffle.
Blood Angels Space Marine: paint your eyes
With Rakarth Flesh, I have given the base of color to both the seal and the eyes. To use this color for the eyes is a technique that I learned from Squidmar Miniatures, you can find the link to his video here at the top right. In reality, the video describes how to make the eyes of the Space Marines and here I used the same technique that consists in first giving a base of Rakarth Flesh, then a transparent and diluted green and then a touch of white. The result was very satisfying!
And to finish the job, I highlighted the silver parts with light silver from The Army Painter: Claymore Blade.
