Verdigris Painting Tutorial

A long time ago I was experimenting a lot with getting just the right combination for painting patina/verdigris on my models, namely Grave Guard and Black Knights - and that was before Nihilakh Oxide was a thing. Eventually, I got the thing right, wrote down the recipe and used it successfully on Krell. Then, when I was working on Nagash and the Wight King I managed to make photos and prepare a whole tutorial describing the whole thing. Since then I used it also on the converted Necrosphinx, more such projects will come up in the future.

And before I start, let's clear this thing - I use old paints so if it's unavailable - use this conversion chart

First - I mixed paints you see below, with TinBitz:Gunmetal (Warplock Bronze:Leadbelcher) ratio being about 2,5:1 or maybe 2:1 - the effect was as pictured:

I added about the same amount of water as the paint to make it thinner and easier to use. A single coat was enough to achieve a smooth finish.

Next, I made some turquoise - I don't really have turquoise paint so I mixed it. Last time I used following recipes:

Dark turquoise

• 1 part Dark Angels Green (Caliban Green)
• 1 part Regal Blue (Kantor Blue)
• 12 parts water
• 2 parts Vallejo Glaze Medium (can be replaced with water)

Light turquoise

• 1 part Goblin Green (Warboss Green)
• 1 part Enchanted Blue (Caledor Sky)
• 1 part Skull White (White Scar)
• 12 parts water
• 2 parts Vallejo Glaze Medium (can be replaced with water)

In the end, you should get something like this - if not, adjust the amounts of green and blue to your preference:

The paint should be pretty thin, covering the metallic parts only slightly, flowing into the recesses. I am also using a bit of Vallejo Glaze Medium in the mix because it makes the whole mixture flow and dry a bit smoother, but it should work with just water too. I was putting both colors on the minis, light on larger surfaces and edges and dark in the creases - wetblending them in the process. Don't worry about precision, it should be messy at this stage. Before drying:

After drying mostly:

When this dried I painted them once again - this time with light turquoise only and putting it rather on raised surfaces and edges - and being untidy and quick with it - it doesn't need to be neat and clean. The thickness of the paint should be the same as on the earlier step, so if you have some remaining, that's perfect. Wight King and Nagash after this phase:

When this dried I tried stippling it with white paint - with this brush:

I begin by taking a bit of white paint on the brush and then wipe it on a piece of towel until it's dry - just like with drybrushing - but rather than brushing the mini, I poked it vertically. It leaves little, untidy points which makes it look quite weathered.

At this point, it looks rather acceptable, especially if you stipple the things a little tidier and dryer (I knew the next phases will cover it up and profit from messiness). Patina Overload.

Next, I took Tin Bitz (Warplock Bronze) and stippled the mini with this - only this time I didn't bother drying the brush completely, it should still have quite a bit of paint on it. Stippling it like that was leaving large, untidy spots with some rough texture to them. I left creases and dents in armor, focusing on the exposed and raised parts - covering them with the paint roughly and untidy. At this point, you can add some gold details that will make some parts pop out after the last phase. Nagash's crown after adding Tin Bitz and Vallejo Old Gold.

After this, I stippled it again - using white and really dry, the same as earlier. This left on the mini a mix of points in turquoise, tin bitz and white - with turquoise in the creases, tinbitz on raised surfaces and edges and white dots as little accents. The difference is subtle, so I didn't make a photo - but don't omit it, because those tiny dots help in the last phase.

And finally I used the light turquoise paint once again - you can use the same recipe, only this time use 16 parts water and 3 Vallejo Glaze Medium, it should be much, much flowier. Using this mix, I washed the whole armor completely. And this was the point when stippling turned out to be a great discovery! You see, all this stippling left a rough texture on the mini - and wash rather than just flowing into the creases, was also leaving its mark on the surfaces, making clots and spots - all of them quite random and very weathered. And this is how the minis on the top picture came out to be. I was surprised and very pleased with the result.

The final result on the Wight King and Nagash's crown: