Previously, I posted a tutorial on how to paint the Grey Wolf for a Goblin Wolf Rider, and while there’s nothing wrong with a unit full of grey wolves, a little diversity in colour keeps things more interesting!
For inspiration, we look back in time to see how the legends of the ‘Eavy Metal team at Games Workshop painted their models back in the 80s and 90s. In this case, we look at this beautiful box of Goblin Wolf Riders below…
Let’s begin
So, with this beautiful box art in mind, let’s get started. Below is the starting point, with the models primed in white, and the bases painted following the Basing for Warhammer: The Old World – “Dark Lands” Style tutorial.
Base Coats
From left to right, we will refer to these as the “Dark Brown”, “Red Brown”, “Grey”, “Light Brown”, and “Black” Wolves respectively. For the base coats we use the following colours:
- Dark Brown: Two thin coats of Citadel: Rhinox Hide.
- Red Brown: Two thin coats of Citadel: Doombull Brown.
- Grey: Using a wet blending technique, start with Citadel: Celestra Grey from the bottom, and then blend in Citadel: Stormvermin Fur on the top.
- Light Brown: Wet-blending Vallejo: Plague Brown from the bottom, and adding Vallejo: Parasite Brown on the top.
- Black: Two thin coats of Citadel: Abaddon Black.
When wet-blending, you have to work a bit fast, and we ignore the “two thin coats” mantra. Mix water into the paint, but quickly apply a generous coat of the first colour. Then, while this paint is still wet, start adding the second colour from the top. Because both paints are still wet, they will blend together where they meet, creating a smooth transition. A fun, useful and easy technique!
Shading
As per usual, it’s time to apply some shading using washes. The colours used are:
- Dark Brown: Citadel: Agrax Earthshade.
- Red Brown: Citadel: Reikland Fleshshade.
- Grey: Citadel: Nuln Oil.
- Light Brown: Citadel: Seraphim Sepia.
- Black: Nothing, there’s no shading Abaddon Black…
Highlight Step 1
We start bringing back the vibrancy in three steps of dry-brushing. In the first highlight step, we apply a very “heavy” dry-brush using the following colours:
- Dark Brown: Dry-brush using the base colour of Citadel: Rhinox Hide.
- Red Brown: Dry-brush using the base colour of Citadel: Doombull Brown.
- Grey: Dry-brush using the lighter of the two base colours, Citadel: Celestra Grey.
- Light Brown: Dry-brush using the lighter of the two base colours, Vallejo: Plague Brown.
- Black: Dry-brush using Citadel: Skavenblight Dinge.
Highlight Step 2
In the second step, we approach the dry-brushing with a bit more care. Don’t apply it as heavily as in the first step, and focus on the top-facing parts of the model.
- Dark Brown: Dry-brush using Citadel: Gorthor Brown.
- Red Brown: Dry-brush using Citadel: Skrag Brown.
- Grey: Dry-brush using Citadel: Ulthuan Grey.
- Light Brown: Dry-brush using a mix of Vallejo: Plague Brown and Citadel: Yriel Yellow (a sort of “mustard” colour).
- Black: Dry-brush using Citadel: Stormvermin Fur.
Highlight Step 3
In the final highlight step, lightly dry-brush, and focus on the most important details: the head, the ridge on the back of the Wolf and the tip of the tail. We use the following colours:
- Dark Brown: Dry-brush using a mix of Citadel: Gorthor Brown and Citadel: Yriel Yellow.
- Red Brown: Dry-brush using a mix of Citadel: Skrag Brown and Citadel: Yriel Yellow.
- Grey: Dry-brush using Vallejo: Dead White (or any other pure white paint).
- Light Brown: Dry-brush using pure Citadel: Yriel Yellow.
- Black: Dry-brush using a mixture of Citadel: Fenrisian Grey and Citadel: Stormvermin Fur.
Final Step
After this phase, all that is left is the details — the eyes, teeth, tongues, and in case of the “pack leader”, his head armour. Check out the Previous Tutorial on Painting Wolves that covers the eyes, fangs, and mouths (the head armour is using the same recipe as the red Night Goblin Weapons).
And that’s it! A nice variety of five different Wolf colours, just like in the Good Ol’ Days!
If you want to see how I paint the riders, check out the tutorial on Painting Goblin Wolf Riders (“Da Ladz of da Blazin’ Sun”).
Closing Words…
If you have any question, feel free to leave a comment below, or drop me an email at harm@harmsworkshop.com. If you found this very useful and want to show some support, you can do so via my Ko-Fi page.