Painting Lizardmen Seraphon Skink

Painting Lizardmen Seraphon Skink

warhammer games workshop lizardman seraphon skink starpriest redgrassgames painting tutorial finished

Welcome! In this tutorial we are painting a Skink Starpriest. The Seraphon are a faction from the Warhammer Age of Sigmar. If you like reptile scales, and jungle themes, this is the army for you. So read our blog post ” Painting Lizardmen Seraphon Skink ”  and learn some quick tips so you can paint your own! Alternatively, you can read our other posts here.

Table of Contents

Painting Lizardmen Seraphon Skink: GETTING STARTED

warhammer games workshop lizardman seraphon skink starpriest redgrassgames painting tutorial assembly stage rgg age of sigmar
Assembly + 'Beefed Up' Base!

Step one, I assembled the mini with plastic cement. I also filed off some mould lines. I also ‘beefed up’ the base by mounting the steps on some cork bits. With texture paste and roots, I was able to make it look like an outcrop in a jungle swamp. 

Priming

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Primed.

Next I spray primed the model. But you can prime your models with a brush, like the RGG brush size 2. However I prefer to spray prime wherever possible as it is far speedier and easier. And I would recommend a gray or white primer for bold color schemes, like blue skin. On a lizardman, there is a lot of color!

WHAT DO I WANT TO ACHIEVE WITH THIS MINIATURE?

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On any painting project, it is good to think about the end at the start. Is it a gaming piece, or a competition entry? Is it for relaxation or to push technical skills? Here I want bright, striking colors. This is an exotic individual with jungle and mesoamerican vibes. A little research into the faction lore, as well as google images, can help get inspiration. Especially for the feathers. They are clearly status objects here, and it is important to paint them right.

Painting Lizardmen Seraphon Skink: Blue Skin

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Blue Skin colors.

I chose a dark blue to basecoat the areas of the skink skin. I picked a dark Prussian Blue as it has a rich pigmentation and good coverage. Ideal properties for a base paint! Then next I chose a much lighter sky blue, which I painted on all the raised areas. This would offer a nice contrast between light and shadow. Plus if you research reptiles and amphibians they often have a two-tone skin tone. And sky blue is especially appropriate for the theme, I feel.

I find the RGG size 2 brush is a solid ‘workhorse’ brush for most paintjobs. It can basecoat, wash, or layer! This is because it has a big belly that can hold lots of paint, but also a fine tip for precision work. And a Redgrass Games wet palette is invaluable to keep that acrylic paint workable whilst out of the pot! But I always recommend not painting straight from the pot as the paint needs thinning and mixing. And this is especially true of heavier paints or thick base paints.

BLOCKING IN BASECOATS

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Blocking in Basecoats.

All that blue skin needs breaking up. Because visual interest and variety are important. And especially for characters like this who are supposed to stand out. Now the main feature is done (the skin) it remains to base color the other features. I chose a I used warm gold for the metallic parts like his staff and bracelets. And for the feathers I chose a crimson and pale yellow. These offer nice contrast as well as being based on realistic feathers from tropical birds. His back scales I painted a hot orange to contrast with the cooler blues. And for fine details like the eyeballs, I used the Redgrass size 00, as I wanted more control. It is a really useful brush for fine precision work. And especially for the detail stages later like highlighting the feathers.

...These offer nice contrast as well as being based on realistic feathers from tropical birds.

Painting Lizardmen Seraphon Skink: Washes

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Washes & Highlights

This starpriest skink has a lot of delicate details. Especially the feather fronds. And these delicate details and the recesses practically demand a recess wash! But this is an easy way to add depth and definition with minimal time and effort. I used a red-brown wash on places like skin, gold, eyes, and feathers. And it can be really useful on the gold, too, as metallic paints can distort details. This was a premixed wash, but I thinned it a little before using it on the pale yellow eyes and feathers. Acrylic washes can ‘pool’ so thinning them gives more control to stop that. But it is easy enough to make your own wash by thinning a standard acrylic paint with water or medium.

Edge Highlights & Finishing Details

Lastly is the key details that need highlights. And I used my 00 for all the feather detailing. But I also used it for highlighting facial features with an off-white. I made small ‘scratches’ of hot orange on the crimson feathers edges. This was to simulate the individual vanes of the feather and suggest texture. Try applying these in diagonal lines with thinned paint. And to make them a bit more interesting, I added green vanes to the tips of the yellow feathers. So this added more interest and suggested that tropical theme.

Using the side of my brush, I added an edge highlight on the stone. And I also caught the edges of the gold with a bright silver to help them pop.

final details warhammer games workshop lizardman seraphon skink starpriest rgg painting tutorial feathers tutorial how to

I made small 'scratches' of hot orange on the crimson feathers edges....Try applying these in diagonal lines with thinned paint.

Painting Lizardmen Seraphon Skink: COMPLETED PIECE!

warhammer games workshop lizardman seraphon skink starpriest redgrassgames painting tutorial finished
The finished Starpriest!

And there you have it! A lizardman seraphon skink Starpriest. Hopefully you can learn some good ideas from this guide so you can apply them to a whole army of saurians! Good luck, and don’t forget reference guides are your friends here, not just the boxart. – James.

James is using the following RedgrassGames Painting tools

Wet palettes, brushes...

  • RGG-brush-2/0-00-miniature-painting-kolinsky

    Brush: Size 2/0

    14.50CHF
    Add to cart
  • v

    Brush: Size 2

    15.50CHF
    Add to cart
  • best dry palette miniature painting

    RGG Glass Palette – Studio XL

    31.90CHF
    Add to cart

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