How to Paint Slaves to Darkness

Slaves to Darkness covers both ends of Chaos: armoured Chaos Warriors, Chosen and Varanguard encased in dark plate, and the Darkoath - half-naked tribal raiders in furs and warpaint. They look nothing alike, and the trick to making them one army is to share the metals and the accent colour across both.

The signature look

Cold, dark steel that reads almost blue-black in shadow. Tarnished brass on trim, horns and rings rather than gold. Deep red cloth as the single warm note. On the Darkoath side, sunburnt skin, dyed hide and crude woad, with the same red rags and the same dirty brass tying them to their armoured cousins.

Painting the dark plate

1. Undercoat black and basecoat the armour Leadbelcher.
2. Wash the whole model with Nuln Oil, then a second thinned pass into the recesses only.
3. Glaze the flat plates with heavily thinned Drakenhof Nightshade - this is what gives the steel its cold, sinister cast.
4. Edge highlight Ironbreaker, then place Runefang Steel on the very sharpest corners and the tips of the horns.

For a matt-black variant, Black Templar contrast over Leadbelcher darkens the plate in one coat and still takes an Ironbreaker edge. Brass goes Warplock Bronze, Agrax Earthshade and a Runelord Brass edge; keep it dull, because bright gold makes Chaos Warriors look ceremonial.

Cloth and cloaks are Khorne Red basecoat, Nuln Oil shade and Mephiston Red on the raised folds, with Wazdakka Red only where the fabric catches light. Leather is Rhinox Hide drybrushed Skrag Brown.

The Darkoath

Bare skin means a different discipline. Basecoat Bugman's Glow, wash Reikland Fleshshade, layer Cadian Fleshtone and highlight Kislev Flesh - or use Darkoath Flesh contrast over Wraithbone for a fast, weathered result on a warband of twenty. Furs take Gore-Grunta Fur or Snakebite Leather contrast over bone; rope and rags go Zandri Dust with Agrax Earthshade.

Warpaint is the detail that sells them. Thin Thousand Sons Blue into a wash consistency and paint rough bands across the face, chest and upper arms, then edge the marks with Teclis Blue where they sit on raised skin. Keep the shapes crude and asymmetric - neat warpaint looks like face paint.

The four marks

The easiest way to theme a force is to shift the accent colour rather than the armour:

• Khorne - Khorne Red cloth, heavy Warplock Bronze and Skullcrusher Brass trim.
• Tzeentch - Thousand Sons Blue cloth over Ahriman Blue, with gold pushed up to Retributor Armour.
• Nurgle - Death Guard Green cloth, Athonian Camoshade over the metal, and Typhus Corrosion with Ryza Rust everywhere.
• Slaanesh - Screamer Pink into Fulgrim Pink cloth, and Auric Armour Gold trim edged Stormhost Silver.

Undivided means picking two of those and letting neither win, which is often the best-looking option.

Speed

Chaos Warriors are quick out of all proportion to how good they look, because the plate is basecoat, two washes and an edge - and dark metal is the most forgiving surface in the hobby. Varanguard and Archaon are the opposite: hours of trim, ornament and detail on a single model. A sensible plan is to knock out the infantry blocks first for a playable force, then treat the characters as projects.

Tips and common mistakes

• Glaze the steel cold. A thin blue glaze over washed Leadbelcher is the whole difference between "Chaos" and "generic knight".
• Dull the brass. Under-washed bronze looks like cheap jewellery.
• One red, everywhere. Using the same red on armoured and Darkoath units binds the army together.
• Crude warpaint. Rough, uneven marks read as ritual; tidy ones do not.

Try a mark's accent against the base steel in the scheme generator.