Blood Angels - getting red that is simple and cool looking.

Okay, so those of you that game with me know that I LOATH painting red.  Hate it.  And I hate it because everytime I have painted it in the past, the finished product really looked choppy with the highlights.  You can't mix white into it because then it looks pink, so you have to use orange, and then it looks like your models are on fire.......well enter the GW washes.....both the old Baal Red and the Carrowburg Crimson.  They both provide a good finish to help "blend" all the highlights down a notch to make them look more natural.

Here are the steps to, what I think, is one of the best red schemes I have come up with.

 

Step 1 - Okay, technically not Step 1, but we have to remember that primer is important.  For all of the Blood Drinker (Blood Angel Successor Chapter) models I have painted thus far, I have stuck with Army Painter Red Primer.  It helps to give a good undertone and is not as hard to cover as the basic black primer, and not as picky as white primer (which can make the models look uber bright, not what I was going for.)

 

Step 2 - Give a watered down coat, across all main red areas, of Skorne Red (P3).  I like the Skorne Red because of the depth of the color.

 

Step 3 - Paint on a coat of Khador Red (P3).  This has a more vibrant feel.  It is okay to leave the Skorne Red from last step showing in some of the cracks.

 

Step 4 - No apply Evil Sunz Scarlet (GW) to the red areas, again leaving the last 2 colors present in the cracks.

 

Step 5 - Using Troll Slayer Orange (GW), apply an thin highlight to the areas that would be affected by light reflecting.  I typically do not use a "focal" point light source.  I normally just do the edge highlights on the raised edges, as if the light was coming from my eyes to the model. If the highlight gets thick, then thin it back out by using the scarlet from last step to paint the highlight back 

*hint - I do this for black edge highlights**

 

Step 6 - Now wash the entire red surface with Carroburg Crimson.  No need to water it down, just be careful that you use a light wash, as this wash will darken the model tremendously!

Tomorrow evening, I will finish off the Honor Guard, and provide tutorials on how I am finishing this squad up.

On a side note - **SQUEEE!!!! My Forge World order just shipped!