Having shown you how to build and paint the bases previously, here’s my guide to how I achieve my Soulblight Dire Wolves. I do use an airbrush for many of the steps, although they could all be achieved by layering or glazing with a brush.
I like to start by coating the wolves with The Fang. This colour is going to be the starting point for all of the skin on the dire wolves.
I then apply a little Grey Seer to raised areas such as the ribs and joints, to add a little more depth and definition to the model. We don’t need to reach the full opacity of grey seer in this step.
Then, apply the first fur colour. For this model I’ve chosen to go with Abaddon Black, although other wolves in the squad have used a variety of colours such as brown, cream, grey and white.
Then give the fur a ‘zenithal’ style highlight from above with a shade lighter than your fur. I used Dawnstone This will add a little variation, and mean that in person the colour feels different from different angles.
To make the torn areas of skin look dead and rotting, I like to add a bit of a ‘glow’ around these by faintly airbrushing the area with a skin coloured paint, in this case Kislev Flesh.
This is probably the step I find most fun; painting up the flesh in a red tone. I actually use Screamer Pink for this, to tie them into the rest of my Soulblight army, although any deep, saturated shade of red will work well.
This step is fairly subtle, but I just add in a little white to the red colour used previously and highlight any raised edges of muscles or hanging flesh, to add a bit more variation.
I use a 3 colour approach to paint the bones on these models, starting with Baneblade Brown, which gives a nice, desaturated brown as a starting point. Just cover all of the bones showing on the model with this colour.
As a mid-tone for the bones I use Rakarth Flesh. You want this step to cover most areas of bone, avoiding some of the recesses and lower sections.
Finally, you can come in with your final bone colour and highlight the extreme edges and angles, which will leave you with a good amount of contrast. I went for Wraithbone.
Once done, I then add it to the base. I paint the bases for these Dire Wolves separately so that I can batch paint them. If you want more basing tips check out my futuristic necromunda bases, or the murky, underwater Harrowdeep/Nethermaze bases that I’ve also done guides for!
If you give it a go, let me know! Leave a comment here or tag me on Instagram at @ajb_minis.
Did you enjoy this article? You could always tip the author with a coffee (or something stronger). If you want to pick up some Soulblight Dire Wolves or any of the paints used in this guide then check out Element Games. They have great deals on a wide range of minis, paints and basing materials. Finally, make sure you’re following us on Instagram to stay up to date and get involved in our community!
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