This article is part of a larger series on how to paint Dark Angels space marines. For more on painting Dark Angels, you can return to that series by clicking this link.
The Dark Angels aren’t really my thing but I’ve been known to paint them from time to time, both as part of my Deathwatch and also when I have to dump something on Greg’s lap or paint a new release. The Dark Angels have a pretty cool color scheme but it’s pretty uncomplicated, which makes it easy to paint large groups of them. This method is pretty close to the Games Workshop standard method for painting Dark Angels.
Step 1: Primer, Basecoat, and Wash
I primed the model black, then laid down a basecoat of Caliban Green. Then I washed that with Nuln Oil to darken the recesses and hit it with another coat of Caliban Green to brighten the main panels.
Step 2: Knee Heraldry
I did some highlighting before this but at some point I painted the knee heraldry. Drawn thin lines you want to color inside – in this case I used Rakarth Flesh and Abaddon Black – then paint inside them. Highlight and shade them later as appropriate.
Step 3: Highlights
I did some progressive highlights on the armor panels mixing Caliban Green and Waaagh! Flesh, then did some edge highlights with Waaagh! Flesh. You can probably skip those – I covered most of them later with Warpstone Glow. Warpstone is a bit too bright a green for the panel shading though so Waaagh works better here for mild highlights.
Step 4: Details
Time to basecoat some details. I fill in the metal parts and underarmor with Leadbelcher. The eye lenses and bolter are Mephiston Red, the chest aquila is Rakarth Flesh, and the strap on the bolter will be painted Cygor Brown.
Step 5: Highlights and Washes
This is probably the most time-consuming step. The aquila was shaded with Seraphim Sepia, the bolter was shaded with Carroburg Crimson, and the metal parts were shaded with Leadbelcher.
At this point I then did another big set of edge highlights on the armor using Warpstone Glow, covering most (but not all) of the work I’d done with Waaagh! Flesh. The Aquila would get highlighted with Rakarth Flesh and then Reaper Polished Bone, and the bolter would get highlighted with Evil Sunz Scarlet.
Step 6: Final Highlights
I did a final set of edge highlights on the most raised/corner spots using Moot Green, which is very bright compared to Caliban Green so a little goes a long way here. I shaded the strap on the bolter with Agrax Earthshade, then edge highlighted it with Rakarth Flesh. I’d end up freehanding the squad marking on the shoulder pad, but I recommend you use a transfer for this part.
And that’s it. It’s an Intercessor so there’s a lot of edge highlighting but this model didn’t take so long, all things considered – maybe a couple of hours, and if I had to do more I could streamline the process quite a bit.
This article is part of a larger series on how to paint Dark Angels space marines. For more on painting Dark Angels, you can return to that series by clicking this link.
