How I paint - Daughters of Khaine - Witch Aelves

I am a big fan of Aelves in Warhammer Underworlds. I also like to paint with a classic palette of colours for each race. So far, I have painted my Lumineth in Blue & White and my Kurnothi in Green & Brown. The Daughters of Khaine are effectively a death cult. As such, I wanted to represent this in their paint scheme. My Witch Aelves from Morgwaeth's Blade Coven are going to be painted in Red and Black, which will then be a counter point to my Lumineth. 

I was really pleased to have my Blade Coven shown on Warhammer Hobby Round Up back in November of 2020. 

More of my How to paint... articles can be found here.

Paints Required:

• Wraithbone spray
• Chaos Black spray
• Rakarth Flesh
• Reikland Fleshwash
• Abaddon Black
• Mephiston Red
• Leadbelcher
• Black Templar
• Carroburg Crimson
• Nuln Oil Gloss
• Ushabti Bone
• Lahmian Medium 
• Pallid Wych Flesh
• Evil Suns Scarlet
• Wild Rider Red
• Ironbreaker
• Stormhost Silver
• Screaming Bell
• Reikland Fleshwash Gloss
• Hashut Copper
• Sycorax Bronze
• Corax White
• Contrast Medium
• White Scar (Army Painter Matt White)
• Emperor's Children
• Incubi Darkness
• Eshin Grey
• Dawnstone
• Macragge Blue
  
• Kabalite Green
• Sybarite Green
• Temple Guard Blue
• Screamer Pink 

The miniature was undercoated with Wraithbone spray. I like the keep the base separate and undercoat it with Chaos Black spray.

The flesh was then given a nice smooth basecoat with Rakarth Flesh.

The flesh was then washed with Reikland Fleshwash.

The leather was then painted with Abaddon Black. The cloth was painted with Mephiston Red. The armour and the weapons were given a basecoat with Leadbelcher.

This was easily the most time-consuming step. Be patient and keep the brush work neat.

The leather was then painted with Black Templar. This gives the black leather more depth but also adds a silky shine. 

The cloth was given a wash with Carroburg Crimson. 

The sword blades and armour (metal 1) were washed with Nuln Oil Gloss.

The features on the flesh were highlighted with thinned down Ushabti Bone. I normally use Lahmian Medium to thin Ushabti Bone as water can cause (in my experience) the paint to become chalky.

Further smaller highlights were applied to the flesh using thinned down Pallid Wych Flesh.

The cloth was highlighted with Evil Suns Scarlet and then with Wild Rider Red.

The metal of the sword blades and the armour was highlighted with Ironbreaker. Edge highlights of Stormhost Silver were applied to the blade to provide the illusion of sharpness.

I wanted the edge of the armour, the sword hilts, and the coronet to be bronze in colour. I have grouped these items together a metal 2. These were all given a basecoat with Screaming Bell. Once this was dry, they were washed with Reikland Fleshwash Gloss.

The metal 2 sections were then highlighted with Hashut Copper, leaving the Reikland Fleshwash Gloss in the recesses. This was then followed with an edge highlight with Sycorax Bronze.

The hair on the Witch Aelves is a big focal point and I wanted it to appear off-white with a coloured tint running through it. I applied a basecoat of Corax White. This coat needs to be perfectly smooth and solid. So, I thinned the paint down a little with water and applied 2 coats.

The hair was then given a wash with a 1:1 mix of Carroburg Crimson and Contrast Medium. I used Contrast Medium because when it dries it pulls the pigment into the recesses.

The hair was then highlighted with a mix of White Scar (I now use Army Painted Matt White as the paint is a lot smoother) and a tiny quantity of Emperor's Children, so slightly tint the white. This mix was thinned down with water and each hair was carefully painted. Some final highlights were then applied just with White Scar.

I prefer painting each individual hair rather than drybrushing as it gives a far cleaner finish.

The next stages are all about the finer details on the miniature. The inside of the mouth was shaded with Carroburg Crimson. The eyes were painted in with Black Templar. When this was full dry thin lines of White Scar were painted across the black.

The jewels were basecoated with Incubi Darkness.

The black leather was given a minimal highlight first with Eshin Grey and then with Dawnstone. When I was highlighting the leather, due to the shiny nature of the Black Templar used earlier, I stood the miniature under a lamp and photographed it. Using these photographs, I could see where the light was reflected from. I then painted the highlights in these locations.

The pupils of the eyes were painted in with Macragge Blue (I always paint aelven eyes blue). The teeth were painted with thin lines of Pallid Wych Flesh.

The Jewels were highlighted, by painting a small cross, first with Kabalite Green. This was followed by a second highlight, using a smaller cross, with Sybarite Green.

To finish the teeth a thin line of Abaddon Black was painted horizontally across the mouth.

The last step was to apply some make-up to the face. She is a Witch Aelf and needs to look the part on the battlefield.

I made a glaze of Temple Guard Blue (thinned with Lahmian Medium) and applied this as eye shadow. I made a second glaze with Screamer Pink (again with Lahmian Medium) and applied this as a blusher on the cheek bones.

With both glazes, they are better being too thin as multiple layers can be applied. Do let each layer dry thoroughly before applying the next.

How did you find the method? Have you any questions? Let me know in the comments. Happy Hobbying.