How I paint - Chaos Daemons - Daemonettes of Slaanesh

I have been an enthusiastic fan of Daemons of Chaos for many years. As such, I bought the Wrath and Rapture box set a few years ago and painted up the Daemons of Khorne. The Daemons of Slaanesh unfortunately have just stayed on the sprue. This year, I have a hobby goal to paint up more miniatures than I buy. As such, I am working through my backlog.

I wanted to paint my Daemons of Slaanesh as per the description from the old Realms of Chaos books. 

They have creamy, pale skin and large, emerald pools for eyes, but instead of hair, most have horny bone ridges. Instead of hands, their arms end in scythe-like talons, much like a crab's claw. These man-sized Daemons stand upon two legs that end in two-toed feet fitted with black talons.

Required Paints:

• Corax White spray
• Pallid Wych Flesh
• Carroburg Crimson
• Lahmian Medium
• Pink Horror
• Screamer Pink
• Contrast Medium
• Corax White
• Emperor's Children
• Fulgrim Pink
• Army Painter Matt White
• Army Painter Shining Silver
• Retributor Gold
• Druchii Violet
• Volupus Pink
• Warpstone Glow
• Genestealer Purple

The miniature was undercoated with Corax White spray.

The flesh was then given a basecoat of Pallid Wych Flesh. 

This was then washed with a 1:3 mix of Carroburg Crimson and Lahmian Medium. When this was full dry the feet were given a second coat of mixture, which extended a little up the leg. A third coat was then applied to the toes of the feet.

The claws and the tail on the miniature have a crustacea-like quality. I began by giving them a basecoat of Pink Horror. 

When the basecoats were dry, the claws and tail were given a wash with a 1:4 mix of Screamer Pink and Contrast Medium. 

The hair was given 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 two coats. When this was fully dry, the hair was given a wash with a 1:4 mix of Screamer Pink and Lahmian Medium.

The claws and tail were then highlighted first with Pink Horror, then with Emperor's Children and finally with Fulgrim Pink.

The eyes were painted in with Warpstone Glow. 

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 Fulgrim Pink, so slightly tinting 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 dry brushing as it gives a far cleaner finish.

I then went back to the flesh to highlight it. The flesh was highlighted with Pallid Wych Flesh. This was then followed with a second highlight of Army Painter Matt White. Both highlights were thinned with a small quantity of water.

The corset was then painted with Army Painter Shining Silver. This was then washed with a 1:1 mix of Druchii Violet and Lahmian Medium. Once the wash was fully dry, the armour was highlighted with Army Painter Shining Silver.

The cloth on the miniature was given a basecoat with Genestealer Purple.*

This was also washed with a 1:1 mix of Druchii Violet and Lahmian Medium.

The jewellery, including some arm bands were painted with a 1:3 mix of Retributor Gold and Army Painter Shining Silver. This was washed with a 1:4 mix of Volupus Pink and Contrast Medium. Once the wash was fully dry the gold was highlighted with 1:3 mix of Retributor Gold and Army Painter Shining Silver.

Once the washes were fully dry, the cloth was highlighted with a mix of Genestealer Purple and a little Army Painter Matt White.

The miniature was then based as desired. I used sand painted black, this was then dry brushed with Mechanicum Standard Grey and dry brushed with Dawnstone. The base was then washed with Druchii Violet. Once the wash was dry, the base was dry brushed with Dawnstone and then Administratum Grey. 

This scheme gives the Daemonettes a nice otherworldly look. If you have any thoughts or questions, please drop them in the comments below.