New to the world of tabletop wargaming and wondering where to start without feeling overwhelmed? When you unbox your first squad of grey plastic models, the sheer variety of acrylic pots on the shelf can seem daunting. We want your creative journey to be smooth, rewarding, and fun. Understanding the different formulas is the single most important step toward mastering the hobby. This comprehensive Citadel Colour guide breaks down every paint formula engineered by Citadel and Games Workshop. You will quickly discover how simple it is to turn unpainted plastic into a stunning tabletop army.
The Crucial First Step: Priming Your Miniatures
Before applying any liquid pigment to your model, priming is a step you shouldn't skip. Acrylic paint needs a porous surface to adhere to, and unprimed plastic will cause wet paint to bead up or rub off over time. Applying a dedicated Citadel Spray Primer ensures your paint bonds permanently to the surface while preserving fine surface sculpts. When choosing your Warhammer undercoat, consider the final tone of your scheme: warm, cool, or bright foundations alter your topcoats significantly. For dark armor, metallic machinery, or grittier infantry, starting with a classic Citadel Chaos Black Spray provides an exceptional, shadowy base.
Blocking in Core Colors with Base Paints
Once your primer is completely dry, you are ready to block in the primary colors of your uniform or armor. A high-opacity Citadel Base Paint is specially formulated with heavy pigment loads to offer maximum coverage over your undercoat. To build a flawless basecoat, we always recommend applying two thin, diluted coats rather than one thick layer, which might obscure subtle details. Choosing an iconic shade like Citadel Macragge Blue establishes vibrant, opaque color across broad surfaces quickly. To achieve a smooth application without brush marks, use a brush with a fine point and good snap.
Adding Deep Shadows with Shade Paints and Washes
After blocking in your solid colors, your miniature might still look somewhat flat. This is where a thin, flowing Citadel Shade Paint comes into play. This liquid pigment naturally runs into the recessed areas of the sculpt, instantly creating realistic shadows. For precise results, focus on recess shading by running your brush directly into armor joints, cloth folds, and panel lines. Applying a universal dark wash like Nuln Oil on metals or the warm, earthy tones of Agrax Earthshade over leather and gold creates dramatic depth with virtually no effort.
Highlighting and Refining Details with Layer Paints
With deep shadows established in the crevices, the next stage is restoring brightness to the raised surfaces. A Citadel Layer Paint has a lighter, slightly more translucent formulation compared to base paints, making it perfect for smooth color transitions. By building up solid layers on raised areas and carefully highlighting sharp rims and edges, as well as facial features, you reflect natural light sources and make every sharp line on your model pop off the tabletop.
Fast Texture with Drybrushing
If edge highlighting feels too tedious or time-consuming for large horde armies, drybrushing is a remarkably fast alternative. By using a stiff, flat brush with nearly all the paint wiped away onto a paper towel, you lightly sweep a heavy Citadel Dry Paint across the model's raised surfaces so the chalky, highly pigmented paint catches only the highest raised ridges, making it the ideal method for rapidly texturing fur, weathered stone, chainmail, and oxidized metal armor.
Speed Painting with Contrast Paints
For hobbyists seeking the fastest way to paint your army without sacrificing visual quality, the Contrast system is a complete game-changer. A single application of Citadel Contrast Paint acts as a basecoat, shadow, and highlight all in one fluid motion. These pigments require a very smooth, light undercoat to work their magic. By starting with a dedicated Citadel Contrast Spray such as Wraithbone or Grey Seer, the translucent contrast paint flows off high points and settles heavily into details, delivering rich, shaded results in a fraction of the usual time.
Bringing Terrain and Bases to Life with Technical Paints
A miniature is never truly complete until its base tells a story. A Citadel Technical Paint allows you to execute complex environmental effects with incredible ease. For realistic Warhammer basing effects, you can spread thick textures like Stirland Mud to simulate battlefield terrain, or apply Astrogranite for a gritty, rubble-strewn base. Technical formulas also extend to special liquid effects on the model itself: adding a coat of Blood For The Blood God creates a glossy, wet-looking splatter that mimics fresh battle gore, giving your units an immersive, narrative presence on the gaming board.
Understanding Tabletop Painting Standards
As you progress through your army, it helps to understand Warhammer painting standards so you can set realistic goals for your studio time. Aiming for Battle Ready miniatures means completing a clean basecoat, a quick shade, and a textured base – perfect for getting entire armies onto the gaming table quickly. However, when you want to showcase hero characters or competition entries, you can push your skills toward Parade Ready miniatures. This higher standard involves meticulous multi-stage layering, precise edge highlights, volumetric shading, and intricate base detailing that demands extra time and patience.
Building Your Ultimate Miniature Painting Kit
Equipping your workbench with the right supplies from the start saves time and prevents unnecessary frustration. If you are a beginner, picking up a Citadel Starter Set is the easiest way to acquire essential tools, synthetic brushes, and core acrylic colors in one convenient box. Whether you select a sci-fi Warhammer 40k paint set or a fantasy-themed Age of Sigmar paint set, these bundles provide the best foundation for a new painting kit for any new hobbyist looking to master mixing, thinning, and color application.
Shop Citadel and Warhammer at Art Spices
At Art Spices, we are proud to serve as your premier EU shop for Warhammer paints. Whether you are expanding your collection in Lithuania or across Europe, we make it effortless to find top-tier supplies. As a leading Citadel Colour retailer in Lithuania, we carry the full range of sprays, bases, washes, and specialty technical formulas you need. Browse our store to buy Citadel paints online, stock up on official Games Workshop kits, and bring your miniature army to life today.
When you are ready to assemble your tools and begin painting your next squad, we invite you to buy your Warhammer and Citadel products directly from www.artspices.com.