Ultramarines

Ultramarines

By TableTop Ready

This tutorial is a step-by-step guide on how to finish painting Warhammer 40k Space Marines from the starter sets. It covers techniques like shading, recess shading, layering, and drybrushing for different areas such as armour, cloth, and skin, to add depth and detail to the miniatures. Additionally, it demonstrates how to apply transfers and texture bases for a complete tabletop-ready look.

Macragge Blue

Citadel · Base

Leadbelcher

Citadel · Base

Retributor Armour

Citadel · Base

Abaddon Black

Citadel · Base

Corax White

Citadel · Base

Mephiston Red

Citadel · Base

Bugman's Glow

Citadel · Base

Mournfang Brown

Citadel · Base

Agrax Earthshade

Citadel · Shade

Nuln Oil

Citadel · Shade

Reikland Fleshshade

Citadel · Shade

Pink Horror

Citadel · Layer

Dawnstone

Citadel · Layer

Calgar Blue

Citadel · Layer

Runefang Steel

Citadel · Layer

Wild Rider Red

Citadel · Layer

Skeleton Horde

Citadel · Contrast

Warpstone Glow

Citadel · Layer

Moot Green

Citadel · Layer

Kislev Flesh

Citadel · Layer

Ushabti Bone

Citadel · Layer

Screaming Skull

Citadel · Layer

Aethermatic Blue

Citadel · Contrast

Astrogranite

Citadel · Technical

General Base Coat & Details (from previous tutorial)

  1. 1.

    Basecoat everything using Macragge Blue spray.

    CITADEL COLOUR — MACRAGGE BLUE

  2. 2.

    Paint Macragge Blue from the pot to even out the color from the spray.

    CITADEL COLOUR BASE — MACRAGGE BLUE

  3. 3.

    Picked out all the silver details using Leadbelcher.

    CITADEL COLOUR BASE — LEADBELCHER

  4. 4.

    Picked out all the gold details using Retributor Armour.

    CITADEL COLOUR BASE — RETRIBUTOR ARMOUR

  5. 5.

    Picked out all the black details using Abaddon Black.

    CITADEL COLOUR BASE — ABADDON BLACK

  6. 6.

    Picked out white details using Corax White.

    CITADEL COLOUR BASE — CORAX WHITE

  7. 7.

    Picked out red details using Mephiston Red.

    CITADEL COLOUR BASE — MEPHISTON RED

  8. 8.

    Picked out flesh details using Bugman's Glow.

    CITADEL COLOUR BASE — BUGMAN'S GLOW

Definition (Shading)

  1. 1.

    Paint all the belts and pouches using Mournfang Brown.

    CITADEL COLOUR BASE — MOURNFANG BROWN

  2. 2.

    Apply Agrax Earthshade over all the belts and pouches, ensuring it settles into recesses.

    CITADEL COLOUR SHADE M — AGRAX EARTHSHADE

  3. 3.

    Apply Nuln Oil to all silver details (weapons, backpack).

    CITADEL COLOUR SHADE M — NULN OIL

  4. 4.

    Apply Reikland Fleshshade to all gold details (chest decoration, shoulder pad trims).

    CITADEL COLOUR SHADE M — REIKLAND FLESHSHADE

  5. 5.

    Recess shade the blue power armour with Nuln Oil, applying precisely into recesses and around details.

    CITADEL COLOUR SHADE M — NULN OIL

Highlighting

  1. 1.

    Layer Mournfang Brown on the raised details of the belts and pouches.

    CITADEL COLOUR LAYER S — MOURNFANG BROWN

  2. 2.

    Layer Pink Horror on the raised details of purity seal wax, chainsword handles, and bike handlebars.

    CITADEL COLOUR LAYER S — PINK HORROR

  3. 3.

    Drybrush the bolter and chainsword casings with Dawnstone, focusing on the edges.

    CITADEL COLOUR DRY S — DAWNSTONE

  4. 4.

    Drybrush the blue power armour with Calgar Blue, focusing on the edges.

    CITADEL COLOUR DRY S — CALGAR BLUE

  5. 5.

    Edge highlight the Outrider bike with Calgar Blue, using the side of the brush or thin lines for edges.

    CITADEL COLOUR LAYER S — CALGAR BLUE

  6. 6.

    Drybrush the gold details with Runefang Steel, then edge highlight the shoulder pad trim.

    CITADEL COLOUR DRY S — RUNEFANG STEEL

  7. 7.

    Highlight the red helmet with Wild Rider Red (edge highlight or drybrush).

    CITADEL COLOUR LAYER — WILD RIDER RED

Outrider Specific Details

  1. 1.

    Apply Skeleton Horde Contrast to the paper part of the purity seals in one even thin coat.

    CITADEL COLOUR CONTRAST — SKELETON HORDE

  2. 2.

    Drybrush the tires with Dawnstone.

    CITADEL COLOUR DRY S — DAWNSTONE

  3. 3.

    Recess shade the tires with thinned Mournfang Brown to create dirt buildup.

    CITADEL COLOUR LAYER M — MOURNFANG BROWN

  4. 4.

    Apply Agrax Earthshade all over the bike exhaust and a little way up the pipes.

    CITADEL COLOUR SHADE M — AGRAX EARTHSHADE

  5. 5.

    Apply Reikland Fleshshade about two-thirds of the way along the exhaust.

    CITADEL COLOUR SHADE M — REIKLAND FLESHSHADE

  6. 6.

    Apply Nuln Oil on the last third of the exhaust.

    CITADEL COLOUR SHADE M — NULN OIL

  7. 7.

    Highlight the edges of the exhaust using Runefang Steel.

    CITADEL COLOUR DRY S — RUNEFANG STEEL

  8. 8.

    Highlight the black casing of the bike console with Dawnstone.

    CITADEL COLOUR DRY S — DAWNSTONE

  9. 9.

    Paint the console screen with Warpstone Glow for a solid color.

    CITADEL COLOUR LAYER — WARPSTONE GLOW

  10. 10.

    Edge highlight the console screen with Moot Green.

    CITADEL COLOUR LAYER — MOOT GREEN

Unhelmeted Heads

  1. 1.

    Mix equal amounts of Kislev Flesh and Bugman's Glow, then paint on the raised features and details of the head.

    CITADEL COLOUR LAYER S — BUGMAN'S GLOW

  2. 2.

    Highlight the prominent details of the head using Kislev Flesh.

    CITADEL COLOUR LAYER S — KISLEV FLESH

Primaris Captain Specific Details

  1. 1.

    Basecoat the robes with Ushabti Bone.

    CITADEL COLOUR LAYER M — USHABTI BONE

  2. 2.

    Highlight the raised folds of the robes with thin lines of Screaming Skull.

    CITADEL COLOUR LAYER S — SCREAMING SKULL

  3. 3.

    Stipple Skeleton Horde Contrast towards the bottom of the robes for dirt.

    CITADEL COLOUR CONTRAST — SKELETON HORDE

  4. 4.

    Stipple Agrax Earthshade even lower on the robes for more dirt.

    CITADEL COLOUR SHADE M — AGRAX EARTHSHADE

  5. 5.

    Thin Agrax Earthshade with an equal amount of water and apply all over the skeleton on the shield for a dirty bone look.

    CITADEL COLOUR SHADE M — AGRAX EARTHSHADE

  6. 6.

    Paint the raised areas and details of the skeleton using Ushabti Bone.

    CITADEL COLOUR LAYER S — USHABTI BONE

  7. 7.

    Edge highlight all parchment and purity seals with Screaming Skull.

    CITADEL COLOUR LAYER S — SCREAMING SKULL

  8. 8.

    Highlight the sword using Runefang Steel.

    CITADEL COLOUR DRY S — RUNEFANG STEEL

  9. 9.

    Apply Aethermatic Blue Contrast all over the power nodes on the power sword and in the recesses of the skeleton.

    CITADEL COLOUR CONTRAST — AETHERMATIC BLUE

Basing

  1. 1.

    Apply Astrogranite to the bases using a texture spreader.

    CITADEL COLOUR TECHNICAL — ASTROGRANITE

  2. 2.

    Apply Nuln Oil over the dried Astrogranite on all bases.

    CITADEL COLOUR SHADE M — NULN OIL

  3. 3.

    Lightly drybrush all bases with Screaming Skull.

    CITADEL COLOUR DRY S — SCREAMING SKULL

  4. 4.

    Tidy up the base rims by painting them with Dawnstone.

    CITADEL COLOUR DRY S — DAWNSTONE