Painting Grey Ruins
In this article, we’ll cover how to paint grey ruins in five simple steps. This beginner-friendly tutorial uses almost exclusively drybrushing techniques, making it easy to replicate. We’ll also cover some additional terrain tips at the end to take it to the next level. We’re using terrain from the Hagglethorn range, but the technique applies to any model.
We used the following paints from the Army Painter range, but you can easily swap them out for other brands.
- Black Undercoat spray
- Dungeon Grey
- Ash Grey
- Arid Earth
- Leather Brown
- Gun Metal
For tips on technique, check out our tutorial video here on drybrushing terrain.
Step 1) Undercoat black!
Any brand of black undercoat primer is fine here. Avoid priming in too dry or too humid conditions if you can help it, and spray around 20-30cm away from the model to avoid drowning the details in paint.
Step 2) Drybrush of Dungeon Grey
A generous drybrush of Dungeon Grey all over, getting all the raised areas evenly.
Step 3) Drybrush of Ash Grey
Similar to the previous step but trying to leave some of the previous grey showing on the bricks.
Step 4) Drybrush of Arid Earth
In this step, we want to hit the terrain’s highest points and most pronounced edges for additional contrast.
Step 5) Leather brown drybrush in recesses and door
For the final painting step, bust out the Leather Brown and drybrush the doors. We also did some spots in corners where you might expect dust and dirt to collect. This helps break up the monotony of grey bricks. Finally, paint the door handles with Gun Metal, and it’s finished!
These super-easy, cool-looking ruins are easy for anyone to paint. So if you’ve got a bunch to get painted, try recruiting friends or family members to help you! It’s effective and fun, and it will get your terrain looking good and ready for the battlefield.
Once the paint was dry, we added extra details by using PVA to glue on various types of flock, clump foliage, and grass tufts. It’s entirely up to your taste, but you can really push the terrain here by adding snow effects or weathering powders for some more realism.