How to Paint Grey Knights: Blue Steel Armour

[@sXeAndriex]

I love, love, love when video keep their errors in, point them out, and then show how to fix them. That's by far the most useful part of any tutorial. None of us are perfect and it's important to know how to recover.

[@RobTheHandsome1]

Agreed

[@ArtisOpus]

Couldn't agree more mate, I also think it's one of the most important and greatest parts of the hobby, thanks so much!😊

[@sentionno.4553]

Accidentally using acompletely different Shade than intended lead to me discovering my armys color sceme lol

[@deanunsworth308]

Never get bored of watching your videos, finally got my grey knight's started so this video is getting watched over and over

[@ArtisOpus]

Yes, Dean! Please let us know in another comment how they go, good luck! I really enjoyed them, imagine you will, too :)

[@unholy7324]

this is the first video ive seen of yours and right now im about to go look at your other videos and im praying to the emperor that you're still active

[@ArtisOpus]

So active! Enjoy hundreds of videos :)

[@ScytheNoire]

The blue steel reminds me of RoboCop's colouring. Love your power sword method.

[@ArtisOpus]

Thanks, dude! And yeah, it's exactly that kind of tone :)

[@petermerz2704]

You are a real master of the brush! Love your technique and have learned a lot. Thanks again for sharing!

[@ArtisOpus]

Our pleasure, dude! Thank you very much for your support🤩

[@GamingMediocrity]

Amazing colour. Never seen such a great mix of metallics/non metallics.

[@brentwood7660]

Amazing work! Always appreciate your detailed explanations of what your doing. You transcend the true meaning of technique. Bro you have changed the industry.)

[@ArtisOpus]

Oh, that's so nice of you to say, thanks a ton! I've been surprised myself by how far you can push a technique if you just commit to experimentation 😊

[@jaimecamposmartinez]

Loved the video, learn a lot from the techniques, and planning to use them on my new army of grey knights! Thanks a lot! 💙

[@paulmurphy7087]

Mate. You have included so many brilliant techniques and tips in this video. Superb stuff (again!). When I have finished my Iron Hands models I was going to go on to Imperial Knights, so this tutorial has come at just the right moment. Thanks Byron.

[@ArtisOpus]

Awesome, dude, glad it came in useful😊 How's painting Iron Hands going? Any progress?

[@paulmurphy7087]

Nearing the end. I needed to paint the Necrons from the Indomitus box for my 8 yr old grandson, so lockdown project has overrun a bit! I will submit a few examples later this week for your future you tube 'critique'. Wont have finished the transfers on some but would welcome some comments and will add a bit of detail to the submit. Its been hard painting mainly in black!!! Thanks for asking.

[@leifarn1886]

The how to create a wash part of this video could be a whole sepperate video its so good.

[@ArtisOpus]

Thanks, dude, we'll definitely take note of this for future content 😊

[@garyknight3018]

Looks amazing, super effective and thanks for taking the time and focusing on explanation of some of the theory in the middle!

[@ArtisOpus]

My pleasure! Glad it was helpful and thanks for watching! 😊

[@chicagohobbyhero]

Why you trying to get me to start Grey Knights? Lol, thanks for another great video, love the gold pickout technique.

[@ArtisOpus]

I hear Element Games is a great place to pick some up😉I must say each time I see their models painted nicely I get some urges myself, they've got a really clean aesthetic which I really love to dirty up😅

[@grimgar3048]

love it, just ordered a couple grey knight bits and again one of your recipes will come in super handy

[@operatorhoot470]

This is the blue steel I want to do my Necrons in!!!

[@ArtisOpus]

They're such simple lovely models... plus terminator vibes, sure you'll be great!

[@tassan82]

Yessssssss!

[@dannyeccles1894]

Man, I am loving your dry brushes. Nearly finished off my small one already. And I really enjoy using your blood angels tutorial.

[@ArtisOpus]

That's great to here, dude. thanks so much for the support! Can we see it somewhere? 😊

[@dannyeccles1894]

@@ArtisOpus I've only got one pic up on my Instagram of a single blood angel outrider. Ddpaintingstudios if you fancy a look.

[@S2uBuGaming]

Awesome video again Byron. I have shared this with a friend of mine jn the states who collects and paints Grey Knights, hopefully this will be a good bit of inspiration for him. Keep up the great work. Always enjoy your videos

[@ArtisOpus]

Thanks man, I love those metallics! :D

[@Vicky1138thx]

So clean and crisp looking 🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@ArtisOpus]

Thank you 🙌

[@imp3ri3x93]

Wow great results 👏🏻, another great video thanks. GK are my planned next army and I'm 100% gonna use this method. As I don't play with grey plastic this will help me get the models out nice and quick and still look amazing. Thanks Byron 👍🏻

[@ArtisOpus]

You're most welcome, dude! It's a hugely enjoyable way to approach the models, you can even remove steps without it affecting the final quality if you're in a hurry. Check out our metallic Imperial Knight tutorial for some more info on efficient metallics👌

[@egiljo72]

Looks superb, tnx for a great tutorial

[@ArtisOpus]

My pleasure 😊 Glad you liked it and thanks for watching!

[@Ken-jd5kg]

very professional work!

[@philgee486]

Just a lovely blue steel effect and a lot of the thought process of combining dodgy paint characteristics to get specific desired behaviour on the model

[@ArtisOpus]

Thanks, bud! I've definitely developed huge love for metallics over the past year😊

[@Himle_]

This seems interesting! Not that I have any Grey Knights to paint, but what's to say one couldn't buy a few^^ Love the extra in depth look about washes and wouldn't mind seeing more like that, every now and then.

[@ArtisOpus]

Awesome, dude, thanks so much! Maybe it doesn't even need Grey Knights, plenty of metallic stuff out there and it's a really nice method to use on anything 😊

[@Himle_]

@@ArtisOpus Yepp! Still have a land raider and some other vehicles that need painting (eeeh, and assembling^^). And what's wrong with metallic bling on the field of battle? :D

[@bens-random-life]

I'm weeks into my Grey knights, but this looks awesome

[@seand77]

Love it, going to get one myself. The only thing I would do is detail the tilting shield

[@ArtisOpus]

That really stood out to me as a weak point of my paint job. Couldn't agree more, it's quite a noticeable thing so make him look pretty🤩🤩

[@wpb5876]

Amazing stuff!

[@ArtisOpus]

Thanks, dude!

[@chriss427]

Love this tutoarial, would this same technique work on the strike teams and the terminators?

[@ArtisOpus]

Absolutely! You might need to drop a brush size or two for access between legs etc. Asides from that identical :)

[@daves4828]

Base coat would be great for robocop armour. Great vid

[@ArtisOpus]

100% dude, it's perfect!🤩 Thank you!

[@fuzzyhair321]

Dry brush the base coat. I'm looking at using grey knights silver blue but that looks fantastic idea

[@lavoltare6307]

Luv your work thank you so much.

[@ArtisOpus]

Hey buddy, thanks so much! We'll keep making if you keep watching :)

[@bevanwilson8820]

Ben Stiller couldn't do blue steel any better. Looks awesome and makes me wanna go get this model and attempt to replicate it... Maybe one day... Not this day... Wish I could weigh in on whether to edge highlight the power sword... I can't decide either.

[@ArtisOpus]

I think it goes like this: One is more striking One is more subtle/realistic I don't know which is best! :D Normal answer is a middle ground - so maybe very careful edge highlight, and some reflection lines? Cheers dude!

[@bevanwilson8820]

@@ArtisOpus oooh both. Wouldn't mind seeing all three side by side. that could be interesting. I bet I still couldn't choose between them haha

[@cordhommealexis4540]

Superbe réalisation. Merci pour la qualité de vos vidéos. En France je ne trouve pas la marque Scale 75, pouvez vous me conseiller un équivalent de Huldra Blue chez Citadel ou Vallejo? Merci beaucoup.

[@ArtisOpus]

Bonjour :). De rien! I would drop a little of a contrast (leviadon blue) in a deep blue, you want a strong colour, but not strong coverage.

[@cordhommealexis4540]

@@ArtisOpus Merci beaucoup pour votre réponse rapide. Je vais faire ça. Bonne continuation et encore merci pour vos superbes vidéos ! Et je vais bientôt me faire plaisir en achetant des pinceaux Artis Opus :)

[@ArtisOpus]

Mon pleisure :). Enjoy them, they are special, and there is no limit to what you can achieve with them, and some imagination!

[@PainterIdeas]

Amazing!!

[@ArtisOpus]

Cheers, dude!

[@rvdammit]

Still in the experimenting stage, and new to mixing paints, but having some success with Scale 75 Metal Alchemy Cobalt and Vallejo Mecha Air Metal Black to get gunmetal bue tones

[@skiesofarcadia1544]

I absolutely love how in-depth you go in this tutorial and explain literally everything. I'm having trouble getting my gold to pop as much as yours (the Casandora yellow/Iyanden Darksun mix), is there anything obvious I could be doing wrong? After 3-4 coats I feel it doesn't look as vibrant as your first coat, or maybe it's because I'm doing it on Strike Marines rather than something larger?

[@Bloodbath701]

Awesome work!!! Surprised you didn’t scribble something on the scroll or book

[@Ed-xo9pc]

Very much like how you show your mistakes and how you fix them. Am I right in thinking you thin your paints for drybrushing in a similar way you would for normal painting, rather than trying to paint from the pot?

[@ArtisOpus]

Glad you think so, dude. The dampening pad is the secret - it reliably introduces a small amount of moisture which is good for exactly all the reasons it's good for normal painting. It's an essential part of how I drybrush to a higher level😊

[@cakkyboy]

Really love this. My main question is about the "How to create and test a wash" section. Obviously, with a larger model like this, it would probably be a project on its own, as opposed to painting up a squad of infantry. Obviously you're a professional, and so have an eye for a colour more, so if you were to make up another wash with the same colour and properties, for example, next weekend when you're painting up your terminator squad. But how would less experienced people like myself, make sure they maintained a consistent colour/tone, for the whole army, which might take a month or two to paint? Hope that makes sense?

[@ArtisOpus]

It absolutely does, dude. You can do two things: Write your recipe (small differences each time won't make a difference too much to the mini if you don't get it perfect, it's one stage of many). Make up a mix batch, if you're doing an army this is the best! Both probably best, if you run out, etc. Do remember the wash is a single stage, of many, so even if it's not 'perfect' the variation is hidden and involved in so many other steps, it probably won't even be noticeable, if you roughly follow a recipe especially.

[@cakkyboy]

@@ArtisOpus Excellent. Thanks so much. I really do love how you guys take the time to answer all questions. Not many companies/channels do, and it goes a long way!

[@TRUEiMPROrecords]

I'll definately play around with this. Has that retro-scifi-robot look, love it! Gonna try this on some Tau crisis suits. Couple of questions.. 1. Would a zenithal higlight before the drybrusehd basecoat (maybe a cool gray) do anything for added contrast or is the drybrushing too opaque or that? 2. Would an airbrushed coat of varnish before the ink/wash help with pooling or ruin the look? 3. Where can I get that Drybrushing Pad?

[@dewaalcloete4530]

Can you substitute the huldra blue with anything having a hard time finding it where i live ?

[@ArtisOpus]

Absolutely man. Add a strong dark blue (pure blue) contrast or ink to a strong dark blue paint (again. Pure, not pastel or with white or green in it)

[@WrenchNato]

Sir, I am fully enjoying all these videos. I had a question about this and your video "Why not DRYBRUSH your tiny details...". In that video I really like that combination of blues. How would I apply the metallic technique used here to those dry brushed blues? I had asked this before, and you mentioned removing black and removing blue, applying the blue shade selectively and then repeat pure silver, but I'm not sure I followed. Would you kindly go over those steps?

[@cakkyboy]

Casandora or Cassandra yellow? I spent ages trying to find the Cassandra listed at the beginning :P Unfortunately Iyanden Darksun isnt made anymore it seems. What would be a good alternative in your opinion?

[@ArtisOpus]

Averland Sunset :)

[@shortti789]

@Artis Opus where did you get your texture mat from??? This is a brilliant video btw

[@justinkotrba2197]

Awesome! Do you think doing the mix of Stormhost Silver/ Russ Grey/ Abaddon Black would work similarly?

[@ArtisOpus]

Mhhm, I'd skip the grey, otherwise yup!

[@justinkotrba2197]

@@ArtisOpus Awesome thanks!

[@kylef7767]

Do you have any tips on how to match paint colors when painting a larger squad/army when doing these mixes? Would love to know how you would handle that.

[@ArtisOpus]

Hey mate, absolutely, there's 2 main ones :). 1.) Make mixes (completely undervalued) - if you mix up a batch pot of 2:1 silver: black you will save time, and promote coherency, write the ratio down on the label/somewhere. 2.) Do stages in batches, e.g. for a squad all basecoat, stage 1, stage 2, etc done across the unit. They're the main two, next time I'm painting an army for myself I have promised myself that I'll be doing #1, it saves time *and* increases quality, no downsides.

[@kylef7767]

@@ArtisOpus thanks for the reply and your response is what I expected to hear! I ordered my first dry brush from you guys last week, can’t wait!

[@kubekzpiciem]

whats that special brush that looks like make-up one? and is it easy to clean

[@ArtisOpus]

Hey dude, they're our brushes! Check out our website, and all the links in the video description, they were developed over 5 years, and are designed to be perfect for miniature painting :)

[@kubekzpiciem]

@@ArtisOpus thx, will do!

[@george2408]

Can you guys at artus opus make a set of the larger brushes from the series s range

[@paulmurphy7087]

Great idea George. I'd be up for a set!

[@Himle_]

Bigger then #6? Mind me asking, what do you paint with such a big brush? I'm seriously curious since i don't think i've ever used a bigger one then a #4.

[@george2408]

@@Himle_ I mean a box set of brushes 2-5/6 as the series s box is only brushes 000-1 I believe. Obviously it would be alot more expensive but the convenience of having them all in a box is great plus they look great on a desk/ hobby space.

[@Himle_]

@@george2408 Ah that makes a whole lot more sense! Didn't really see the reason for a size 8 or 10^^ And, since they currently have 9 different brushes in the S'series it would indeed be awesome to have 2 boxes with them all.

[@ArtisOpus]

Love the ideas and just how good could we make a fancy box, that big look...😉

[@chossuh9058]

For anyone interested in this colour scheme and wanting to reproduce, I've worked out the proportions of the blue-steel and washes. I've used scale 75 heavy metal but should be similar to the vallejo paint used here: Ice Blue Steel: 30 drops of huldra blue directly into the heavy metal scale 75 pot. Remove a bit of the scale 75 before adding the huldra blue for easier mixing. Shake *very* well for 15-20 minutes. Both paints are quite thick so will take some time to mix. For the wash I've not made a large batch, but I was able to reproduce a similar effect with the following: wash: 1 part leviadon blue, 3 parts drakenhof nightshade, 1 brush tip of huldra blue, 5 parts lahmian medium. Should be easy to scale this up - the huldra blue is ultra strong so you'll see the colour shift to have a slightly turquoise note.

[@karlrebeck5307]

Here's a crazy question, what about a purple sheen? Would I just switch out the Huldra Blue for a deep purple, like a naggaroth night or something along those lines?

[@ArtisOpus]

I'd recommend Eldandil Violet from Scale 75, it should be perfect👌😊

[@kimbuzzi8527]

Is the water-to-color ratio the only key to this great coverage or is something in the Valejo colours which makes ist run smoother off the brush? I hope to copy your results for a light Tau Viorla color scheme. Love your brushes, btw. Thanks for this great channel. Makes a me feel like I can achieve results 1 or 2 levels above mine despite being a beginner.

[@kimbuzzi8527]

I just finished your drybrushing tutorial on the AT-ST yesterday and found the answer myself. It was only the right amount of moisture. Thank you so much for your videos!

[@MGC-XIII]

I don't know if I'm just not understanding the process, but the initial coat mixed with blue seem redundant with the wash after.

[@ArtisOpus]

May have been, dude! Feel free to skip it, it's often hard to work out what will and won't be necessary until you're in full on production mode :)

[@walkerawhite4698]

Would a prussian blue oil/ink wash produce a similar result?

[@ArtisOpus]

Should do, absolutely, depending on thinning it'll run to recesses more readily/stay of raised areas

[@jasonweber6624]

Whats the best way to remove the model from the base after its been painted?

[@ArtisOpus]

If you've glued it gently just pull it off, you can also carefully separate it with a knife-blade :)

[@stormycatmink]

Okay, one thing I'm struggling with while doing this.. how do you keep your paint from drying on your pallet? I have to be real careful with only putting a tiny bit down or it all dries up before I use it.

[@ArtisOpus]

You can use more paint or even go as far as priming your palette with a *slightly* more satin primer as that will have more retarding properties😊

[@simonleach6632]

That paint job looks insanely cool, I just can't get over the baby carrier look of this model, it just seems like a weird design decision, anyway, how about a video about painting a headlight effect? I usually modify vehicle headlights to have WW2 style blackout covers or drill them out so they're actually headlight shaped and put a pva/mod podge film on because I can't make painted ones look convincing

[@ArtisOpus]

Great idea again, dude! It's never been a strength of mine but I'm more than happy to go away and experiment for the channel.😊Thanks a ton!

[@lt.branwulfram4794]

Ever watched the Matrix: Reloaded/Revolutions? I think that’s where they pulled the Dreadknight’s design from.

[@jasonweber6624]

How do you keep the model on the base while painting? Ive tried tack but it seems problematic.

[@ArtisOpus]

I use Revell Contacta Poly Cement :). You can use a little, and get a fairly good bond, but then pull it off after painting the mini, if you want to paint the base separately (often a good idea/saves time and increases quality). Hope that's helpful, let me know in another comment if not, YT is bad for ongoing conversations!

[@ArtisOpus]

We've all been there, mate! Any questions at all just let us know in another comment, YT is bad for ongoing notifications :)

[@jasonweber6624]

@@ArtisOpus thanks for the tip! I really appreciate you taking the time. I was resorting to just holding the model in my hand and that’s not ideal. I much rather do the entire base separate as well rather than having to maneuver around the legs!

[@memyself3895]

Would anyone be able to clarify just which model this is? Thanks.

[@ArtisOpus]

Absolutely: Grey Knights - Nemesis Dreadknight: elementgames.co.uk/search?q=nemesis+dreadknight

[@memyself3895]

@@ArtisOpus Thanks for the quick response.

[@uhzik9966]

Would be better with an airbrush?

[@ArtisOpus]

Constructive comment for those without airbrushes.

[@RobTheHandsome1]

Where was this when I started my necrons.

[@ArtisOpus]

Haha, it's never too late to do a new one😉😊

[@schustererik83]

Forgot to white line the sword, but it looks beautiful

[@perche26]

chulisimo

[@ArtisOpus]

Gracias😘

[@Vikingeek]

Love the technique, but I've never liked the model - and it bugs me that, currently anyway, the Dreadknight is just far better than a venerable dreadnought (which i think looks far better!)

[@ArtisOpus]

As commented in the video, I am inclined to agree the baby carrier aspect is definitely a bit strange 😅

[@Vikingeek]

@@ArtisOpus Yeh I'm not a fan... But I do like me a big model to play around with when painting, working on a Glottkin currently, much better model! =D

[@Absorbing]

Have you ever considered starting a Discord server?

[@ArtisOpus]

We have, dude, it's not happened yet although I encourage you and anyone to join the Facehammer discord if you want to chat hobby with like-minded peeps😉😊

[@thedamneddice575]

Your missing one big thing... Heraldry, go are known more than marines for wearing heraldry into battpe

[@ArtisOpus]

Correct, dude, I'm working on my transfer game, next time we won't neglect it! I got excited with metallics... as usual :~)

[@johndorobiala5401]

Great paint job...BUT!!!! It looks more like the Grey Knights repoed a Dreadknight they had loaned to the smurf marines and repainted it back to their color!

[@ArtisOpus]

Haaa, that's fair, I do love Blue Steel!