Imperial Fists are defined by bright yellow armour, which is the single hardest colour to paint well. Yellow has poor pigment coverage, so painting it straight over a dark undercoat gives a streaky, greenish mess. Get the underpainting right and the rest is easy.
The signature look
Clean, bright yellow armour with black and red detailing, gold trim and lots of Imperial iconography. The yellow should be saturated and even - patchiness shows badly on such a bright colour.
Getting yellow to cover
Never basecoat yellow over black. Two methods that work:
- Build up. Undercoat white or bone, basecoat with a brown or orange-tinted yellow for coverage, then layer a clean yellow on top and glaze to even it out.
- Contrast. A yellow contrast paint over a white or bone undercoat gives smooth yellow in one or two passes - by far the fastest route for a yellow army.
Shade only in the deep recesses with a thin brown - black washes turn yellow dirty.
Successors
- Crimson Fists - blue armour with red gauntlets (a much easier scheme).
- Black Templars - black armour with white, for painters who want the opposite of yellow.
Tips and common mistakes
- Light undercoat, always. Yellow over dark = streaks.
- Shade with brown, not black. Black muddies yellow instantly.
- Thin your coats. Thick yellow dries chalky and uneven.