The Maggotkin of Nurgle are the Age of Sigmar daemons and rotbringers of the Plague God - all decay, rust, slime and exposed guts. Like Death Guard in 40k, mess is the goal, which makes them a wonderfully forgiving and fun army to paint.
The signature look
Pallid, sickly green or grey-green rotting flesh and armour, rusted iron, verdigris on bronze, and plenty of wet, glossy gore and slime. Every imperfection just reads as more rot, so heavy washes and uneven layers are a feature, not a bug.
Painting the rotten flesh
- Use the ramp above for the muted green-grey base.
- A flesh or green contrast over a light undercoat shades the bloated, lumpy forms automatically.
- Stipple and glaze patches of pink, purple and yellow for sores, bruising and pus.
Rust, slime and guts
- Rust - stipple orange and brown on metal, with dark textured washes in the recesses.
- Verdigris - pale turquoise on bronze trim.
- Slime and gore - gloss technical paints (green slime, red blood) on mouths, wounds and trailing entrails give the wet, fresh-rot sheen that makes the army look genuinely diseased.
Tips and common mistakes
- Let washes pool. Pooling is grime here - lean in.
- Matt body, gloss gore. The contrast between dusty flesh and wet slime is the whole look.
- Vary the rot. Mix greens, yellows and purples so the decay looks organic.