Seraphon are celestial dinosaurs - hulking saurus, darting skinks and giant beasts - so you are painting a lot of scaled reptilian skin. Contrast paints were practically made for this, turning a slow scale-painting job into a fast one.
The signature look
The two classic approaches are Coalesced (warm, earthy real-lizard tones - reds, browns, greens) and Starborne (cool celestial blues and turquoise with glowing star-magic). Either way, the scaled skin is the star, supported by gold armour, bone claws and bright war-paint.
Painting scaled skin fast
- A skin-toned contrast over the right undercoat shades every scale automatically - blue/turquoise for Starborne, green or red-brown for Coalesced.
- Drybrush a lighter tone over the scales afterwards to pop the texture.
- Vary skink and saurus tones slightly so the army has depth.
Gold, bone and war-paint
- Gold armour - basecoat, brown wash, edge highlight.
- Bone claws, teeth and crests - bone basecoat, brown wash, light drybrush.
- War-paint - bright accent stripes (yellow, white, red) on skinks add character and break up the scales.
Tips and common mistakes
- Use contrast for the scales. Hand-shading every scale is the slow way; contrast paints are the fast way.
- Pick a temperature. Commit to warm (Coalesced) or cool (Starborne) so the army feels cohesive.
- Bright war-paint. A few bold accent colours lift the reptilian palette.