How to Paint Purple Cloaks

Hey, friends!

Creating rich, visually striking purple cloaks can add a regal touch to your Hundred Kingdoms Sicarii miniatures. This tutorial will guide you through a step-by-step process to achieve smooth blends, deep shadows, and vibrant highlights.

Paints Needed:

• Primer: Zandri Dust (Citadel)

• Base and Blend Colors: AK Amethyst Blue, AK Deep Purple, AK Purple, AK Magenta

• Shadow Colors: Payne’s Grey Ink (Daler Rowney)

• Highlight Colors: AK Dead Red, AK Pastel Violet, AK Sand Yellow

• Glazing Ink: Vallejo Magenta Ink

Step-by-Step Process:

1. Priming the Model: To start, prime the model with Zandri Dust. This warm, neutral base will help the colors stand out while maintaining a soft, natural transition between highlights and shadows.

2. Wet Blending the Cloak: A smooth transition of colors is key to achieving a dynamic and realistic fabric effect. Using wet blending, gradually transition from dark to light as follows:

   • Bottom of the cloak: Apply AK Amethyst Blue and blend it upwards into AK Purple.

   • Middle section: Continue blending AK Purple into AK Deep Purple for a natural shift in tones.

   • Top (head and shoulders): Finish the wet blend with AK Magenta, making this area the most vibrant.

   Working quickly while the paints are still wet will ensure a seamless blend. If needed, use a damp brush to smooth out transitions between colors.

3. Enhancing the Highlights: To make the top half of the cloak stand out, mix AK Dead Red and AK Magenta (1:1) and apply it to the raised areas. This step will help emphasize natural light falloff and add warmth to the fabric’s highlights.

4. Deepening the Shadows: To create depth and contrast, mix AK Amethyst Blue with Payne’s Grey ink (1:1, Daler Rowney brand) and carefully glaze it into the recesses. This step will enhance the richness of the shadows and add definition to the folds of the cloak.

5. Building Up Highlights on the Bottom Half: For the lower half of the cloak, use a 1:2 mix of AK Pastel Violet and AK Amethyst Blue to gradually brighten the fabric. Focus on layering thin coats rather than applying thick paint, ensuring a natural and controlled transition from shadows to highlights.

6. Glazing for a Unified Look: Once the previous layers are dry, apply a thin glaze of Vallejo Magenta ink, concentrating more on the upper part of the cloak. Gradually fade the glaze toward the bottom to tie the colors together, softening transitions between layers.

7. Final Highlights and Stippling: For the most exposed areas on the upper half of the cloak, mix AK Sand Yellow and AK Magenta (1:2) and apply it selectively to create sharp highlights. For extreme highlights, stipple pure AK Sand Yellow in small dots across the shoulders, head, and upper back. This final step adds texture and a realistic fabric effect, mimicking how light catches on raised surfaces.

Conclusion:

This method creates a cloak with rich depth, smooth transitions, and vibrant highlights. By carefully layering colors, glazing to unify tones, and stippling for final texture, the result is a highly dynamic and eye-catching finish.

If you try this technique, share your results with me on my Instagram page. I’d love to see how it works for your miniatures!

Grab this Conquest model from Para Bellum eShop and use code ULVERBITE10 for 10% off. Using that code also helps support my work at no extra cost to you.

If you found this tutorial helpful, you might consider buying me a coffee via Ko-fi. Your support helps me create more content like this. Thank you!