Not really made for wood cutting!

On this miniature, the axe is one of the essential elements of its image. Its size and unique appearance lends much to the model’s overall attractiveness. It is thus appropriate to paint it with the same level of attention than the rest of the miniature, if not more so.
The miniature has been sprayed with a white undercoat. It is on this base that I will work on.

First I paint a base layer of GW Boltgun Metal over the primer, shadowing with a very light touch of black.

The next step will then be to place contrasts over this basecoat. The highlights are done with GW Mithril Silver then again with Prince August Chrome. The shades are deepened with a mix of black wash and black China ink. The placements of the contrasts are done according to the popular non-metal metallic method.

For all the highlighted areas, the adjacent section will be inversely dark.

The Magical Effect

Once this work is done, the real challenge begins. We have to paint and shade the “raw metal” look a lot more to reach the desired proper Nurgle effect –tortured and decaying.

I start this process by adding green/yellow-green tones to the intermediate zones of my gradient, doing so in successive glazes. Then, I create an oxidation (rusting) effect in the “pierced” areas of the axe. This is done with a base of turquoise blue, highlighted with a mix of PA Ivory and P3 Turquoise ink.

I continue the coloring. This time, I add browns, oranges, and orange-browns, placing them close to the shadows, between the green zones and the pure metal shadows.

I improve my gradients, so as to smooth the transitions between colors. The final goal is to create a flawless transformation between metal, rust and decay.
I finish the process by correcting the tone values and the intensity of some areas to achieve the right “Nurgle” result. By dimming some shades or by brightening certain other tones.

The last touch is a few spots of light made in PA Chrome placed to create good points of reflection.

Here is our finished axe. Just like our Nurgle Lord, gorgeous in its hideousness. The end results plays with contrasts of lighting, colors, but also the finish of the materials used: between matte, satin and glossy.

The idea of using greens and browns – other than how well they fit with a Nurgle Lord’s overall motif – is also that they work perfectly with one another.

The touches of blue, as well as evoking the oxidation and decrepitude of the model, end up integrating the axe with the rest of the character. The blue used for the oxidation is also a connection to the blue used to paint the tongue and the bowels.
We thus have created a unified, colored and rich overall look. I hope this inspired you!

And if you want to see more pics of my Nurgle Lord, just click on this link !