Games Workshop's new Nighthaunt army came with spectacular models and equally stunning paint-jobs. With the help of the "Painting your Nighthauns" section in the battletome and several other tutorials, I tried to replicate the "official" painting method as closely as possible (so do not expect anything particularly creative here). The following tutorial runs you through every single step in achieving the ghostly bluish effect of the Nighthaunt's wavering rags of ectoplasm - demonstrated on the model of Darrakar, Guardian of Souls.
Step 1: Assembly and Priming
What I actually find tricky about the models is the highly praised "empty space" as it is quite difficult to paint / prime after assembling. So before I assembled Darrakar I primed the deep inside of him with GW's black primer. After assembling the model I primed it with GW's Mechanicus Standard Grey all over and some additional splashes with GW's white to lighten up the ectoplasm. This way you have a perfect foundation for a relatively straightforward paint-job.
Step 2: Basecoat
The basecoat of the ectoplasm is Ionrach Skin. Since we want the final result to be as smooth as possible without any visible brush strokes ot paint crumps, it is crucial that you build up your basecoat in thin layers (water is fine for thinning the basecoat). 3 layers should be enough.
Step 3: First Wash
For the ghostly hue we now wash the entirety of the ectoplasm with Nihilakh Oxide. We just want to tint the Ionrach with a turquoise shimmer. Unless you want to stain area with strong blotches of turquoise, I suggest you heavily thin the Nihilakh Oxide with Lahmian Medium (ratio at least Nihilakh 1: 3 Medium). It is mandatory that you use an acrylic additive medium such as Lahmian Medium as you just want to dilute the pigmentation of the paint while simultaneously retaining its property (water breaks down the colour). Wash the entire cloak. Let the layer dry completely and apply a second one, this time into the recesses and on the area you want to look more ghostly, so the upper half of the cloak. I repeated this process until I was happy with the result.
Step 4: Second Wash
GW's new technical paint Nighthaunt Gloom is the perfect colour to build up the bluish colour of the ectoplasm. However, the colour is far too strong and thick to achieve the desired effect. Again, heavy thinning is required. I would even go for a ratio of Gloom 1:4 Medium. You want a quite transparent colour, try it out on a sprue or your finger nail to test it out. Then wash the Nighthaunt Gloom into the the recesses only and the upper quarter of the cloak. Let each coat dry thoroughly and repeat the procedure, but each time a little bit closer towards the upper shroud. This will probably take you 4 to 5 thin coats.
Step 5: Clean-Up (Optional)
Depending on the intensity of the turquoise / blue, You may want to bring up the Ionrach basecoat in certain areas. For example, I wanted the protruding folds and the utmost tips of the ectoplasm to be brighter (just as depicted in the battletome). This will also create the yellowish glimmer many people seek after. If this is the case, thin Ionrach with Vallejo's Glaze Medium and a little bit of water (alternatively Lahmian Medium works fine too). Look for a consisteny similar to unthinned Nihilakh Oxide. Carefully glaze it over areas you want to brighten up (do not forget about the smoke touching the gravestone).
Step 6: Highlighting
Your Nighthaunt's ectoplasm should look quite impressive and realistic by now, but this is certainly no reason to stop here. So push the ghost effect a little bit further. Let us highlight the protruding folds and tips with Deepkin Flesh. Be carefull here, if you apply too much or too thickly, the yellow Ionrach glimmer will disappear. Thus, thin your paint with Glaze Medium and apply it moderately to areas you really want to stand out, especially the holes in the cloak. As you will notice in the picture below, the difference to the previous step is really subtle, but you can always add a bit more if you want.
Step 7: Edge Highlight
The final step is an edge highlight with White Scar. This paint is extremely chalky and thick and does not run smoothly from your brush. So as always, thinning is the key to a nice result and sharp edges. Go over all of the utmost edges and all the holes with a fairly thin brush. I used GW's XS Atrificer Layer brush for the highlights.
So finally, congratulations to your awesome looking ectoplasm cloak! I hope this step by step guide leaves no question unanswered and, most of all, prevents me from explaining the method again and again under pictures I post on social media. ;) Thanks for reading and enjoy painting your Nighthaunts.
my friend, your tutorials are a godsend, i was just looking for a decent tutorial to start my venture into AoS with these exceptional models, and you successfully tipped my over the edge, salut!