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I haven't gotten out much except to a couple of shops, even then I was rushed so I didnt walk around and check specific brands that they carried. All I am really familiar with is GW paints. But feel free to recommend other brands other then GW paint as I am sure I can find it somewhere around here its a big city.

But aside from clan colors which will be very specific, what general colors and washes are a must have for an ork army? I don't have a huge budget to start out with, so maybe a must have, and a recommended list would be good, so I can at least get started with the must haves and add the recommended colors later.

Off the top of my head I am thinking, green, black, brown, red, silver/metallic, and white should be on the list. What am I forgetting?

On a side note are washes really a good investment? Can't your basic colors be mixed &/or watered down into a wash without spending extra money on a completely new product?

Thanks for the help!

I originally used this GW guide for my Orks

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?categoryId=400034&pIndex=1&aId=10400002&start=2

Just read through for some guidelines and get an idea on what you want to do. Honestly the suggested colors in the guide can be simplified quite a bit to fit your pocketbook and skill level

For the skin, all you need is a wash of Dark Angels Green, then just throw a black wash on top when finished. Trust me on this one. Dilute it properly, and you won't need any other colours for the skin.

I did the vast majority of my orks with nothing but foundations, some silver, and washes.

Pants and large leather areas like the back holsters for shootas, were done with Khemri Brown, with Devlan Mud Wash, adn then rehighlighted with the Khemri.

Leather straps, wrist bands, etc, were done with Calthan Brown, also with Devlan wash and re-edged with the Calthan Brown.

Tunics and boots were done as black, by using Adeptus Battlegrey with several coats of Badab Black wash.

Weapons, buckles, rivets, etc, were done with Silver (actually Vallejo Model Air Silver, as it brushes on way nicer than any non-airbrush metallics I've ever used, but Mithril Silver should work in a pinch), splattered randomly with a little Mechanus Solar Orange for rust and then washed with Devlan Mud and re-drybrushed with Silver.

Ork skin is done easily with a coat of Knarloc Green, a Devlan Mud wash, and then a rehighlight of Knarloc. For the best results, add a tiny touch of Iyanden Darksun to some Knarloc for a second highlight. For showcase type pieces, mix a touch of Tallarn flesh with the Knarloc green and use that on lips, fingers, and places where flesh meets cybork metal.

Teeth, claws, skulls and bandage/straps are Dheneb Stone with a Devlan wash and rehighlighed with Dheneb. For showcase models, a little thinned skull white on the highest points.

Eyes and tongues get Mecharite Red and a wash of Devlan. Eyes also get a tiny dot of Iyanden Darksun or Golden Yellow.

I chose Bad Moons colors for the majority of my army, so armor plates got a coat of Iyanden Darksun, and then washes of either Gryphonne Sepia or Devlan mud. Randomly stipple on Iyanden afterwards, and for showcase models that need a little more attention, re-stipple again and highlight edges with the regular Citadel paint Golden Yellow.


So, all told

Basecoats:
Knarloc Green
Khemri Brown
Calthan Brown
Dheneb Stone
Adeptus Battlegrey
Iyanden Darksun
Mecharite Red
Mithril Silver (or Vallejo Model Air 'Silver' or 'Gun')

Washes:
Devlan Mud (almost everything)
Gryphone Sepia (some yellow areas)
Badab Black (grey areas to make them black)

Detail Colors:
Macharius Solar Orange (rust)
Golden Yellow (Non-foundation, eyes and armor)
Tallarn Flesh (with Knarloc Green for flesh)

I use snot green and thraka green for my ork flesh. I like my orks darker though, so I mixed a couple of drops of black in my thraka green to make it darker. I use the same wash on my Vermin or vomit (cant remember which, its whichever is darker). The wash is dark enough to darken the pants, but the green in it isnt visible enough to make the pants greenish colored.

As you said, klan colors are more specific, but I get by with a pretty small group of basic ork colors:

skin (I like an intense, but not overly bright, green for my boys):
GW Foundation orkhide shade (purely for quick coverage - could get same results without it)
VGC sick green
VGC goblin green
GW thraka green wash

metal:
GW tin bitz
GW boltgun metal
GW badab black wash

other:
VGC gory red (eyes, tongue)
VGC bleached bone (teeth, nails, horns, some cloth)
GW devlan mud wash (aging bleached bone, cloth)
VGC charred brown/leather brown (either or a mix to vary the leather bits)
APJ pigments for soot and rust, if I feel ambitious

If you're like me, just going for decent tabletop quality, you'll never need more than 3 pots for any element - base, highlight, wash - if that. Oh, and the VGC is Vallejo Game Color, which is equivalent to the GW color line. If you can't figure out which one it is by then name alone, there are comparison charts online.

I did the following for my Orks, I'm going for yellow armour in the scheme.

Skin
Basecoat of Snot Green
Highlight the muscles with Goblin Green
Wash the whole thing with Thraka Green

Armour
Simple coat of Taucept Ochre
Wash of Devlan Mud
Details added in Red Gore (like little kill markings etc)

Metal
Boltgun Metal basecoat
Badab Black wash
Chainmail highlights

I find this a really easy ork painting tutorial to follow, infact, im painting my orks similar to these atm

conorc2911 wrote:I find this a really easy ork painting tutorial to follow, infact, im painting my orks similar to these atm

Very nice. I just have one question. How is he going to field them with no heads and arms?

· For the skin I use the following for orks (i make it slightly darker for the big ones), all colours are GW ones.
1. black primmer
2. knarloc green
3. a "half dry" drybrush goblin green
4. gryphonne sepia

· For gretchins I just use getchin green in step two.


· Guns etc:
white - teeth
mechrite red - eyes, and any gum
dwarf bronze, gun metal, boltgun, devian mud - weapons