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So I've had a tiny tiny startup Tau army for quite a few years now, and I haven't done much with besides assemble them since I came into possession of it (from a friend who quit the hobby not long after starting). Now that I'm getting back into 40k, I've got the itch to really start up this second army to compliment my Tyranids. I've read the tacticas, looked at lists, and fooled around with the codex, but now I need help in painting them.

I've looked at different schemes, but the one I keep coming back to is the striking red of the Farsight Enclaves (I might switch the gray to a shaded white just because I think I'd dig that contrast more), but I am clueless as to how to paint it. I've spent most of my painting career with bugs, so clean and crisp haven't been part of my vocabulary, and while I can layer and blend and drybrush very well, I'm not sure how to properly highlight and line things.

Can anyone give my any insight into how to paint this scheme? I'd also really appreciate a list of colors I'd need for it (Vallejo preferably, but I don't mind GW if it's easier).

Thanks in advance!

Here is a good tutorial that shows one way of doing farsight enclaves. If I remember right it was done with GW paints but you can do substitutions very easily.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKnERHlsTEU

 FirePainter wrote:
Here is a good tutorial that shows one way of doing farsight enclaves. If I remember right it was done with GW paints but you can do substitutions very easily.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKnERHlsTEU

Pretty great tutorial, and doesn't seem too hard to pull off either.Thanks for pointing me in that direction!

The only thing is I'm not sure how I feel about going for a more weathered or battle damaged Tau, I always envisioned them as more crisp and clean. Especially after painting Tyranids for so long (and a very brief experiment with Orks) I think I need something more crisp. Does anyone have a tutorial or experience with that?

Nothing says that you have to do the weathering or battle damage. The typical GW style uses edge highlight which does give a crisp look (imo a bit cartoonish). I agree I prefer the clean look for most tau but I feel that the style of fighting and nature of the enclaves gives the weathered look more weight but thats just me.

For other guides look around youtube there are plenty there and you can just take a normal tau style and do it in red for the crisp look you want

How I did my Farsight army was a base of mechrite red (current GW equivalent is wazzdakka red IIRC), highlight of blood red (evil sunz scarlet). This was tied together with a purple wash, just a personal preference to make them feel a little more "alien" in appearance. I then added gold as a secondary colour. I won't insult your intelligence by telling you where I got the inspiration for the scheme from.

I know the reds used by GW are Khorne Red, Wazdakka Red and a final highlight of Squig Orange.

I am not familiar enough with Vallejo paints to know what the equivalents are, but I'm sure there are guides out there to figure out equivalent paints.

 SRSFACE wrote:
I know the reds used by GW are Khorne Red, Wazdakka Red and a final highlight of Squig Orange.

I am not familiar enough with Vallejo paints to know what the equivalents are, but I'm sure there are guides out there to figure out equivalent paints.

Awesome! Thanks!

Small update, did some searching on Youtube like a few of you suggested and found this:




Doesn't help so much on the technique, but definitely gives a good idea of colors. I also converted most of the colors mentioned in the vid to Vallejo colors if anyone was interested:

Dryad Bark -> Charred Brown (045)
Mephiston Red -> Heavy Red (141)
Red Gore -> Gory Red (011)
Evil Sunz Scarlet -> Bloody Red

Dawnstone -> Cold Grey (050)
Administratum Grey -> Stonewall Grey (048)
Eshin Grey -> Sombre Grey

Warplock Bronze -> Tinny Tin

Exactly what I was looking for, Farsight color scheme with Vallejo colors. Thank you.

If you favour the weathered look, this is the method yields good results. It works for just about everything and leans towards Vallejo paints.

http://www.torrentoffire.com/2495/tutorial-painting-a-farsight-riptide