How to Paint a Blood and Zeal Confessor

How to Paint a Blood and Zeal Confessor

In this first part of the how to paint a Blood and Zeal Confessor tutorial, we’re focusing on the initial airbrush setup, the fluffy cloak, the non-metallic trim, face, and the red hat. This guide uses a mixture of AK Interactive, Vallejo, and Games Workshop paints, with detailed notes on blending, glazing, and brush technique.

Video: How to Paint a Blood and Zeal Confessor

This video tutorial is currently hidden. To unlock it and watch, please join the website and log in.

Paints & Materials Used

Airbrush Stage:

  • AK Soch Green
  • AK Cork

Cloak Base & Highlights:

  • Games Workshop Mournfang Brown
  • Games Workshop Rhinox Hide
  • Games Workshop Abaddon Black
  • AK Morgas Bone
  • AK Ice Yellow (or Vallejo Ice Yellow / similar)

Non-Metallic Trim & Tubing:

  • Vallejo Neutral Grey
  • Vallejo Sky Grey
  • Pastel Blue (AK or equivalent)
  • White (for final highlights)

Non-Metallic Gold:

  • Games Workshop XV-88
  • Two Thin Coats Dune Yellow
  • Two Thin Coats Sand Yellow
  • Ice Yellow or Pastel Yellow
  • Games Workshop Mournfang Brown (for shadow details)

Face:

  • Games Workshop Bugman’s Glow
  • Pastel Blue
  • AK Soch Green or AK Archaic Turquoise (for blue shading)

Hat and Red Cloth:

  • AK Matte Red
  • AK Deep Red
  • AK Cadmium Red
  • AK Burnt Red

Brushes:

  • Artis Opus Size 4
  • Size 00 and Size 0 for precision work

Step-by-Step Guide

Pre-Shading with the Airbrush

Start with the model assembled and primed. Use an airbrush to apply:

  • AK Soch Green sprayed from below to simulate shadows.
  • Then airbrush AK Cork as a zenithal highlight from above.

This underpainting will act as a guide for light placement on the cloak and face, and helps build contrast for your non-metallic metal (NMM) later on.

Blocking Non-Metallic Areas

Use AK Black thinned down with water (around 1:2 paint to water) to loosely wash over all areas intended for NMM:

  • Mace
  • Tubing
  • Hat trim
  • Chest details

This wash subtly darkens surfaces, enhancing later contrast without filling in recesses like Contrast paints do.

Painting the Fluffy Cloak

Start with Mournfang Brown, heavily thinned (about 1:1.5 paint to water). Use a large brush (Artis Opus Size 4) and drag the paint downwards toward shadow areas, leaving lighter areas around the upper shoulders and neck.

  • Add Rhinox Hide in deeper recesses.
  • Wet blend Mournfang Brown and Black into the base for richer shadows.
  • Once dry, use AK Morgas Bone in a loose wet-brush or semi-drybrush manner to bring up texture.
  • Introduce Ice Yellow for sharper highlights (especially effective for punchy warmth).

Glazing for Softness:

  • Glaze with Mournfang Brown (4:1 water to paint) to soften transitions.
  • Repeat with AK Cork over highlighted areas to unify tones and bring back fluffiness.

The cloak is sculpted with soft detail, so focus on slow transitions and avoid sharp contrasts.

Painting Non-Metallic Trim

Block in large highlight shapes with Vallejo Neutral Grey:

  • Be generous—smaller areas will get eaten by later highlights.

Layer up:

  1. Neutral Grey
  2. 50/50 Neutral Grey + Sky Grey
  3. Sky Grey
  4. Sky Grey + Pastel Blue
  5. Pastel Blue
  6. Small touches of pure White for bright points

Use stippling, line work, and tiny marks to convey texture. For bounce light, glaze in AK Cork where fur reflects onto metal.

Painting the Face

Start with Bugman’s Glow, building it over the zenithal base.

  • Mix Bugman’s Glow + Pastel Blue for highlights.
  • For sharper highlights: increase Pastel Blue, or even use it pure (with care).

For shadows:

  • Thin AK Archaic Turquoise or Soch Green to a glaze (5:1 water to paint).
  • Apply subtly to lower cheeks and jawline recesses.

The cold blue tones contrast the warmth and give the Confessor a slightly sickly, dramatic look—perfect for grimdark flavour.

Painting the Red Hat and Robes

Block in all red areas using AK Matte Red.

Highlights:

  • AK Deep Red for first pass
  • Cadmium Red on forward-facing areas
  • Keep left side (as viewed) darker—highlight only with Deep Red

Shadows:

  • Use AK Burnt Red sparingly at the base and under folds

For blending:

  • Glaze Cadmium Red with Deep Red to smooth transitions
  • Use a Size 4 brush for long, smooth blends
  • Drag or stipple with Matte Red or Burnt Red as needed

These are high-saturation reds, with minimal white or black added. Keep it punchy and rich.

Finishing Touches on the Trim & Symbols

Use the same NMM greys and yellows as before for:

  • The Inquisition “I” symbols on the chest and hat
  • Cable around the back of the head

Add extra Mournfang Brown marks to simulate reflections on the flat “I” symbols where sculpted detail is minimal.

Pro Tips

  • Face placement matters: Your eye is naturally drawn here, so use fine dot highlights for lips, cheeks, and eyes.
  • Avoid over-highlighting fur: It becomes too harsh and loses softness.
  • Adjust bounce light colours to reflect nearby surfaces (e.g. cloak fur tone into hat trim).
  • Test your colour jumps: On smaller surfaces, you can skip intermediate mixes for a faster finish.
  • Use your lamp to guide highlight placement realistically, but tweak for scale.

That wraps up part one! You’ve now got the base cloak, face, non-metallics, and red sections laid in. In the next part, we’ll tackle the remaining robes, weapon, and finishing details.

Latest Video Tutorials
In this first part of the how to paint a Blood and Zeal Confessor tutorial, we’re focusing on the initial airbrush setup, the fluffy cloak, the non-metallic trim, face, and the red hat. This guideContinue reading [...]
Learn how to paint a Death Korps of Krieg Commissar in quick this step-by-step tutorial! I will walk through every stage of painting this iconic Warhammer 40K model, from grimy base tones to crisp non-metallicContinue reading [...]
In this tutorial, I’ll take you through how to paint an Emperor’s Children Chaos Lord from the new Champions of Slaanesh army box, kindly sent to me as an early review copy by Games Workshop.Continue reading [...]
Right, let’s get into it. This is a two-part tutorial on how to paint at Krieg Commissar to a high standard. If you’ve watched my videos before, you’ll know I don’t tend to follow aContinue reading [...]
Welcome to part one of our tutorial series on how to paint Asurman of the Aeldari. In this video, we’ll be focusing on painting his helmet, achieving a rich red colour using layering, stippling, andContinue reading [...]
The Death Korps of Krieg Marshal is a striking centrepiece model, embodying the grim determination of the Astra Militarum’s most unyielding warriors. In this tutorial, I’ll take you through the base colour application and furContinue reading [...]
This is Part 1 in a series for building and painting the Death Korps of Krieg Marshal. The series will expand into a Krieg army, covering both assembly and detailed painting techniques. This guide walksContinue reading [...]
Hello, and welcome! In this guide, we’re diving into how to paint an Aeldari Swooping Hawk, one of the most elegant and iconic models in the Aeldari range. Whether you’re aiming for a display pieceContinue reading [...]
This detailed video tutorial and step by step guide covers how to paint the Reaper Launcher for a Dark Reaper. The focus is on achieving smooth transitions in black highlights and creating a stunning non-metallicContinue reading [...]

If you don’t have an account here on my website, please sign up here! I have over 350 video tutorials with steps and tips, plus a selection of PDFs. If you are not sure about joining, you can explore my free videos with a free membership, or take the plunge and become a full subscriber for full access.

warhammer painting tutorials
free warhammer painting tutorials

If you’d prefer to support me on Patreon, please visit: https://www.patreon.com/RichardGray

Leave a Reply