How to Paint Emperor's Children
with Phil the Glacial Geek
Do you hear the voices too? The siren song of Slaanesh has been wafting through The Army Painter offices of late, and we can no longer deny its sweet embrace. Who are we to deny it our stab at perfection in the form of a lovingly crafted paint bundle? With Fulgrim’s favoured sons recently rejoining Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 setting, we had our muse, and with Warpaints Fanatic we had our medium. After locking our paint team away for 6 days and 6 nights, they emerged bleary-eyed with nine paints in tow, full of vivid pinks, vibrant teals, and glittering metallics. The offering was ready, but who to implement it?
There could be only one, Slaneesh’s chosen champion, one who had already dedicated himself mind, body, and soul to the Dark Prince. We’re talking of Factory Team member Phil, the Glacial Geek, of course! He had already committed himself to completing an entire Emperor’s Children army using all the amazing new models in time for Adepticon, a timeline of mere weeks for a full 2,000-point army. Clearly, the madness of the Chaos gods at work. When we proffered him our offering, he leapt at the chance to bring the palette to life on one of the new miniatures.
Phil: The decision to paint this army came from multiple directions. It had been a while since I had done a bigger hobby project like painting an entire army and I was looking for a challenge to get back to my army painting roots after really pushing myself to improve my painting skills. I wanted to show up to Adepticon with an army I could be proud of, that represented the steps I had taken in my skills.
So, when Games Workshop announced the new Emperor’s Children, and I saw the timing of the release, I knew I had to give it a shot! Add in a cool entry for the Resin Beast painting competition from Creature Caster and a last-minute challenge to try a limited palette paint job from The Army Painter, and I had the perfect deadline-driven project I needed!
To see the paint in action, check out Phil's video above, or if reading is more your style, then continue on for a step-by-step guide on how he achieved this stunning servant of Slaanesh.
Let's get painting!
How to Paint the Emperor's Children
Step 1: Prime the model with Uniform Grey Colour Primer.
Step 2: Next, basecoat all the pink areas with Warpaints Fanatic Pixie Pink.
Step 3: Follow this with a basecoat of Warpaints Fanatic Matt Black on all the black panels, soft armour joints, tubes, and any areas that will be metal.
Step 4: Basecoat all the silver areas with Warpaints Fanatic Shining Silver and the gold areas with Warpaints Fanatic Evil Chrome.
Step 5: Follow this with an all-over shade of Warpaints Fanatic Wash Purple Tone.
Step 6: Next, paint all the tassels with Warpaints Fanatic Tailsman Teal, the skin areas with Warpaints Fanatic Ruby Skin, and the gun casing with Warpaints Fanatic Forest Faun.
Step 7: Then shade the skin areas with Warpaints Fanatic Wash Dark Skin Shade.
Step 8: Highlight the tassels with Warpaints Fanatic Forest Faun.
Step 9: Shade the gun casing with Warpaints Fanatic Wash Purple Tone.
Step 10: Clean up any colours as needed with their basecoats after the Washes have been applied.
Step 11: Apply a highlight to all the black areas with a mix of Warpaints Fanatic Matt Black and Warpaints Fanatic Forest Faun.
Step 12: Finally, apply an edge highlight to the pink areas with Warpaints Fanatic Pink Potion.
Buy The Bundle!
Emperor's Children Bundle
Bring your Emperor’s Children to life with bold colors, rich contrast, and striking metallics. This curated paint bundle makes achieving their signature hues effortless—whether you’re a seasoned painter or just starting out. Pair it with Phil the Glacial Geek’s YouTube tutorial and follow along step by step.
Watch the tutorial here → Emperor's Children Guide
With that, your model is done!
If you plan on using your model for gaming, we highly recommend varnishing it with either our Spray, Warpaints Air, or Warpaints Fanatic varnishes.
