Painting Blueish Orcs… Suggestions

[Mr. White]

There’s an old cover of Dragon magazine that I’ve always enjoyed the vibe of. It’s very old school in its generic fantasy with a sorceress of sorts commanding an army of orcas and skeletons.

Anyone have suggestions on possible blue/green paint one could use to match the skin on these orcs? It looks like maybe the Oathmark Heavy Orcs are in a similar shade?

[Pattus Magnus]

Something like WW2 German feldgrau (for a greenish tint) or luftwaffe blue (for blue grey) over a black undercoat is where I would start. You might need to darken or lighten them slightly, but they should be in the right ballpark.

[Daeothar]

I was thinking in the same direction; Vallejo Model Color Luftwaffe Grey or Field Grey... 

[2010sunburst]

I’ve done blue tinged goblins from the Oathmark range.  I used Vallejo blue grey with light blue grey highlights, then washed them with Vallejo flesh was to give a contrasting undertone.

[Daeothar]

Another method e I forgot to mention is a white (or zenithal) undercoat and then a coat of Vallejo Model Wash Blue Grey (the larger bottles with black flip-top). I've used this to great effect on my Griffin Games Greys

Multiple coats will result in a darker effect.

[white knight]

I did a Jotunheim fantasy viking project using luftwaffe blue as the base tone for the skin. The website with the pictures is long gone unfortunately, so I will have to take some new ones at some point.

[Aethelflaeda was framed]

1 part burnt sienna or “brown”, 1 part white, 1 part blue, add a few drops  of those plus some of orange and/or black as needed to adjust. a few drops of yellow, ochre, or green won’t be remiss in the mixing. Let your eyeball be your guide.

The bluish orc is basically “broken” blue. Blue with orange to a”break it”.

Varieties in the mix helps a unit of figs look more individualized.  People don’t have uniformly, consistent skin tones, neither should orcs.

[Elbows]

I used Vallejo's amusingly named 'Dark Blue Pale' for some of my fantasy orcs.

[Kikuchiyo]

I've been tempted to try blue for some of my 6mm Orcs, thinking they might stand out better

[Mr. White]

These are great options. Thanks, all!

I’ll swing by the LGS this weekend.

However, I do have Citadel’s Fernisian Grey. Maybe that’s close to one of these?

[Pattus Magnus]

It looks like it might work, depending on your painting technique. If you do block painting then put a dark wash, then maybe use the original colour for highlights it would probably end up close to the images you started with. Also would work if you use layer painting, but you would need to mix in something dark for the under layers.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Something like WW2 German feldgrau (for a greenish tint) or luftwaffe blue (for blue grey) over a black undercoat is where I would start. You might need to darken or lighten them slightly, but they should be in the right ballpark.

I agree on the Luftwaffe Blue, or possibly (Vallejo Blue Grey).
Saying that...

The skin on this Goblin was Citadel The Fang.

[Duncan McDane]

You might like to check out this video:

( Jose da Vinci )
Whilst he's a pro painter that paints on a dazzling level, it can be usesful for color choice and how to make the models come alive...