Painting terrain and scenery transforms bare plastic or resin into immersive tabletop landscapes that bring your wargaming battles to life. Whether you're working with our Assorted Terrain collection, the alien organic forms of Thalor Pod #1, or the gothic horror of our Undead Pillar, mastering terrain painting techniques elevates your entire gaming experience. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to create stunning 28mm scatter terrain.
Why Paint Your Terrain?
Unpainted terrain serves its tactical purpose but lacks visual impact. Painted scenery creates atmosphere, defines your battlefield's narrative, and makes every game more memorable. Quality terrain painting also increases the perceived value of your collection and demonstrates your commitment to the hobby. Most importantly, well-painted terrain makes photography of your games spectacular and provides a professional backdrop for your painted miniatures.
Essential Painting Supplies
Before beginning, gather these fundamental materials:
- Spray primer (black, grey, or white depending on your scheme)
- Acrylic paints suitable for miniatures (Citadel, Vallejo, Army Painter)
- Brushes in various sizes (large for basecoating, medium for details, small for fine work)
- Palette for mixing and thinning paints
- Water pot for cleaning brushes
- Washes or shades for depth and shadow
- Dry brushes (old, splayed brushes work perfectly)
- Matt varnish spray for sealing finished pieces
- Optional: texture paints, weathering pigments, static grass, tufts
Preparation: The Foundation of Great Results
Cleaning and Assembly
Remove mould lines and flash with a hobby knife or file. These imperfections become glaringly obvious once painted. Assemble terrain pieces completely before painting unless interior details require separate painting. Wash resin pieces in warm soapy water to remove release agents that prevent paint adhesion.
Priming
Priming is absolutely essential—never skip this step. Spray primer creates a surface that paint can grip whilst revealing details you might have missed. Black primer works brilliantly for dark, grimdark schemes. Grey offers versatility for most projects. White primer suits bright, vibrant colour schemes and speeds up painting with contrast paints. Prime in thin, even coats from 20-30cm away in a well-ventilated area.
Painting Desert and Arid Terrain
Our Desert Terrain collection requires warm, sun-bleached colour schemes that evoke harsh, arid environments.
Step-by-Step Desert Scheme
- Prime: Grey or white primer provides the best foundation
- Basecoat: Apply sandy colours like Zandri Dust, Karak Stone, or Vallejo Desert Yellow to all surfaces
- Wash: Apply brown wash (Agrax Earthshade or Seraphim Sepia) to create depth in crevices and recesses
- Drybrush: Heavily drybrush with lighter sand colours (Ushabti Bone, Screaming Skull, or off-white) to highlight raised areas
- Details: Paint any rocks with greys, metals with Leadbelcher, and add rust effects with orange-browns
- Base: Texture with sand, paint to match, then add small stones or tufts of dead grass
Painting Undead and Gothic Terrain
Gothic horror terrain like our Undead Pillar, Undead Power Generator, and Undead Terrain #3 demands atmospheric painting that evokes decay, age, and supernatural dread.
Stone and Bone Effects
For weathered stone pillars and monuments:
- Prime: Black or grey primer creates a suitably dark foundation
- Basecoat: Dark grey (Mechanicus Standard Grey) or bone colour (Rakarth Flesh, Ushabti Bone)
- Wash: Generous application of black wash (Nuln Oil) or brown wash (Agrax Earthshade) for aged appearance
- Drybrush: Progressive drybrushing with lighter greys or bone colours—start with medium tones, finish with near-white on highest points
- Weathering: Add green wash or Nihilakh Oxide technical paint to recesses for moss and verdigris effects
Undead Power Sources and Artefacts
For pieces like the Undead Power Generator, incorporate eerie glowing effects:
- Paint metallic areas with Leadbelcher, wash with Nuln Oil, highlight with Ironbreaker
- For glowing crystals or power sources: basecoat white, apply fluorescent green or blue, glaze darker shades toward edges
- Add Object Source Lighting (OSL) by drybrushing the glow colour onto nearby surfaces
- Weather metals with rust (Typhus Corrosion, orange drybrushing) and verdigris (Nihilakh Oxide on bronze/copper)
Gothic Details and Gore
For Undead Terrain #3 and similar pieces with macabre details:
- Skulls and bones: Basecoat Ushabti Bone, wash Seraphim Sepia, highlight Screaming Skull
- Blood effects: Use Blood for the Blood God technical paint or mix red with gloss varnish
- Flesh tones: Basecoat Rakarth Flesh, wash Reikland Fleshshade or Druchii Violet for necrotic appearance
- Fabric and banners: Use dark, desaturated colours with heavy washes for aged, tattered appearance
Painting Alien and Organic Terrain
The Thalor terrain range, including Thalor Pod #1 and Thalor Nest #1, features organic, biomechanical forms perfect for sci-fi and alien world battlefields.
Organic Alien Schemes
Create otherworldly, living terrain with these techniques:
- Prime: White or light grey primer works best for vibrant alien colours
- Contrast Method: Apply Contrast paints (Plaguebearer Flesh, Aethermatic Blue, Magos Purple) over white primer for instant shading on organic forms
- Traditional Method: Basecoat with mid-tone colours, wash with matching shade, layer up highlights progressively
- Texture: Use stippling (dabbing with sponge or brush) to create fleshy, porous textures
- Membranes: Paint thin organic membranes with translucent effects—basecoat light colour, wash with darker tone, highlight edges
- Slime and Moisture: Add gloss varnish to recesses and organic openings for wet, living appearance
Biomechanical Details
For Thalor pieces with technological elements:
- Combine organic flesh tones with metallic or chitinous armour plates
- Paint technological components with dark metals, add glowing power sources
- Create contrast between soft organic areas (matte finish) and hard carapace (satin or gloss finish)
- Add veins and biological details with thin lines of darker colour
Universal Terrain Painting Techniques
Drybrushing Mastery
Drybrushing is the terrain painter's best friend. Load an old, splayed brush with paint, wipe most of it off on a paper towel, then lightly brush over raised surfaces. This instantly highlights textures and edges. Use progressively lighter colours for dramatic effect—start with mid-tones, finish with near-white on the highest points.
Washing and Shading
Washes (also called shades) are thinned paints that flow into recesses, creating instant depth and shadow. Apply generously to terrain—unlike miniatures, you can be heavy-handed. Black wash (Nuln Oil) suits greys and metals. Brown wash (Agrax Earthshade) works for earth tones, bone, and wood. Experiment with coloured washes for special effects.
Weathering and Realism
Pristine terrain lacks character. Add weathering with these techniques:
- Sponge weathering: Dab dark brown and metallic paint with a sponge to simulate chipped paint and rust
- Pigment powders: Apply weathering pigments for dust, rust, and grime effects
- Streaking: Thin dark paint heavily and drag downward from recesses to simulate water stains and grime
- Edge highlighting: Paint fine lines of light colour on sharp edges for definition
Basing and Groundwork
Professional-looking bases complete your terrain:
- Apply texture paste, sand, or texture paint to bases
- Once dry, paint to match your gaming mat or desired environment
- Drybrush with lighter tones for depth
- Add static grass, tufts, small stones, or scatter material
- Seal with matt varnish to prevent shedding
Speed Painting Terrain
Terrain doesn't require the same attention as hero miniatures. Speed painting techniques produce excellent results quickly:
The Zenithal Highlight Method
- Prime black all over
- Spray grey from 45-degree angles
- Spray white or light grey from directly above
- Apply thinned paints or Contrast paints—the pre-shaded primer does the work
The Drybrush Method
- Prime black
- Heavy drybrush with dark base colour
- Medium drybrush with mid-tone
- Light drybrush with highlight colour
- Pick out details in contrasting colours
- Apply wash to tie everything together
Colour Scheme Inspiration
Industrial/Urban
Greys, browns, and metallics with rust and grime weathering. Perfect for modern, sci-fi, or post-apocalyptic settings.
Fantasy Ruins
Stone greys with moss greens, aged wood browns, and weathered metals. Add magical glowing elements for high fantasy.
Alien Worlds
Vibrant, unnatural colours—purples, teals, toxic greens. Combine with unusual textures and bioluminescent effects.
Desert/Arid
Sandy yellows, warm browns, bleached bone whites. Minimal vegetation, maximum sun-bleached weathering.
Swamp/Jungle
Dark greens, muddy browns, stagnant water effects. Heavy moss, algae, and organic growth.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Skipping primer: Paint won't adhere properly and will chip easily
- Thick paint: Obscures detail—always thin paints slightly
- Insufficient contrast: Use darker shadows and brighter highlights than seems natural
- Uniform colour: Vary tones across large surfaces for visual interest
- Forgetting to seal: Varnish protects your work from gaming wear and tear
- Overworking: Terrain doesn't need miniature-level detail—know when to stop
Building a Cohesive Terrain Collection
Create unified battlefields by painting all terrain with consistent colour schemes. Our Assorted Terrain, Desert Terrain, Thalor range, and Undead collections can all work together when painted with complementary palettes. Use the same basing materials across all pieces for maximum cohesion.
Advanced Techniques
Object Source Lighting (OSL)
For glowing power sources, crystals, or magical effects, paint the glow colour onto surrounding surfaces, fading as distance increases. This creates the illusion of actual light emission.
Freehand Details
Add warning stripes, graffiti, or decorative patterns to personalise terrain. Use masking tape for straight lines, practice on paper first.
Modular Painting
For complex multi-part terrain, paint components separately before final assembly to ensure complete coverage.
Sealing and Protection
Once painting is complete, seal terrain with matt varnish spray. This protects paint from chipping during gaming, prevents colour rub-off, and provides a uniform finish. Apply in thin coats in well-ventilated areas. For areas you want glossy (water, slime, blood), apply gloss varnish selectively before the final matt coat.
Final Thoughts
Painting terrain is one of the most rewarding aspects of the wargaming hobby. Unlike miniatures, terrain forgives mistakes and rewards bold, quick techniques. Whether you're painting our Desert Terrain for arid battlefields, creating gothic horror with Undead Pillars and Power Generators, or bringing alien worlds to life with Thalor Pods and Nests, these techniques will help you create stunning tabletop landscapes. Start with simple schemes, build confidence, then experiment with advanced techniques. Your painted terrain will transform every game into a visual spectacle that enhances the entire wargaming experience.
