How to paint Desert of death bases?

Welcome to a new Green Stuff World tutorial from one of our most outstanding contributors, Elroi. This time he illustrates how to paint desert bases for any miniature you want to set in this context. Keep reading to learn the best techniques to paint from scratch desert bases easily and with amazing results.

With these basics, your games will be much more realistic and your battlefield will become a real adventure. Not only can you use these techniques in your desert bases, but they can also be adapted to models or dioramas, in case you are a fan of this type of art.

There are many miniature role-playing board games where part of the story takes place in desolate and abrupt landscapes such as deserts, so this s type of base is very usefu. One example is the Warhammer 40k game Only War: Final Testament, which features the Tallarn Desert Raiders, a group of warriors known for their skills and strength in battle. This legendary regiment of the Imperial Guard hails from the planet Tallarn, a desert world plagued by sandstorms and deadly predators, so they have developed unique abilities to survive and fight in the most hostile conditions.

Although their desert country is now one of their hallmarks, their lands were not always like this. Before the surprise attack by the Chaos Space Marines of the Iron Warriors, your planet teemed with life among its numerous lakes, vast green jungles and endless plains. But viral bombs wiped out this dream landscape, condemning its citizens to live most of their lives underground, where they survive.

Now, the inhabitants of the planet are resilient and capable of winning the worst of wars. Tallarn Desert Raiders adapt to any terrain, are experts in camouflage and capable of disappearing into the dunes and ambushing their enemies with lethal precision. For this reason, they are relied upon in battles fought all over the galaxy.

If you've decided to paint a desert-finish base for characters like the Tallarn Desert Raiders, you'll need several shades of Green Stuff World's liquid pigments. Specifically, Elroi uses these products::

• Pigmentos Liquidos Ochre Earth 
• Liquid Pigments Light Earth
• Liquid Pigments Medium Earth 
• Acrylic Color Cutthroat 
• Matt Surface Primer 60ml - Black

To get this realistic desert finish you just have to follow the steps indicated by Elroi in the downloadable PDF, where you will find the complete guide with all the images you need to trace this technique. In short, you should start by applying a coat of matte black primer to your base before starting to paint. Once dry, use the medium earth to give a generous coat to your base and then a thinner one. Now you can apply color, specifically Ochre Earth at the indicated points to paint the extra elements of the base to taste and finish with a couple of thin coats of very diluted red for a more appropriate atmosphere.

To replicate the exact design of this base, once the ground texture is done, you can use some resin dump yard plates and resin skulls or other resin bits that go more in line with your miniatures.

This desert base has been painted by Elroi. If you liked the result do not hesitate to visit the rest of his designs in our blog to continue learning the best techniques from an expert. Don't forget that all the materials you need for your modeling projects you will find them in Green Stuff World, from a huge range of miniature paint brushes to any kind of model paints and any accessory for this art.