How I Paint Zombie Flesh

Zombies have been a staple of many fantasy and science fiction settings for years, and Warhammer is no exception. Over the years, I have mainly collected Undead armies for Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Age of Sigmar. Back when I had a Vampire Counts army, I painted many shambling hordes of Zombies. More recently, I found myself returning to the archetype while working on my Exiled Dead warband for Warhammer Underworlds, along with the zombies from Zondara’s Gravebreakers. This gave me a great opportunity to experiment with a range of different flesh tones and levels of decay while still keeping the models feeling part of the same wider undead force.

The Zombies of the Exiled Dead

To do this, I decided to do a bit of research online. I know I have “borrowed” these ideas from somewhere, but I wrote them down at the time and cannot remember the original sources.

All of the zombies were undercoated with Chaos Black spray, followed by a light dusting of Zandri Dust. This helps make applying the basecoats much easier.

Zombie #1

The flesh of the first zombie, Prentice Marcov, was basecoated with Mechanicum Standard Grey. Once dry, the miniature was washed with Reikland Fleshshade. The flesh was then highlighted with Dawnstone, thinned with water and built up using multiple thin layers. A final highlight of Karak Stone was applied to define key features, particularly the face.

Any areas of damaged flesh were picked out with Carroburg Crimson to represent wounds. I also worked the wash into the eye sockets to add depth. The eyes were then painted with Pallid Wych Flesh, with a small dot of The Fang added for the iris.

The flesh on this zombie still looks reasonably fresh, but clearly unhealthy.

Zombie #2

The flesh of the second zombie, Bault the Arcwalker, was basecoated with Tallarn Sand. After this had dried, the miniature was washed with Seraphim Sepia. Highlights were applied using Morghast Bone, thinned with water and built up gradually. A final highlight of Flayed One Flesh was added to define facial details.

Damaged areas were picked out using Athonian Camoshade, giving the wounds a sickly appearance. As before, the wash was worked into the eye sockets, and the eyes were painted with Pallid Wych Flesh and a dot of The Fang for the iris.

The yellowish tone of the flesh makes this zombie appear far more rotten than the first. 

Zombie #3

The flesh of the third zombie, Vlash the Arcwalker, was basecoated with Rakarth Flesh. Once dry, the miniature was washed with Reikland Fleshshade. Highlights were built up using Flayed One Flesh, thinned with water, followed by a final highlight of Pallid Wych Flesh on key features such as the face.

Carroburg Crimson was used to pick out damaged areas of flesh, while the eye sockets were shaded to add depth. The eyes were then painted with Pallid Wych Flesh and finished with a dot of The Fang for the iris.

This zombie’s pale flesh gives the impression that it has only recently died.

Zombie #4

The flesh of the fourth zombie, Regulus, was basecoated with Ionrach Skin and washed with Poxwalker. Highlights were built up using Nurgling Green, thinned with water, with a final highlight of Flayed One Flesh to define facial features.

To give the flesh a bruised appearance, I applied small amounts of Druchii Violet, thinned with Lahmian Medium, into the recesses. As with the others, the eye sockets were shaded for depth, and the eyes were painted with Pallid Wych Flesh and a dot of The Fang for the iris.

The pale flesh again suggests a relatively recent death but with clear hallmarks of putrefaction setting in.

Zombie #5

The flesh of the fifth zombie, Cracktomb, was basecoated with Mechanicum Standard Grey, followed by a second basecoat of Dawnstone. Once dry, the miniature was washed with Poxwalker. Highlights were built up using Straken Green, thinned with water, with a final highlight of Nurgling Green to define the face.

Damaged areas of flesh were picked out using Druchii Violet. The eye sockets were shaded to add depth, and the eyes were painted with Pallid Wych Flesh and a dot of The Fang for the iris.

The second Zombie from the left, in Zondara's Gravebreakers, was painted with method 5

Overall, painting the Exiled Dead alongside the zombies from Zondara’s Gravebreakers was a really enjoyable way to explore different approaches to undead flesh while maintaining a cohesive look across multiple warbands. Using a variety of base colours and washes helps each zombie feel individual, while still clearly belonging to the same shambling horde. It is a simple and flexible approach that is easy to adapt, and one I will definitely return to when painting more undead in the future.

More of my How to paint... articles can be found here. 

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