Whilst waiting for the kits to arrive I've been scouring the net for an effective and efficient painting technique. I haven't painted miniatures for about 25 years and these 100+ zeds wont be painting themselves!!
The technique that I've chosen to roll with is one offered by RebelWithACoz in this excellent 3 part you tube tutorial. I've seen a few examples of this technique used by gamers in their projects and it looks quick and simple with great results. It uses a combination of base coat, zenithal highlighting and washes to create a realistic flesh tone in the process of decay.
As much as I love the generic green and bluish hues of many low budget 70's horror movie zombies, I feel this lends a cartoony feel to the painted miniature (which can be great for fantasy) but I want a convincing portrayal of wretched, visceral undeath...
As we're dealing with a horde here I'd like to include a variety of states of decay. Part of the morbid fascination with the living dead and the dubious joy of painting zombie miniatures are the individual portraits of undeath each figure represents.
This wikipedia entry on decomposition details 5 states of decay:
1. Fresh
2. Bloated
3. Active decay
4. Advanced decay
5. Dry remains
I could think of several movie equivalents for each of these!
As a point of interest the bloat stage includes 'Maggot activity, typically confined to natural orifices and masses under the skin, causes the skin to slip and hair to detach from the skin'.
I was wondering why the vast majority of zombie miniatures are bald!
This great tutorial by GirlPainting on how to paint a zombie uses light applications of blue, violet and black washes over a flesh tone base coat to create a blotchy, livid complexion.... perfect for the bloated and actively decayed.
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