Well there's no better way to start than to simply jump right in. I'm going to show what I have completed so far on my Vampire counts army. I've been collecting this army since the mid 90's, it all started with warhammer: undead. Since the split of the undead army I've focused on collecting the Vampire side of things. My collection spans many editions of rule changes and updated sculpts, feel free to ask about a mini if you see something you don't recognize.
Here is my vampire lord.
The red parts were done with many, many layers of citadel red gore, washed with black ink and highlighted back up with more red gore and citadel blood red. The sword was done with a base coat of citadel boltgun metal and washed with citadel badab black then highlighted with citadel mithril silver. For the skin I started with citadel skull white then washed with blue ink. I decided to try and highlight up with a light grey that I mixed up with citadel chaos black and skull white. It turned out a bit dark so I then highlighted up with some more skull white. The black parts are based with citadel chaos black and highlighted with model color black grey and a very lights brush of skull white. For basing I started with model color US tan earth then spread some elmers glue and water mixture (50/50) across the top. I dipped the base in sand and sprinkled some static grass on it (citadel dead grass and scorched grass).
A vampire thrall.
This guy was real simple to paint, I was going for a tabletop quality when I started him as I just wanted to finish it up quickly. I decided to use black primer on this one to speed up the process. It also gave the armor a darker more battered look that I decided to keep. He was supposed to be a front line fighter so the more battle hardened the better. Instead of base coating the armor with a metallic I started drybrushing the black primer until it got to the point shown in the picture. I touched it with a light drybrush of citadel mithril silver to give a bit more depth then called it done. The skin was a mixture of white washed with blue ink then highlighted grey and then highlighted white similar to my vampire lord above. The red was also done in similar fashion to the vampire lord however, I used way less coats and it shows. The red I was using was citadel red gore which I bought in the late 90's. This particular paint has little pigment, when painting over darker colors it can be difficult to get an even look. I was not to concerned though as I think it adds to the battle worn look.
Wraiths and a banshee.
These guys were a blast to paint, like most of my miniatures I've had them for many years and when it comes time to paint them it can be very satisfying. The method I've started using for all bone is this: white primer (any brand), base coat game color bonewhite, wash with citadel gryphonne sepia, let dry and wash with citadel badab black, let dry again and drybrush with bonewhite. Optionally I go back and ink eyesockets and joints if the badab black didn't do a good enough job. That's it, quick and simple and I think it has a pretty nice look.
I wanted these guys to look somewhat substantial rather than completely ethereal so I went with a color scheme instead of monochrome. The scythes were based with citadel boltgun metal and model color mahogany brown, both parts were respectively washed with badab black and citadel devlan mud. The blades were then highlighted with citadel mithril silver. The robes were based with citadel chaos black and drybrushed with model color black grey. I didn't want to pick out different parts on the body of the mini (like necklaces, scarfs etc.) to keep a dark looming feel. I painted one of these guys before with all the extra bits done and he turned out to look like he escaped the circus. So he met with the pine sol. I will note however the hourglass, I felt that it would be a nice extra to highlight. If these guys are coming for you then your time is up sort of thing.
Spirit hosts.
These guys along with the banshee up top were painted using white primer. I based them with skull white then washed them with a heavy amount of badab black. I then inked them with blue ink and proceeded to drybrush up with model color sky grey. Finally I highlighted them with more skull white. As for the choice in model I decided to put to use some old 4th edition warhammer undead wights. I will be using them as spirit hosts, it makes me happy to be able to "recycle" my old minis into the newer rules sets.
The varghulf that got me back into the hobby.
And here is the beast himself. I've been out of the hobby for years, one day I asked a friend to go with me to the games workshop store in our area. There were many new things to look at but this one just looked the best at the time so I picked it up. When I got home I dug through my boxes and pulled my modeling tools out and started to assemble. It was kind of a rush having it all come back to me, shave flash off, dryfit, go buy glue, drill pins, see if my 10 year old can of primer still has anything left in it... I had decided that I wanted to do a special base too, since I'd never done one before (always just painted one solid color with maybe some flock on it). It was a week long process and I am very happy with the way it turned out. It was my inspiration to get back into something that I love to do and will always be that turning point for me. The model was primed white and based with black grey and mahogany brown. I used a very watered down chaos black as an ink to wash over the entire mini. I highlighted the skin up with sky grey and the fur with more mahogany brown. The wings were first done with black grey to cover the white from the primer then covered with model color dark red. After that I used a heavy amount of watered down chaos black to wash it. For the base I broke up a cork pan coaster from the kitchen and positioned two layers so that the varghulf could appear to be climbing up the rocks rather than sitting forward in a football position (see original model). I bent his arms a bit to fit the position and bent his back left leg claws down to grip the edge of the rock. The rocks were based with black grey then highlighted up with sky grey and skull white. I picked up some "grass" from an art store that sold miniature train supplies and used it more like moss growing up in the crevasses and side of the rocks. At the time I was very excited to finish this guy, I sprayed a coat of gloss followed by a coat of matte finish on him and called it done. If I had any regrets it would be the fingernails, they are too clean in my opinion but hey it's not that bad. More to come...