Base Decorations or How I Make the Base Look Good!

Greetings and salutations fellow hobbyist!

Here is a guide on how I added decoration to the Hollowed Tomb and Realmvault Key.

Step 1.

I picked out skulls and some greenery from the Citadel Skulls, Barbed Bracken and Creeping Vines boxes.

I cut the pieces from the Barbed Bracken diagonally from either side with cutters to fit it better to the base. 

I used blu tack to attach the items on a back of a ice cream box to add black primer, then used to super glue to attach it to the bases.

Step 2.

Before I started painting I asked myself if I could describe this is a single word, I came up with "uncanny" and thus I decided to go with purples as greenery is generally not purple and it fits with the rest of the model and base.

I picked out several leaves to paint in Daemonette Hide followed by a wash of Drucchi Violet, then some more Daemonette Hide on the raised areas and finally some Warpfiend Gray and little highlight with Slannesh Gray.

Step 3.

I went for Naggorth Night as a base for the other leaves, followed by Genestealer Purple and a wash of Drucchi Violet. After that a careful coat of Genestealer Purple was applied and a highlight of Pink Horror. Note that Genestealer Purple tends to be very thick and I'll recommend diluting with Lahmian Medium or water to get it flow better.

Step 4.

I wanted the branch of the tree to have muted colour and thus went for a base coat of Dryad Bark followed by a careful coat of Gothor Brown.

Step 5.

I painted the leaves on the branch with Averland Sunset and washed the entire branch with Agrax Earthshade. After the shade was dry, I took Averland Sunset and diluted it almost to a wash and painted two coats over the leaves so they will turn out somewhat like dead leaves. I used Tau Light Ochre and Zamesi Desert to add discoloured spots on the leaves with a very fine brush.

Finally I used Gothor Brown and Tallarn Sand to bring the branch itself out a bit.

Step 6.

For the skulls on the Hollowed Tomb I used Zandri Dust as a base coat, followed by Ushabti Bone and then a wash of Agrax Earthshade while being careful with pooling.

After the shade has dried, I used Ushabti Bone again to get the bone colour back and followed by a sparse highlight of Screaming Skull. Note that adding Lahmian Medium to the Ushabti Bone for the second coat will give you a smooth finish.

Step 7.

Here is a picture of the finish models. you can apply some flock or tufts of grass after applying a coat of varnish on the model. 

Remember that experience is the only thing that can not be taught.