Don't have Imperial Primer? Get a free step-by-step guide using the paints you own.
Make a free guideLooking for a Imperial Primer equivalent? Below are the closest cross-brand color matches to Imperial Primer (Citadel Colour) in Vallejo Game Color, Army Painter Fanatic, AK Interactive Artist Dense Acrylic, Vallejo Model Wash, Reaper MSP, AK Interactive 3rd Gen, Monument Pro Acryl, Scale75 Scalecolor, Vallejo Weathering Effects, Vallejo Model Color, Vallejo Diorama FX, Army Painter Quickshade, Army Painter Speedpaint, Vallejo Xpress Color, AK Interactive Diorama Series, Army Painter Colour Primer, Vallejo Hobby Spray, Army Painter Warpaints, Vallejo Metal Color, Vallejo Game Color Effects, ranked by CIE76 deltaE color distance. Use them as substitutes, or generate a painting guide from the paints you actually own and let PaintGuide handle the matching and mixing for you.
Closest match in each brand
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Shade & highlight partners
Suggested shadow and highlight colors for Imperial Primer, picked from the full catalog by color science — not paints you own. Shadows stay richer when they lean cool; pure black just flattens them. Highlights read best warmer and a touch softer than the base; pure white bleaches them out.
- Shade 2Matt BlackArmy Painter FanaticGreat match
- Shade 1Nuln OilCitadel ColourGreat match
- BaseImperial PrimerCitadel Colour
- Highlight 1Obsidian SkinArmy Painter FanaticGreat match
- Highlight 2Warpfiend GreyCitadel ColourGreat match
Mix starting points — real pigment blends shift a little; adjust by eye.
Your paints, one journey — the blends between them live here.
Don't have Imperial Primer? Paint with what you own.
PaintGuide builds a step-by-step guide for your miniature using only the paints in your collection — matching colors across brands and giving exact mixing recipes for anything you're missing.
Make a free guide with your paintsMatches are computed by converting each paint's color to CIELAB and measuring CIE76 deltaE distance. A “great match” (deltaE < 3) is very close to the eye; a “close match” is a usable substitute. Finish, opacity, and coverage still differ between brands, so test on primer when it matters.