Layering
Build up smooth color transitions by applying progressively lighter colors to smaller areas.
Layering is how we build light onto a surface: each successive coat is a lighter colour applied to a smaller area, always the part that faces the light. Because each layer is thinned to translucency, its edge melts into the coat below instead of sitting on it as a hard line — stack two or three of these steps and the eye reads a smooth gradient from shadow to highlight. We always work dark to light; it's far easier to build brightness up in small, controlled steps than to claw it back.
Best For
Recommended Paint Types
Step-by-Step
Start from a dry basecoat and thin 2–3 progressively lighter shades of the base hue to milk, edging toward skim-milk for the final layer — it should tint the surface rather than cover it in one pass.
With your size 1 round with a good point, lay the first lighter layer over the upper two-thirds of the surface you're building light on — cloth folds, a cloak, smooth armour — everywhere the light would plausibly reach — leaving the deepest folds in basecoat shadow.
Let it dry for 2–3 minutes, then bring the next lighter colour onto just the upper third of the folds and ridges that catch the light — the parts that face the light directly.
Keep each new edge soft by dragging the stroke toward the shadow with a slightly damp brush before it dries.
Finish with the brightest colour touched only onto the very highest points of the folds and ridges that catch the light, where the light hits square on.
If It Goes Wrong
If a hard line shows between two layers, glaze the midtone colour over the seam at skim-milk to melt it in; if a highlight wandered somewhere the light wouldn't reach, re-cover it with the layer below and rebuild.
Pro Tips
Work from dark to light — it's much easier to control.
The transitions between layers should be gradual, not hard lines.
If you see hard lines, apply a glaze of the midtone color over the transition.
Citadel's paint system is designed for layering — Base > Layer > Layer is the intended workflow.
Common Mistakes
Jumping too far between shades — use small color steps.
Applying each layer to the same area — each successive layer should be smaller.
Not thinning enough — thick layers create visible ridges.
Rushing — let each layer dry before applying the next.