Grand Cathay
A zenithal-primed speedpaint recipe for Grand Cathay — teal and yellow robes, peachy skin, and weathered metals, all layered up with Fanatic highlights.
A speedpaint-heavy recipe for Grand Cathay that leans on a zenithal prime to do most of the shading work before a single drop of paint hits the model. The palette is the classic Cathay teal-and-yellow, warmed up with some peachy skin, and brought together with metals, leather, and rope.
The zenithal (Matt Black undercoat, Wight Bone from above) means the speedpaints pool naturally in the recesses and stay bright on the raised areas, which does a lot of the heavy lifting. From there it's just a matter of picking out each area with the right speedpaint, then a round of Fanatic highlights to push the contrast.
The teal gets highlighted with Aqua Alchemy and a dab of Ice Yellow at the very top, the yellows get a Fuegan Orange wash in the recesses and Inner Light/Ice Yellow on the peaks, and the skin goes Amber Skin → Amber + Brainmatter Beige with Berserker Bloodshade for shadows.
For any third colour that doesn't fit the scheme (extra leather straps, pouches, that sort of thing) I drop in Snakebite Leather as a break — it sits nicely next to both the teal and the yellow without fighting either.
This is one of my older recipes so it's written as a single-pass recipe rather than being broken out into separate speedpaint and highlight stages like I do now.
Workbench Palette
Matt Black
Colour Forge · Spray
Wight Bone
Colour Forge · Spray
Raging Sea
The Army Painter · Speedpaint
Peachy Flesh
The Army Painter · Speedpaint
Battleship Grey
The Army Painter · Speedpaint
Dark Wood
The Army Painter · Speedpaint
Zealot Yellow
The Army Painter · Speedpaint
Grim Black
The Army Painter · Speedpaint
Broadsword Silver
The Army Painter · Speedpaint
Pallid Bone
The Army Painter · Speedpaint
Aqua Alchemy
The Army Painter · Warpaints Fanatic
Ice Yellow
The Army Painter · Warpaints Fanatic
Fuegan Orange
Citadel Colour · Shade
Inner Light
The Army Painter · Warpaints Fanatic
Brigade Grey
The Army Painter · Warpaints Fanatic
Mocca Skin
The Army Painter · Warpaints Fanatic
Amber Skin
The Army Painter · Warpaints Fanatic
Brainmatter Beige
The Army Painter · Warpaints Fanatic
Berserker Bloodshade
Citadel Colour · Shade
Deep Grey
The Army Painter · Warpaints Fanatic
Dark Blue Tone
The Army Painter · Warpaints Fanatic Wash
Coelia Greenshade
Citadel Colour · Shade
Snakebite Leather
Citadel Colour · Contrast
Red Earth - Fine
Monument Hobbies · Pro Acryl Basing Texture
Leather Brown
The Army Painter · Warpaints Fanatic
Reference Images
