Painting references and inspiration

A scrapbook of models, materials, and small details to study for future painting projects. These references are inspiration for future work, separate from the approved painting recipes.
Pinch Painting and Lion’s Wrath
Creator: Pinch Painting, credited as @pinchpainting on the photographs. Army: Lion’s Wrath, his custom Dark Angels successor. Saved: 2026-10-16.
Model gallery · Painting recipes · About the site · Army and scheme history
Army color balance
Photo: Pinch Painting, gallery entry Oops All Terminators. Original photograph.
Elements to study: pale upper armor against almost-black green limbs; restrained red weapon casings; warm ochre basing repeated across the unit. Useful for judging the balance of light and dark at squad distance.
Infantry and energy weapon accents
Photo: Pinch Painting / @pinchpainting, gallery entry Assault Marines Better pics. Original photograph · Model gallery.
Elements to study: bone chest armor framed by dark limbs; fine green edges; bright turquoise energy effects; small banner markings and warm rocky basing.
Vehicle panels and markings
Photo: Pinch Painting / @pinchpainting, gallery entry Gladiator Tank. Original photograph · Model gallery.
Elements to study: the infantry palette carried onto larger armor panels; selective edge highlights and small chips; a checkerboard marking; warm turret armor against the dark green hull.
Specialist armor and pale cloth
Photo: Pinch Painting / @pinchpainting, gallery entry Armageddon Librarian. Original photograph · Model gallery.
Elements to study: blue specialist armor alongside chapter colors; fine runes and red markings; pale cloth beside dark armor; warm metal details on the staff and a rocky scenic base.
Black green armor and fine edges
Photo: Pinch Painting, Black Armour recipe. Original photograph · Source recipe.
Elements to study: a very dark armor body with narrow green highlights around the shoulder; the red marking remains legible without brightening the entire panel.
Bone armor and weathering
Photo: Pinch Painting, Bone Armour recipe. Original photograph · Source recipe.
Elements to study: warm pink-brown shadows around pale armor faces; fine light edges; small scratches that leave most of the broad surface clean. This is a material reference, not a selection for the Deathwing recipe.
White wings and character accents
Photo: Pinch Painting, gallery entry Captain. Original photograph.
Elements to study: the white helmet wing against dark armor; deep crimson cloth framing the body; a bright turquoise blade carrying the strongest color accent.
Chaplain details
Photo: Pinch Painting, gallery entry Jump Chaplain. Original photograph.
Elements to study: cream skull and shoulder against dark armor; a red pistol kept subordinate to the face and weapon; aged gold and a purple grip on the crozius.
Aged gold and cool recesses
Photo: Pinch Painting, Battered Gold recipe. Original photograph · Source recipe.
Elements to study: subdued warm metal with strong feather separation and cool greenish recess accents. A reference for weathered metal, separate from the clean gold test already staged for the army.
Warm rocky basing
Photo: Pinch Painting, Marine Base Scheme recipe. Original photograph · Source recipe.
Elements to study: warm layered rock against the cool dark armor; dark gaps preserving depth; sparse tufts rather than blanket vegetation.
Elements to revisit
Black green armor with narrow, selective edge highlights.
White or bone details that stay distinct against dark armor.
Warm bone shadows and restrained surface scratches.
Turquoise blades and plasma as small, strong accents.
Aged gold with clear feather separation.
A consistent warm base palette across a unit.
The infantry palette repeated on vehicles, with selective wear and markings.
Blue specialist armor paired with pale cloth and warm metal details.
Personal notes
Guide presentation: save Pinch’s dark recipe cards, adjacent finished-model photographs, technique labels, component color dots, and visible mixing ratios as layout inspiration.
Add another reference
For each new reference, save the creator and source link, a photograph or detail, the element worth studying, and personal notes. Use a separate entry when only one small feature is relevant; a whole model does not need to become a complete recipe.
All photographs in this first collection are credited to Pinch Painting / @pinchpainting. Original photographs retain the creator’s watermark and full framing.