Justin Gauthier June 15, 2026

How to Paint Orks Warhammer 40K

You want perfection, but getting the perfect green Ork body and the nuanced shadows on their weapons is easier said than done. It’s perfectly fine if your first Ork model looks rough. That’s normal.

The good news is learning how to paint Orks Warhammer 40K is one of the more forgiving starts in the hobby - the Ork aesthetic is imperfect by nature! You honestly want this sort of chipped armor and uneven skin tone on these rugged-looking beasts.

Our Warhammer 40k orks painting guide walks through every step from primer to basing. You can also count on us for all the Warhammer paints and Warhammer 40k miniatures you need to hit the ground running and enjoy all that this hobby has to offer. Learn more below!

Understanding the Orks

Let’s take a step back before we get into how to paint Orks Warhammer 40k. This fungal species reproduces through spores, so they can exist in staggering numbers.

Their whole culture is fighting. The biggest Ork leads, and the loudest voice wins. They move around in what is known as a Waaagh! - a massive battle group that has its way until stopped by the enemy (or until the Orks find something else to occupy their attention.

That mentality shapes everything about them. Their vehicles are welded scraps, and their weapons are bolted-together salvage.

That’s why we love painting them - the margin for error is just a bit higher than it is with, say, Space Marines. A sloppy paint job on an Ork looks like an Ork. Rust streaks and exposed metal don’t have to be corrected. They’re part of the vibe. You don’t need advanced blending or a perfectly steady hand to make Orks look like they belong on the table.

You’ll find quite a vast array of models to choose from, too, so you can paint whatever appeals to you. Some of the most popular clans are:

The Goffs
The Bad Moons
Deathskulls
Snakebites
Evil Sunz
Blood Axes
Freebooterz

Our advice is to narrow it down to a clan before you do anything else, because that’ll set the accent color on every armor plate and vehicle hull in your arsenal. On that note, let’s get into how to paint Orks Warhammer 40k!

How to Paint Orks Warhammer 40K

First, know that every Warhammer 40k orks painting guide is going to have its own quirks. That’s the beauty of painting Warhammer models in general. You can put your own unique twist on your army. You just have to follow the basic framework.

That being said, our Warhammer 40k Orks painting guide will walk you through using Citadel paints. They’re our preference since they’re specifically labeled for the layering system Games Workshop teaches.

Vallejo and Army Painter equivalents work just as well if you already own those ranges. That said, here’s how to paint Orks Warhammer 40k with Citadel.

Priming

Start with black primer to naturally darken the recesses on your Orks. This makes it look as if any missed spots were intentional shadows. You can’t go wrong with the Chaos Black spray from Citadel, but honestly, any hardware store rattle can is fine if you’re not picky.

OR, you can take the contrast paint approach and prime with Wraithbone or Grey Seer instead. Just know that contrast paints need a light undercoat. This base lets the paint pool in recesses and stay bright on raised surfaces. It takes care of your shading in just one coat.

Whatever approach you take, hold the can about 20cm from the model and use short bursts. A single can should last you dozens of infantry models.

Painting the Skin

Now for the fun part of learning how to paint Orks Warhammer 40k. Honestly, the only part that really makes or breaks the whole thing. Rough work throughout the fine details later on is not a big deal if you get the skin right.

Use Waaagh! Flesh as your base coat. You can thin it a bit with a drop of water. Less is more. Two thin coats will offer better coverage than a single thick one. You’ll also avoid filling in sculpted detail with too much paint through this two-coat system.

Wash the entire model with Biel-Tan Green after you finish the skin. This wash will settle into creases around the Ork’s muscles and facial features. It creates a wonderful depth with zero blending skill necessary.

Give it plenty of time to dry all the way. Then, you can layer Warpstone Glow over the raised areas. Focus on the knuckles and brow ridges first, then work your way over the forearms and shoulders. You want to leave the recess dark. Then, pick out the sharpest points with Moot Green for the final edge highlight. Done!

There is tons of room for personal expression here. You can go with a darker, grimier look by swapping the Biel-Tan Green wash for Agrax Earthshade. The skin will look muddier and more weathered. This is perfect for Snakebite clan Orks, or really any unit that you want to look as if it has been trudging the dirt for weeks.

You can also speed things up by just going with Ork Flesh Contrast paint over Wraithbone primer to kill two birds with one stone (shading and highlighting). You won’t get a fully layered look, but it’s going to save tons of time if you’re batch painting Orks Warhammer 40k across a squad of 10 Boyz. You can always go back and do edge highlights for HQ models later on, and leave your rank and file at Contrast quality.

Armor and Weapons

Painting Orks Warhammer 40K goes a lot faster once the skin is done. Metal is the fastest thing to paint in Warhammer, and there’s plenty of it on Orks.

Every metal surface gets a base coat of Leadbelcher. Then hit it all with a heavy Nuln Oil wash. You don’t have to be too precise here. Let the wash pool in rivets and dents. We’ve always found that messy metalwork looks better than clean metalwork!

Pick out a few raised edges with Ironbreaker after the wash dries. This brings out that beautiful, worn metal look. Hit the blade edges and the rims of shoulder pads. You don’t have to highlight every tiny little surface. Just the spots where metal would wear down in real life.

Now, what about clan colors on armor panels? Do your research on the Ork clan itself. Abaddon Black for Goffs, Mephiston Red for Evil Sunz, etc. Proceed with your base coat on armor panels, then give them a thin Nuln Oil wash to dirty it down. The thing about Orks is they’re not bothering to maintain their gear. It’s not supposed to look perfect. Even clan markings should look as if they were slapped on with a fist.

You can sponge Rhinox Hide along armor edges for chipped paint effects if you want your Orks to look as if they’ve seen real battle. Or, light passes of Ryza Rust on metal to make the equipment look really neglected.

Same sort of metal recipe applies to vehicles. The only thing that changes is how much surface area you’re covering. You can sponge on Typhus Corrosion for a textured rust effect, then drybrush Ryza Rust over the raised texture. This not only saves time but makes a Trukk or Battlewagon look like it's survived every scrap from here to Armageddon.

Finishing Details

Most of the heavy lifting is done by now. It’s just a matter of filling in the details.

Leather straps and belts: Mournfang Brown first, followed by Agrax Earthshade wash. Highlight sparingly with Skrag Brown on raised folds. Ork leather is rough and utilitarian.
Teeth and bone: Zandri Dust as the base, then a heavy Agrax Earthshade wash to push color into the gaps between teeth. Pick out individual teeth with Ushabti Bone. Ork teeth are huge and prominent.
Eyes: All you need is a dot of Yriel Yellow in each socket. Some painters don’t even bother with pupils and just fill the sockets up with yellow altogether.

These little details only take a few minutes per model, and they really tie everything together.

Your base should tie the model to its setting. Stirland Mud texture paint with a Tyrant Skull drybrush looks nice and weathered. You can glue on a spare skull or some painted scrap metal to make the model look like it belongs somewhere specific.

Wrapping Up Our Warhammer 40k Orks Painting Guide

There you have it, how to paint Orks Warhammer 40k. As we wrap up our Warhammer 40k Orks painting guide, we want to remind you that this is more about confidence than it is precision or perfection. Orks aren’t supposed to look immaculate. They’re the easiest Warhammer 40k army to paint in our opinion.

All that’s left to do now is get started painting Orks Warhammer 40k yourself! Stock up on all the essentials, from the paints and brushes to the models themselves, right here at Danireon, your one-stop Warhammer shop online. Enjoy!