How to Paint Orks: Green Skin Step by Step

Nothing says Orks like a wall of grinning green muscle, and getting that skin right is the heart of painting the Orks. The good news is that green flesh is one of the most satisfying and forgiving things to paint in the whole hobby, because the rough, characterful sculpts practically highlight themselves. This guide focuses on a punchy green-skin recipe, then shows you how to finish off the armour, teeth, and grime that complete a proper Ork.

What You'll Need

For the skin you will want a dark green base, a green wash, and one or two brighter greens for layering. Add a metallic for armour, a bone colour for teeth and tusks, and a brown for all the grime. A basecoat brush and a detail brush cover it. If you paint from Vallejo or Army Painter, the paint converter has the equivalents for every green named here. Thin those paints, because even Orks look better in two neat coats.

1. Undercoat

Prime the model black. Ork sculpts are packed with deep folds, straps, and crevices, and a black undercoat fills those shadows for you so you do not have to paint into every gap later. Spray or brush it on evenly and let it cure. Black is the most forgiving base for the rich greens and battered metals coming next.

2. Basecoat the Skin

Paint all the skin, meaning the face, arms, hands, and any bare gut, with a dark green like Waaagh! Flesh. Leave the black showing in the deepest wrinkles and between the fingers. Two thin coats give a solid, even green. Do not touch the armour or teeth yet; get the skin looking good first, because it is the largest and most important area on the model.

3. Shade

Wash the skin with a shade to deepen all those wrinkles and scowls. A green shade like Athonian Camoshade keeps things vibrant, while Nuln Oil gives a grimier, darker look; either works. Let it flow into the frown lines, knuckles, and neck folds. This instantly gives the face character and makes the next highlights really stand out. Let it dry fully before moving on.

4. Layer

Go back over the raised skin with your base green, then switch to a brighter green like Warboss Green and paint the most prominent muscles and features: the brow, the nose, the cheekbones, the knuckles, and the forearms. Leaving the shaded recesses dark, this builds up the bulk and makes the Ork look powerful and three-dimensional. Each layer covers a little less than the one before.

5. Edge Highlight

For the final pop, take an even lighter green such as Skarsnik Green, or a touch of Nurgling Green, and hit the highest points: the tip of the nose, the brow ridge, and the top of the knuckles and muscles. You are only catching the very edges here. This sharpens all that lovely green muscle and gives the skin a lively, almost sunlit finish.

6. Armour, Teeth and Grime

Now the rest. Paint armour plates with a metallic like Leadbelcher, wash them with Nuln Oil, then chip and scratch them freely, because Orks love battered gear. Do teeth and tusks in a bone colour, shaded and highlighted up to off-white. Pick out cloth, glyphs, and checks in bold colours. Finally, smear brown and rust around the metal and boots, since grime makes Orks look right. Base them in dirt with a few tufts.

Final Tip

Orks are the ultimate do-not-overthink-it army. They are meant to look rough, mismatched, and covered in dents and dirt, so mistakes genuinely add character rather than spoiling the model. Paint them in a big messy batch, be generous with the grime, and lean into the chaos. A horde of scruffy, characterful greenskins beats a handful of pristine ones every time. Waaagh!