How to Paint T'au: Clean Sept Schemes

The T'au Empire build the sleekest war machines in the galaxy, and their paint schemes should match: crisp, smooth, and clean. That clean look is a different challenge from a grimy army, because there is nowhere to hide a wobbly line. The good news is that a tidy T'au force comes down to a handful of simple habits, and this guide will teach you every one of them.

What You'll Need

A classic sept scheme pairs a light armour colour with a darker bodysuit and a bold accent. Gather a bone or off-white base such as Ushabti Bone, a lighter tone like Screaming Skull for highlights, a dark grey for the undersuit, and a warm sepia or earth shade for tidy recess shading. Add a bright accent colour for panels and sept markings, red or orange for sensor lenses, and a dark metal for weapon casings. A couple of good, pointed brushes matter more here than almost anywhere else. If you use another paint brand, our paint converter will find your closest matches.

Stage 1: Undercoat

Prime the model white or pale grey. A light undercoat is essential for a clean scheme, since the bone armour and bright panels stay vivid over white but turn muddy over black. Spray in thin, even coats and let it cure completely; a smooth foundation is half the battle for a smooth finish.

Stage 2: Basecoat

Thin your paints more than feels natural and build the colours up in two or three light coats rather than one thick layer. Block the armour plates in bone, the bodysuit and joints in dark grey, and keep the line between the two as clean as you can. Patience here pays off: smooth, streak-free basecoats are the single biggest factor in that signature T'au polish.

Stage 3: Wash and Shade

Resist the temptation to slather shade over the whole model, as that would ruin the clean look. Instead, carefully run a sepia or earth shade only into the recesses and panel lines with the tip of your brush. This targeted shading defines the armour plates and separates the panels without dirtying the flat surfaces. A tidy hand at this stage keeps the model looking factory-fresh.

Stage 4: Layer

Bring the armour back to brilliance by layering the bone colour across the middle of each plate, then a lighter tone near the top edges, leaving your recess shading visible. Do the same on the grey undersuit with a lighter grey. Smooth, gradual transitions are the aim; several thin coats blend far better than one heavy one and keep everything looking sharp.

Stage 5: Edge Highlights

Take a lighter bone or near-white and carefully line the top edges and corners of the armour panels. Crisp, thin highlights give T'au models their hard-edged, high-tech feel, as though every plate was machined in a spotless forge. Keep the lines fine and deliberate; this is the detail that makes onlookers assume you have been painting for years.

Stage 6: Details and Base

Now add the character. Paint the sensor lenses and eye slits in a bright red or orange, then finish each with a tiny white dot to make them glow. Pick out pulse weapon casings in dark metal, add your sept markings and panel accents in the bold colour you chose, and paint any decals or numbers cleanly. Finish the base to suit your force, whether pale desert sand or the clean tiles of a colony world, and edge the rim tidily.

Final Tips

Clean painting is less about talent and more about patience and thin paint, so slow down and let each coat dry properly. If a line strays, simply tidy it with the adjacent colour; that quiet correction is a professional's real secret. Take your time, keep a calm and unhurried brush, and your sept will look like it rolled straight off the assembly line for the Greater Good.