The easiest blood effect is Citadel’s Blood for the Blood God technical paint — a glossy, translucent red that looks like fresh blood straight from the pot. Apply it to weapons, wounds, bases, and splatter it from a toothbrush for spray patterns. This single product has revolutionised gore effects in miniature painting, making it possible for any hobbyist to add convincing blood to their models in minutes rather than hours.
Blood effects divide the hobby community. Some painters add blood to every model, creating grimly realistic scenes of battlefield carnage. Others prefer clean, pristine models where the horror of war is suggested rather than depicted. Neither approach is wrong — it’s a matter of personal taste and the story you want your army to tell. But if you’re going to paint blood, you should paint it well, because bad blood effects look worse than no blood effects at all.
What Products Create Blood Effects?
Citadel Blood for the Blood God is the industry standard. This technical paint is a glossy, translucent crimson that mimics the appearance of fresh blood with remarkable accuracy. It pools in recesses, runs along blade edges, and creates convincing splatter patterns when flicked from a brush. It dries glossy and stays glossy, maintaining its wet blood appearance indefinitely. It is far and away the easiest and most effective blood product available.
Tamiya Clear Red (X-27) is a popular alternative, particularly among military modellers and Japanese hobbyists. This transparent acrylic lacquer creates a slightly different blood appearance — more translucent and jewel-like than Blood for the Blood God. It’s excellent for layering over dark base colours to create wounds and bruises, and its thinner consistency makes it ideal for fine blood trails and drips.
AK Interactive’s Blood effects products include Fresh Blood, Dried Blood, and Blood Splatter, each formulated for a specific type of gore effect. The range approach means you can create a complete blood narrative — fresh blood on the weapon’s edge, drying blood on the armour, and dried stains on the base. These are more expensive than the Citadel option but offer greater versatility.
Homemade blood paint can be created by mixing red ink, a tiny amount of brown ink, and gloss medium. The red provides the colour, the brown prevents it from looking too bright and artificial, and the gloss medium gives the wet blood shine. Adjust proportions to taste — more brown for older, darker blood; more red for fresh arterial spray.
When Should You Add Blood Effects?
Blood effects should be one of the very last steps in your painting process. Apply blood after all other painting, shading, highlighting, and weathering is complete. Once blood is on a model, it’s extremely difficult to paint around or over it without ruining the effect.
Consider the narrative context of your blood effects. A Khorne Berserker should be drenched in blood — they are literally warriors devoted to the Blood God. A noble Ultramarines Captain might have a few strategic blood marks on their sword, suggesting controlled violence. A Tyranid creature might have blood around its jaws from feeding. Each model tells a different story, and the blood should match that story.
Think about where blood would realistically appear. Weapons accumulate blood along their cutting edges. Wounds bleed outward and drip downward with gravity. Splatter patterns radiate outward from the point of impact. Blood pools on flat surfaces and runs along grooves and channels. Studying reference images (medical illustrations, forensic science photos, movie special effects) helps you place blood effects convincingly.
The cardinal rule is less is more. A few well-placed blood effects enhance a model’s storytelling. Excessive blood drowns out the paint job and often looks cartoonish rather than grim. Start with minimal blood and add more only if the model looks like it needs it. You can always add more blood later, but removing it requires repainting.
How to Apply Blood to Weapons
Weapons are the most common location for blood effects, and the technique varies depending on the weapon type.
For bladed weapons (swords, axes, knives), apply Blood for the Blood God along the cutting edge in an irregular pattern. Don’t coat the entire blade — blood on a weapon follows the pattern of use. A sword that has been swung will have blood concentrated on the leading edge and the last few inches where it strikes. Apply a thin line of blood along the edge, then pull some of it away from the edge in streaks that follow the direction of the swing.
For bludgeoning weapons (hammers, maces, power fists), apply blood more broadly. Impact weapons crush rather than cut, so blood splashes outward from the impact point. Apply blood to the striking face, then add splatter radiating outward. Some blood should be in the crevices of the weapon’s texture, as if driven into the pores of the metal by impact force.
For chain weapons (chainswords, chainaxes), apply blood between and along the teeth. Chain weapons create a particularly messy kind of wound, so the blood can be heavier and more chaotic than on clean blades. Let Blood for the Blood God settle into the gaps between teeth, then add streaks pulled in the direction of the chain’s rotation.
For claws and talons, apply blood from the tip of each claw back along the curve, concentrated at the point where the claw enters a target. Natural weapons like Tyranid claws should have blood that looks organic — smeared and mixed with whatever flesh the creature has been tearing apart.
How to Create Blood Splatter
Blood splatter is the most dramatic blood effect and also the most technically challenging. Done well, it transforms a model into a scene of battlefield violence. Done poorly, it looks like someone dropped the model in paint.
The toothbrush flick method is the most controlled splatter technique. Load an old toothbrush with Blood for the Blood God, hold it near the model, and run your thumb across the bristles toward you. This flicks tiny droplets of paint onto the model in a random pattern that closely mimics real blood splatter. Practice on paper first to calibrate the distance and amount of paint. The key variables are: how much paint on the brush (less is better), how far from the model (6-12 inches), and how hard you flick (gentle for fine mist, harder for larger drops).
The brush flick method uses a regular paint brush. Load the brush tip with blood paint, hold it near the model, and flick the bristles with your finger. This produces larger, more directional splatter than a toothbrush. It’s useful for creating the specific radial pattern of arterial spray — blood that has erupted from a wound under pressure.
Directional splatter is crucial for realism. Blood doesn’t spray randomly — it follows the physics of the wound and the weapon. A downward sword stroke sends blood spraying to the sides and forward. An upswing flings blood behind the attacker. A gunshot wound sprays blood in the direction of the bullet’s travel. Match your splatter direction to the action your model is performing for maximum narrative impact.
Always mask areas you want to keep clean before splattering. Use small pieces of masking tape or hold a piece of card as a shield to protect areas like the model’s face, chapter insignia, or other details you want blood-free. It’s much easier to prevent splatter than to clean it up.
How to Paint Wounds and Fresh Cuts
Painting wounds on a model’s body or armour requires a different approach than weapon blood.
For fresh wounds on flesh, start by painting the wound itself with a dark red-brown (Khorne Red mixed with Rhinox Hide). This represents exposed muscle and deep tissue. Add a thin line of brighter red (Evil Sunz Scarlet) at the wound’s edges — this is the freshly cut skin surface. Finally, apply Blood for the Blood God over the entire wound and let it drip downward from the wound’s lowest point. The glossy blood over the matte paint underneath creates a convincing depth effect.
For wounds through armour, paint the damaged area first — exposed metal, torn padding, scorched edges. Then add blood running from the gap in the armour, flowing along the armour’s surface following gravity. Blood on armour creates a powerful contrast — the pristine manufactured surface marred by the biological reality of the warrior inside.
For old, drying wounds, use a darker, less glossy approach. Mix Rhinox Hide with a tiny amount of Blood for the Blood God for a darker, semi-glossy finish that suggests blood that has been exposed to air for several minutes. Old blood clots darken and lose their shine, so the less glossy the effect, the older the wound appears.
How to Paint Blood on Bases
Blood on bases tells stories that blood on models cannot — it shows what happened before the model arrived, or what fell at their feet.
Blood pools form when blood collects on flat surfaces. Create them by applying a thick drop of Blood for the Blood God to a flat area of the base. Let it settle and self-level. For extra depth, apply a second drop after the first has dried. Blood pools darken at the edges as they begin to dry, so you can rim the pool with a thin line of Rhinox Hide after the Blood for the Blood God has dried.
Blood trails suggest a wounded creature dragged itself across the ground or a body was dragged away. Create trails by loading a fine brush with Blood for the Blood God and drawing a line across the base in a slightly irregular path. Vary the thickness — thicker where the bleeding was heaviest, thinning where the blood was running out.
Blood-soaked earth is created by mixing Blood for the Blood God with your basing material. Apply texture paste or sand as normal, then while it’s still wet, drip Blood for the Blood God into it. The blood soaks into the texture, creating a convincing patch of bloodstained ground. This is particularly effective for bases representing recently fought-over terrain.
Bloody footprints are a subtle but powerful storytelling detail. After creating a blood pool or blood-soaked area, use a fine brush to paint tiny red marks in the shape of the model’s feet leading away from the blood source. This suggests the model walked through blood — their own or someone else’s.
Advanced Blood Techniques
Once you’ve mastered the basics, several advanced techniques can push your blood effects to the next level.
Blood drip strands are those thin threads of blood that stretch between a weapon and a wound. Create them by stretching a tiny amount of PVA glue between two points, letting it dry, then painting it with Blood for the Blood God. Alternatively, use a strand of hot glue pulled to a thin thread. These are fiddly to create but incredibly effective.
Coagulated blood has a different texture from fresh blood. Mix Blood for the Blood God with a tiny amount of texture paint (like Citadel Stirland Mud) to create a thicker, clotted effect. Apply this in small blobs to represent clots forming on wounds or collecting on weapons after extended fighting.
Blood spray on the model’s face can be extremely effective but requires a delicate touch. Use a fine-pointed brush to apply individual tiny dots of blood in a directional pattern across the face and helmet. This suggests the model was at very close range when they killed something — a powerful narrative detail that implies brutal, intimate violence.
Mixing blood colours creates more realistic results than using a single product. Layer darker blood (brown-red) underneath brighter blood (red) on top. This mimics how real blood darkens as it dries — the oldest blood at the centre of a stain is darkest, while the freshest at the edges is brightest. Three layers of progressively lighter red create convincing temporal depth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Blood for the Blood God the only product you need?
For most hobbyists, yes. Blood for the Blood God covers 90% of blood effects you’ll ever want to create. The only limitation is that it only represents fresh, wet blood. If you want dried blood effects, you’ll need to mix it with brown paint or use a separate product like AK Interactive Dried Blood. But for general gore on weapons, wounds, and bases, Blood for the Blood God alone is sufficient.
Does blood look good on every army?
Blood can work on any army, but the amount should match the army’s character. Khorne armies look right drenched in gore. Aeldari or T’au might only have enemy blood on their weapons, reflecting their more precise fighting styles. Consider your army’s lore and aesthetic before going overboard with blood effects. A few well-placed blood marks enhance any model; excessive blood can make an army look cartoonish.
How do you prevent Blood for the Blood God from looking like red paint?
Three tips: First, apply it over dark undercoats (black or dark brown) rather than directly onto light colours — this gives it depth and prevents it from looking flat. Second, use it sparingly — real blood is concentrated at wound sites and weapon edges, not smeared everywhere. Third, vary the thickness — thin areas are translucent and darker, thick areas are more opaque and brighter, creating natural variation.
Can you remove blood effects if you apply too much?
Blood for the Blood God is an acrylic paint and can be removed when still wet by wiping with a damp brush or cloth. Once dry, it can be carefully scraped off smooth surfaces or painted over with your base colours. On textured surfaces, removal is more difficult — you may need to repaint the affected area. This is why the “less is more” approach is recommended: start with minimal blood and add more as needed.
Should you apply blood effects before or after varnishing?
Apply blood effects after matte varnishing. Matte varnish kills the glossy, wet appearance that makes Blood for the Blood God effective. If you must varnish after applying blood (for gaming durability), use gloss varnish only on the blood areas and matte varnish everywhere else. Some painters apply a final dot of Blood for the Blood God over varnished blood areas to restore the wet look.
How long does Blood for the Blood God take to dry?
A thin coat dries in roughly an hour, but thick pools and blobs can take several hours to set fully. Leave blood-heavy models overnight before handling them, varnishing or putting them in a case, because thick areas can feel dry on the surface while still soft underneath. Building deep pools in two thinner layers helps them dry faster and more evenly.
Should alien blood be red?
Not necessarily. Many painters give Tyranids, Genestealer hybrids and other xenos purple, green or yellow ichor to make them look alien. You can make it by mixing a coloured ink or Contrast paint with gloss varnish or gloss medium, or use a technical paint such as Nurgle’s Rot for slimy green effects. Keep human and Space Marine blood red for contrast.