The Annual Night Lord – Cruelty in Form
Every year, I paint a Night Lord. It’s become a small ritual — a way to cleanse my feed of Orktober. October is firmly the tiem of ghouls, of devils in the dark – and the LORDS OF THE NIGHT.
This year’s piece pushed that further. I wanted to see how far I could stretch the idea of a Night Lord without losing the core of what makes them who they are. I mixed parts from the new Slaanesh marine kits with older Forge World components, blending excess with terror. The result feels crueler, more theatrical — a warrior who’s spent too long in the dark, reshaping himself to fit the nightmare. It leans more into a 40k aesthetic – this is not a legionnaire, but rather a member of a warband.
The conversion came together fast — elegant Slaaneshi armour lines meeting the brutal bulk of Heresy-era plate. But painting it took patience. The palette sits in that sweet spot between cold and electric: deep blues, purple undertones, and sharp, bone-white lightning marks. You have to fight the temptation to go too bright. The Night Lords live in shadow; everything should feel just a little sickly, just a little off.
Golds are tarnished. Reds are dried blood, not fresh. The flesh tones around mutations get that pale, stretched look that borders on uncomfortable. The goal isn’t beauty — it’s unease.
Every year I paint one, I learn something new about restraint. You don’t need to cover them in gore or neon to make them unsettling. A single bright accent on a muted model can tell the whole story.
If you want to see how this build came together — the conversion breakdown, painting process, and full recipe list — you can find it all on the Lil’Legend Studio Patreon. We’ve built a library of Night Lord tutorials over the years, from clean armour blends to full horror-themed weathering.
I’m looking forward to showing you how to get these types of textures on your flayed skin.
