Mortarion the Lord of Nurgle
Daemon Mortarion – Too Much, Done Carefully
Daemon Mortarion is a lot. Not emotionally (okay, also emotionally), but physically. Wings, smoke, chains, Nurglings, tubes, bells, skulls — this model shows up with more parts than some entire armies. Painting it isn’t about skill so much as decision-making. If you don’t plan, the whole thing turns into green soup very quickly.
This was a commission piece, so the goal wasn’t to reinvent the wheel. The brief was simple: classic Death Guard tones, readable at distance, and grimy without being cartoonish.
The Model Problem
The biggest issue with Daemon Mortarion is visual noise. Everything competes for attention. If you paint every surface with maximum contrast and saturation, the model just collapses into itself. The solution is hierarchy.
Armour first. That’s the anchor.
I kept the armour desaturated and relatively clean compared to the rest of the model. Green-grey plates, restrained highlights, and weathering focused on edges and joints only. That gives the eye somewhere to rest. From there, everything else can spiral outwards.
Flesh, Smoke, and Restraint
The wings are where people usually go off the rails. Too much contrast, too many colours, and suddenly they look like rotting fruit. Here, they stayed muted — bone, sickly flesh tones, subtle bruising. Enough variation to feel organic, not enough to steal focus from the body.
The smoke and fumes were treated almost like negative space. Soft transitions, low saturation, and cooler tones so they frame the miniature instead of shouting over it. They’re there to support the silhouette, not become the main event.
Metals and Details
Metallics were kept dirty but controlled. Think corrosion, not rust-monster. Brass with green oxidation, dark steel with oil staining, and bells that look like they’ve been ringing for ten thousand years straight.
Nurglings got just enough attention to be fun without turning into distractions. If you’re spending more time on a Nurgling than Mortarion’s face, something has gone wrong.
Final Thoughts
Daemon Mortarion rewards patience and punishes enthusiasm. The best versions of this model aren’t the loudest — they’re the ones that understand when to stop.
If you want a full breakdown of how to manage large, complex centrepieces like this — including colour hierarchy, workflow planning, and keeping Nurgle models readable — the complete tutorial is available on the Lil’Legend Studio Patreon.
Big model. Big mess. Surprisingly satisfying when you don’t let it get out of hand.
