A guide on my Jade-colored Yu Jing was requested several times, so finally, here it is. This exact process won me "Best Unit" award at GenCon 2018 Painting Competition, despite some very serious contenders there.

You've probably seen these models a few times, including in Airbrush Blending article, so here's the rest of the process.

Usually, my thought process starts with evaluating the studio scheme. I decide on whether or not I like studio colors, do I want to paint my minis the same (rarely happens), or do I want to invent something new.

This time I do like the studio scheme. There's a nice contrast between light orange and dark teal green, and only minor odd colors here and there.

Still, I wanted to experiment and create something more suited to my liking, and also detach from State Empire army background into something more sinister and more cyberpunk. So, Jade Syndicate was born:

This time I opted for green teal as my dominant color, with only a small amount of bright saturated red for color contrast.

There were few considerations behind this:

• I've never painted anything in green teal, so it was a refreshing step out of my comfort zone.
• This is a unique color scheme in the Infinity universe. It far from original Yu Jing colors, and also does not replicate any other existing scheme.
• It plays better into a darker cyberpunk theme, thanks to a cool overall color.

There's also a tiny bit of blue turquoise (note the glow on metallic parts), which is a true complementary to red. This interplay between red and turquoise continues on the bases of the models, but of course in lesser saturation and brightness.

Another thing to note here, this is a two-hue scheme, which is almost a one-hue scheme. Remember me rambling about 1-2-hue schemes in Russian Sphinx, and how cool is that, and why you should do this almost all the time? Here's a good example of that principle in action.

Still, I was following the PSR formula from the LazyPainter Method PDF, since it is applicable to display pieces as much as it is applicable to gaming speedpaints. If you haven't read the method primer, here it is (it's a quick 10-15 minutes read):

What's so efficient about this process of creating a display piece in 10-12 hours? There're few things to note:

• Almost a one-hue scheme. The fewer colors you use, the less time you need to paint them.
• Instant attention grabber. The main color is just so vibrant and unusual, and there's so much of it, that it grabs the attention of the viewer. Meaning, everything else doesn't have to be a masterpiece.
• Non-armor areas are simplified. Almost everything that is not armor, is simplified to a primitive process.
• The majority of areas are painted during the Speedpainting phase. Since almost everything is just green teal armor, it's easy to airbrush it during the Speedpainting phase and get 70% of work done in half an hour.
• Freehand raises the perceived quality level considerably, being a very simple and relatively fast process by itself.

Keep those in mind while we're diving deep into step-by-step process.

The first step is relatively simple, but paramount since it creates the basis for all further work. The focus here is to create a vibrant, high-contrasted main color, using Airbrush Blending technique.

The most common mistakes here would be either over-highlighting or under-highlighting, in any case leading to a drop in contrast and overall dull final result.

Airbrush Blending
(1) Undercoat: Black Primer
(2) Basecoat: VGC Jade Green
(3) Shadow: GW Rhinox Hide
(4) Mid-tone: VGC Jade Green
(5) Highlight: VGC Jade Green + VMA White

Note that I skip the usual Zenithal Undercoat. There's no techniques here that would benefit from it (no Directional Glazing of Washing for example). Therefore, doing a Zenithal Undercoat would be a waste of time.

At this point, the speedpainting phase of PSR Formula (from the LazyPainter Method) ends, and next comes the refining stage with quite an amount of brushwork.

At this stage, the model is very homogenous, with just a single color covering it all. To better define all areas, I'm doing a black Basecoat over every dark metallic part (weapon, servo-muscles, and other technical stuff).

Basecoat
VMC Black

At this step, I go over all reflective metallic surfaces (cylinders, servo-muscles, and similar stuff) and paint a simple NMM effect over black basecoat by means of classic Layering.

Layering
(2) VMC Neutral Grey
(3) VMA Pale Blue Grey
(4) VMA White

Next, I blend rough transitions using a mix of previous colors, and glaze with turquoise here and there to add a more interesting colored shine to metal.

(2, 4) Glazing
VGC Turquoise

Next goes a quite time-consuming refinement step, an overall Edge Highlight of the armor.

You'll need some patience to do this because Edge Highlight feels like it takes ages. But in the end, it would be worth it. Edge Highlights are one of the major components of a "display level" feel, when painting clean sci-fi style.

Edge Highlight
(2) VGC Jade Green + White
(3) VGC Jade Green + White
Points of Light
(4) VGC Dead White

Next I paint the weapon my usual way, mostly with simple Edge Highlights. Note that this step could be easily done before overall Edge Highlighting (meaning you swap steps 4 and 5).

Basecoat
(2) VMC Neutral Grey
(3) VMA Pale Blue Grey

Edge Highlight
(4) VMC Neutral Grey
(5) VMA Pale Blue Grey

Points of Light
(6) VGC Dead White

Glazing
(7) VGC Turquoise

Finally, the most challenging and fun part: the freehands. I personally love freehands, cause they add so much character and uniqueness to the miniature. It's possible that somebody will do the same color scheme, but a freehand is almost a guarantee that your mini would be one of a kind.

The sequence of actions here is simple and pretty self-explanatory if you'll look at the photos. Just be aware, it's totally fine to go back and forth, correcting your lines until you're happy with them.

Freehand
(2) VMC Ivory
(3) VMC Black + GW Rhinox Hide
(4) VGC Bloody Red
(5) VMC Ivory

You could also notice that I've painted eyes with the same colors, but using simple Layering with VGC Bloody Red, GW Wild Rider Red and VGC Dead White.

So here're my Zuyongs finished. These initial experiments took me around 10-11 hours per model (which is, again, fine for a display piece).

Later on, as I continued painting my Yu Jing force, I took this step-by-step process and simplified it to 2.5 hours per model for the bulk of gaming models like Zhanshis. Still love the look of them though!

I haven't finished the complete tournament-ready 30-40 miniatures army, but managed to get to 300+ points for regular games (and played a bunch of those).

With not everything being green teal there, and some awesome models like the Dragon Lady (you might guess I love her), Hac Tao and Kuang Shi, this definitely asks for a Project Showcase article at a later date.

But that's all for today's Zuyong Invincibles guide!

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Man, that photo in the bottom row looks creepy, isn't it?