Short answer: Blood effects are a weathering technique — a way of making a figure look used and battle-worn — that adds realistic blood to a blade tip, claw, wound or armour. The easiest route is a ready-made gloss (shiny) blood paint: just apply something like Citadel Blood for the Blood God or Vallejo Fresh Blood with a fine brush, sparingly and with intent. The secret comes down to two things: a dark crimson colour and a wet, glossy finish.
In this guide we'll walk you through how to place blood so it adds drama and story to a figure. The good news is that even a beginner gets results in minutes with a ready product; the hard part isn't the technique, it's not overdoing it. Below you'll find the colour logic first, then a step-by-step, the materials you need, and the mistakes painters make most.
What are blood effects and what are they for?
As the name suggests, blood effects add the look of blood to battle figures, weapons, monsters and dioramas. Fresh blood on a sword tip, spatter around a creature's mouth, a few drips on armour, or a full sacrifice scene — each one adds narrative to the model.
That's why the real point of blood is storytelling. A cleanly painted figure looks good; but the same figure with blood dripping off its blade tells you exactly what it just did. In that sense, blood is the most dramatic member of the weathering family. Done right it's striking; overdone, it reads as "ketchup."
In terms of difficulty, this technique sits between beginner and intermediate, and it's quite fast. You can finish in a few minutes with a ready product, because the challenge isn't the technique — it's hitting the right amount. After all, one drop too many or too few completely changes how believable the figure looks.
How do blood effects work?
Realistic blood has two secrets: the right colour and the right gloss. Contrary to what many people assume, fresh blood isn't pure bright red; it's a dark crimson-maroon with a slight brown or purple undertone, and it looks wet and glossy. Clotted, older blood, by contrast, is darker and matte.
This is exactly why ready-made blood products are formulated to nail that colour and glossy gel consistency, which makes them the most reliable route to convincing blood. Physics matters as much as colour: blood runs with gravity, so drips are vertical; it drips off sharp edges; and spatter patterns are directional, pointing the way the blow came from. In short, blood that ignores this logic looks fake no matter how well it's painted.
How do you do it step by step?
There's one key rule: blood is the very last stage of painting — it goes on after the figure is finished and, if needed, varnished. With that in mind, you can follow this reliable order:
- Plan the placement first: Where does blood make sense? Weapon edge and tip, claws, teeth, wounds, armour spatter. Here too, think sparing and targeted.
- Apply the ready product: Lay Citadel Blood for the Blood God or Vallejo Fresh Blood with a fine brush. For drips and runs, pull the brush downward in line with gravity.
- Add spatter (optional, careful): Load a little blood onto an old brush and flick the bristles with your finger to throw small dots. But before you try this on the model, always test it on paper first, because uncontrolled blots on the model are a real risk.
- Build layers and depth: Lay a dark red-brown matte base for old blood, then add glossy bright-red dots on top for fresh blood.
- Concentrate the clot: Keep dense areas like a wound centre darker, and the edges thinner and lighter.
- Keep it glossy: Fresh blood must stay shiny. The gloss product already is; if it dulls down, you can dab gloss varnish on top, spot by spot.
Which paints and brushes?
The materials list is short, because the product's own formula does most of the work:
- Ready-made blood paints: Citadel Blood for the Blood God, Vallejo Game Color Effects Fresh Blood, plus AK and Forge World blood products. They solve colour and gloss in a single pot.
- DIY mix: Add a touch of brown or purple to a dark red, then add gloss medium for shine. It's a solid alternative when you don't have a ready product.
- Fine brush: For detailed placement and drips.
- Old/sacrificial brush: For flicking spatter only. Don't ruin a good brush on this, because the bristles splay out.
- Gloss varnish: For spot application, to push the fresh, wet look.
The most common mistakes
What's interesting is that failure with blood is almost always a matter of quantity and colour, not skill:
- Overdoing it: Drenching the whole model gives the "ketchup" look. Sparing, targeted blood is far stronger.
- Wrong colour: Bright pure red reads as fake. Blood should be dark, with a slight brown or purple undertone.
- Matte blood: Fresh blood needs to look wet; matte makes it look like paint. That's why gloss is essential.
- Spatter without testing: Flicking straight onto the model leads to big, uncontrolled blots.
- Breaking gravity: Blood that "runs" upward instantly trips the viewer's fake alarm.
Pro tips
A few small habits can take blood from amateur to advanced:
- Less is more. A few well-placed drips say far more than blood everywhere.
- Trust the ready product. It solves colour and gloss for you, so it's the safest route.
- Think direction. Drips go down with gravity; spatter follows the line of the blow.
- Tell a timeline. Matte dark old blood with glossy fresh blood on top shows the event has been unfolding for a while.
The golden rule of this technique is a principle every master painter repeats: "Less is more." A few well-placed drops of blood always beat drenching the model — because the eye reads excess as fake the instant it lands.
Blood is often a natural part of a Battle Damage story; bruises, scratches and blood considered together make a figure far more believable. If you want to tune the depth of the colour, lean on Inking and Glazing. And for the wider context, take a look at our Weathering: An Overview guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best paint for blood effects?
The most popular product is Citadel Blood for the Blood God; it gives the right dark crimson and a glossy consistency in one go. Vallejo Fresh Blood does much the same. Both solve colour and gloss for you, which makes them the safest pick for beginners.
How can I mix my own blood?
If you have no ready product, don't worry: add a small amount of brown or purple to a dark red paint; that undertone rescues it from "fake" bright red. Then mix in gloss medium for the wet, shiny look. For older blood, cut the gloss and deepen the tone.
Why does my blood always look overdone?
Usually because it's applied too much and in the wrong places. Here, follow the "less is more" rule: put just a few drops where it makes sense — weapon tip, claw, wound. Large bloody areas look cheap, not dramatic. So start light and add only if needed.
Should I do fresh or old blood?
It depends entirely on the story you want to tell. Fresh blood is bright and vivid red and says "just happened." Old, clotted blood, on the other hand, is dark and matte and tells of a past event. Layering both — matte old underneath, glossy fresh on top — gives the richest, most realistic result.
How do I control the spatter effect?
First load a little blood onto an old brush and always test the flick on a scrap of paper. That's because the pattern is set by the amount of paint and the distance of the flick. You can mask the areas you want to protect, or touch the brush tip in very close for controlled small dots.
Do I need to varnish over the blood?
Usually not, since ready blood products are already glossy. But if it's gone matte or you want extra wetness, dab gloss varnish only on the bloody spots. Don't gloss the whole figure; only the blood should shine, leaving the rest on its original finish.
At what stage of painting should I add blood?
Definitely last. The figure should be fully finished, with shading and highlights set and any protective varnish applied. Blood then goes on over all of that as the top layer. That keeps its gloss and minimises the risk of smearing it where you don't want it.
Key takeaway
To sum up, the secret to realistic blood is this: a dark colour with a slight brown or purple undertone, a wet gloss finish, and targeted placement guided by "less is more." A ready-made gloss blood paint largely solves all three for you.
If you want to start with Citadel Blood for the Blood God, a fine brush and a little gloss varnish, the paints, brushes & hobby supplies you need are waiting at Terminal Wargaming.