The Space Marines Tactical Arrow is common across almost all chapters. Luckily, painting them is very easy even with no drawing skills.
Like almost all freehand designs, all we need is a little bit of planning ahead and the tactical arrow is child’s play to freehand. This one is taken from our Dark Angels tutorial.
Space Marines Tactical Arrow Freehand
Before we begin, find a reference of what we are painting. This helps with even the simplest designs, like an arrow. This makes proportions easier to figure out.
Be sure your base color is opaque. You want smooth coverage with one pass with this paint; you do not want to paint straight lines in multiple coats. I can’t stress how big of a deal this is.
Plus Sign
First draw a line from top to bottom of our design. While it does not need to be incredibly straight, it needs to be centered.
Next paint a line perpendicular to that one, pretty close to the center. This will make a cross or a plus sign. The higher this line is, the shorter it should be, otherwise your arrow will look squished.
Connect the lines
Next, we connect the end of our vertical line the the tips of the horizontal line.
You can use this step to make sure both sides are roughly equal by bulking up the smaller side (if any)
Fill in the Blank
Once you’re satisfied with the shape of the triangle, carefully fill it.
I always find it easier to work from the edges towards the middle when doing this. Whatever you do, take your time at this stage.
Bulk up the base
Lastly, we want to bulk up the base of the arrow. I like to do this gradually bulking up the line that’s already there slowly.
The taller your arrow is, the thinner the base should be. Again, this is why we have a reference picture to free hand our Space Marines tactical arrow.