Citadel to Army Painter conversion guide
This Citadel to Army Painter conversion guide shows how to find The Army Painter Warpaints equivalent for any Citadel colour, how to read a match-quality rating, and where cross-brand conversions fall short — so you can switch ranges with confidence.
Why convert Citadel to The Army Painter?
The Army Painter's Warpaints are a popular, budget-friendly alternative to Citadel, sold in dropper bottles and designed with wargamers in mind. Many starter sets and tutorials assume Citadel colours, so a conversion lets you follow them with the Warpaints you already own.
How cross-brand matching works
Each paint's swatch colour is converted to the CIE-Lab colour space and compared with the CIEDE2000 formula — the perceptual colour-difference standard. The smaller the distance (ΔE), the closer the match. Our paint converter computes this for every colour instantly; just set the target brand to The Army Painter.
How to read match quality
- Excellent match (ΔE < 2): visually indistinguishable to most people.
- Very close (ΔE < 5): a great substitute for almost any project.
- Close (ΔE < 10): usable, with a slight shift side by side.
- Approximate (ΔE ≥ 10): the nearest available colour — a starting point to adjust.
Where conversions break down
Colour distance doesn't capture finish, opacity or how metallics, washes and contrast paints behave. Treat those as a shortlist and confirm with a physical swatch.
Try it on your colour
Find the closest Army Painter match for any Citadel paint.
Open the Paint Converter →Related
- Best Army Painter equivalents for Citadel paints — a quick-reference list.
- Citadel to Vallejo conversion guide — the same, for Vallejo.
- Paint Stash Tracker — log what you own so you stop buying duplicates.