Smoke Ink sits in the red family: dark in tone, muted in saturation, warm in cast. Highlight it toward Black Wash, the nearest lighter paint in the Vallejo lane. This color is somewhat distinctive: 1 brand offers a strong same-finish match, The Army Painter Strong Skin Shade closest at 87 percent. Cross-brand swaps are adjust-on-model territory here, useful as a starting point rather than an exact replacement.
Smoke Ink equivalents in other ranges
Smoke Ink is awkward to replace. Treat the matches below as starting points for a mix rather than straight swaps.
Closest The Army Painter equivalent: The Army Painter Strong Skin Shade, a near match with visible drift up close (delta E 2.7).
From Citadel: Citadel Wyldwood, a usable stand-in rather than a twin (delta E 4.0).
The Two Thin Coats pick: Two Thin Coats Scorched Earth, a near match with visible drift up close (delta E 3.0), but it is an opaque acrylic so treat it as a color reference, not a swap.
Nearest in the Scale75 catalog: Scale75 Brown Leather, close, with a hint of drift side by side (delta E 3.1), but it is an opaque acrylic so treat it as a color reference, not a swap.
Check it on a spare model first, because The Army Painter Strong Skin Shade sits slightly warmer than the original and the difference grows over large flat panels.
How to read the score
90+Close
80sUsable
<70Mix
The Army Painter
Citadel
Two Thin Coats
Scale75
Revell
AK Interactive
Monument Pro Acryl
Humbrol
Tamiya
About this color
Color profile
Highlight and shade ladder
Match difficulty
Found in 1 other brand with a same-finish match.
Where painters use it
Frequently asked
What is the closest equivalent to Vallejo Smoke Ink?
The closest same-finish match is The Army Painter Strong Skin Shade at 87% color similarity.
What is Smoke Ink used for?
Smoke Ink is a wash that flows into recesses and pools in shadow. Common uses: warm crimson glazing; deepen recesses and panel lines.
What do I highlight and shade Smoke Ink with?
The next step up for highlighting Smoke Ink is Black Wash in the Vallejo range. Nothing sits directly below it in the same lane, so reach for a wash to shade.