How do you pick your Army Colors?

Here's a question I pose to all the Deathbridgers out there: When you start a new army, what makes you pick the colors you eventually paint? Is it a personal preference (I like green), is it that some colors are easier to paint? Are you following the fluff of a certain aspect of that army (like a Chapter or Craftworld)? Or is it something all together different?



Personal preference is obviously important. Myself, I won't paint an army who's color I don't like. Black Templars have some great models, and their upgrade sprues for regular marines are still among the best out there. But an entire army of black? No thank-you. I like color. It's most of what drives me to paint in the first place.

That said, black is clearly easier to paint than say, yellow. If you wanted to get an entire army done fast, Black is the way to go. Or Boltgun Metal. A single, easy to apply color. I'm sure most of you have worked with Blood Red or Bad Moon Yellow before, and ten coats later that messy wash is still showing through. You never have that problem with black.

Or is it a choice of fluff? You just like Dark Angels more than Ultramarines so you're painting your marines green. Again, personally, I went with Biel-Tan Eldar because I like green, and the fluff of the Craftworld, that of having the most aspect warriors, meant I got to paint a lot of different, bright colors. I would not have done then as Iyanden, since their fluff says they are mostly Wraithguards and Wraithlords, even though I think Yellow is by far the most striking color an army can be on a table.

Likewise with my Orks. I chose Goffs, a black scheme with checkers. But I didn't choose them because black is easier to paint. I chose it because it was how I saw the Orks. Wearing black. Being the bad-ass bad-guys. And bein' proppa stompy! I had actually started my Orks as Evil Sunz, mostly because I though the idea of an army that dies in droves wearing red shirts was funny. At the time, the trukk model was the worst model in 40k (and I'm sure most of you have seen the old model and would agree). The more I played Orks though, the less the idea worked for me. So I've been stripping and repainting my Orks to fit in with my 'darker' view of Orks. Don't get me wrong, I own a lot of trukks and could easily field a proppa Evil Sunz list, but I'm enjoying feet on the ground and a more mixed approach to how I play.

So what about you guys? Where does your army color selection come from? Are you fluff-mongers, like me, do you choose based on ease, or a favorite color, or a combination of several things?

Discuss.