Painting THE DROWNER from The Witcher: Old World

Steps

1. 1 Base-coat all of the skin with Tyrian Navy.
2. 2 Base-coat the base with German Cam. Black Brown.
3. 3 Paint the inner webbing of the fins on the head and back with Mephiston Red, leaving the Tyrian Navy on the spiky bits sticking out.
4. 4 Fill in the eyes with Bold Titanium White.
5. 5 Paint all the bones and skulls scattered on the base with Screaming Skull.
6. 6 Paint some of the seashells on the base with Pastel Yellow, and add a thin line of Pastel Pink across a couple of them for variety.
7. 7 Base-coat the driftwood pieces with Mournfang Brown.
8. 8 Base-coat some of the other shells and both of the fish with Silver Grey, using multiple coats for coverage over the dark base.
9. 9 Paint the top and back of the larger fish with Caliban Green, and add details to the other fish with Incubi Darkness.
10. 10 Base-coat the oyster-shell-like pieces with German Grey.
11. 11 Highlight the skin in stages by mixing Dark Sea Blue with Hellbound Flesh, covering the upward-facing areas and picking out muscle detail while avoiding the recesses; build up further with more Hellbound Flesh over progressively smaller areas, paying extra attention to the bent, outstretched knee.
12. 12 Highlight the inner parts of the fins with Evil Sunz Scarlet.
13. 13 Thin a 50/50 mix of Biel-Tan Green and Drakenhof Nightshade to partial transparency and apply it into the recesses and downward-facing skin to reinforce the shadows.
14. 14 Cover the entire base with a coat of Nuln Oil.
15. 15 Pick out the teeth with Screaming Skull, then trace the outline of the mouth with German Grey to suggest lips, mixing in some Hellbound Flesh for a lip highlight.
16. 16 Dry-brush the entire base with Morghast Bone, being careful to keep it off the Drowner's skin.
17. 17 Fill the small pool in the middle of the base with Dark Sea Blue.
18. 18 Apply a second coat of Nuln Oil over the whole base to darken it further.
19. 19 Shade the teeth with Agrax Earthshade, then paint the rim of the base with Abaddon Black.
20. 20 After the matte varnish has dried, cover the middle of the base with gloss varnish to look like water, then brush the excess gloss varnish onto the upward-facing, highlighted parts of the skin for a wet, fishy look.

Paints used

• Abaddon Black (Citadel)

  Base rim, painted as the final step

• Agrax Earthshade (Citadel)

  Shades the teeth

• Biel-Tan Green (Citadel)

  Mixed 50/50 with Drakenhof Nightshade, thinned, to reinforce shadows in the skin's recesses

• Bold Titanium White (Pro Acryl)

  Fills in the eyes

• Caliban Green (Citadel)

  Top and back of the larger fish on the base

• Dark Sea Blue (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Mixed with Hellbound Flesh to highlight the skin; also fills the small pool in the middle of the base

• Drakenhof Nightshade (Citadel)

  Mixed 50/50 with Biel-Tan Green, thinned, to reinforce shadows in the skin's recesses

• Evil Sunz Scarlet (Citadel)

  Highlights the inner parts of the head and back fins

• German Cam. Black Brown (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Base coat for the base

• German Grey (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Base coat for the oyster-shell-like pieces on the base; traces the mouth outline for lips, lightened with Hellbound Flesh

• Hellbound Flesh (Scalecolor)

  Mixed into Dark Sea Blue for the skin highlights, and into German Grey for the lip highlight

• Incubi Darkness (Citadel)

  Detailing on the smaller fish on the base

• Mephiston Red (Citadel)

  Inner webbing of the fins on the head and back

• Morghast Bone (Citadel)

  Dry-brushed over the entire base, avoiding the Drowner's skin

• Mournfang Brown (Citadel)

  Base coat for the driftwood pieces on the base

• Nuln Oil (Citadel)

  Two coats over the entire base to darken it

• Pastel Pink (AK Interactive, 3rd Generation)

  A thin line across a couple of the seashells for variety

• Pastel Yellow (AK Interactive)

  Some of the seashells on the base

• Screaming Skull (Citadel)

  The bones and skulls on the base, and the Drowner's teeth

• Silver Grey (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Base coat for some of the shells and both fish on the base

• Tyrian Navy (Citadel)

  Base coat for all the skin, left showing on the spiky bits of the fins