Painting THE NIGHTWRAITH from The Witcher: Old World

Steps

1. 1 Base-coat the skin with Basalt Grey.
2. 2 Base-coat the dress with Incubi Darkness.
3. 3 Base-coat the hair with Black Grey.
4. 4 Paint the frame of the lantern with Abaddon Black.
5. 5 Mix Dark Prussian Blue with Abaddon Black and apply it to the ground for a nighttime look.
6. 6 Highlight the dress with light from the lantern: mix Ice Yellow into Incubi Darkness and apply it to the side and lower portions of the dress facing the lantern — even areas that would normally be in shadow — building the intensity brighter the closer you get to the lantern over a couple of layers.
7. 7 Highlight the rest of the dress with cooler moonlight from above by mixing in Lendanis Grey, focusing on the sky-facing surfaces and layering it up over smaller areas, staying off anywhere already highlighted for the lantern.
8. 8 Highlight the skin the same way: mix Ice Yellow into Basalt Grey on the areas catching light from the lantern — the lower breasts and the side of the ribs — building the intensity closer to the lantern.
9. 9 Highlight the rest of the skin, including the face details, by mixing Lendanis Grey into Basalt Grey for the moonlit surfaces.
10. 10 Highlight the bottom of the hair facing the lantern by mixing Ice Yellow into Black Grey over a couple of layers.
11. 11 Highlight the top of the hair facing the sky by mixing in Lendanis Grey, finishing with an almost pure pass over a very small area.
12. 12 Thin Payne's Grey and selectively wash it into the lower folds and recesses of the dress that would be obscured from the moonlight.
13. 13 Thin Smokey Ink and wash it over the entire hair, then use it to fill in the mouth and eyes.
14. 14 Dry-brush Ice Yellow onto the base just under where the lantern will sit, and dry-brush Lendanis Grey over the rest of the base.
15. 15 Once dry, wash the entire base with Smokey Ink.
16. 16 Fill in all the little windows of the lantern with Bold Titanium White, then re-emphasize the black outlines of the frame.
17. 17 Mix Ice Yellow into Abaddon Black to highlight the lantern's metal frame, then mix in a little White for a couple of bright glints.
18. 18 Wash the entire lantern with Casandora Yellow, pulling the color around the edges of the metal and leaving a lighter spot in the middle.
19. 19 Sparingly glaze Lamenters Yellow onto the portions of the dress and skin lit by the lantern, and onto the lantern's metal parts, keeping the effect strongest closest to the lantern.
20. 20 Dot a small spot of White in the center of each lantern window to suggest a flame.

Paints used

• Abaddon Black (Citadel)

  The lantern frame; mixed with Dark Prussian Blue for the ground, and with Ice Yellow for the frame's metal highlights

• Basalt Grey (AK Interactive)

  Base coat for the skin; mixed with Ice Yellow for the lantern-lit highlights and with Lendanis Grey for the moonlit highlights

• Black Grey (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Base coat for the hair; mixed with Ice Yellow for the lantern-lit highlight and with Lendanis Grey for the moonlit highlight

• Bold Titanium White (Pro Acryl)

  Fills in the lantern's little windows

• Casandora Yellow (Citadel)

  Wash over the entire lantern to give it color

• Dark Prussian Blue (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Mixed with Abaddon Black for the nighttime ground color

• Incubi Darkness (Citadel)

  Base coat for the dress; mixed with Ice Yellow for the lantern-lit highlights

• Ice Yellow (Vallejo, Model Color)

  The main lantern-light highlight color, mixed into the dress, skin, hair, and metal frame highlights; dry-brushed onto the base near the lantern

• Lamenters Yellow (Citadel, glaze)

  Sparing glaze on the dress, skin, and lantern metal that's lit by the lantern

• Lendanis Grey (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  The cooler moonlight highlight color, mixed into the dress, skin, and hair; dry-brushed over the rest of the base

• Payne's Grey (Daler-Rowney, FW Acrylic Ink)

  Thinned and washed into the dress's lower folds and recesses, away from the moonlight

• Smokey Ink (Vallejo, Game Color)

  Washed over the entire hair, used to fill in the mouth and eyes, and washed over the entire base

• White (Vallejo, Model Color)

  A couple of bright glints on the lantern's metal frame, and a dot in the center of each window to suggest a flame