Painting the STRIGA from The Witcher: Old World

Steps

1. 1 Mix Necro Grey with Eldandil Violet for a very dark, near-black skin tone with just a touch of purple, and cover the entire creature's skin with it.
2. 2 Base-coat all the rock and stonework on the base with Stonewall Grey, covering most of the base except the highly textured, dirt-like areas.
3. 3 Fill in the textured dirt areas with Zandri Dust.
4. 4 Darken the entire base with a fairly thick coat of Grim Black speed paint, applied like a wash and allowed to pull into the recesses.
5. 5 Base-coat the hair with Hull Red.
6. 6 Base-coat all the clothing with Iraqi Sand for a dirty white.
7. 7 Dry-brush White over the base to bring out the edges, then over the rest of the miniature — any mistakes will be covered by the highlighting to come.
8. 8 Wash Seraphim Sepia haphazardly into some of the recesses and dirt areas on the base to mix in some color.
9. 9 Apply Athonian Camoshade wherever moisture would collect and algae or other plant life might grow, splotching and letting it pull and streak for an old, dirty stone look.
10. 10 Highlight the skin by mixing Fenrisian Grey into the base skin color, covering most of each large muscle while leaving the recesses dark; build the highlight over several layers, each one covering less of the muscle, picking out each finger individually and the backs of the calves and heels.
11. 11 Highlight the face by focusing only on the raised, textured areas — ears, forehead, and nose especially, with a little on the chin and cheekbones — building the highlight over several layers with more Fenrisian Grey each time, and avoiding the eye sockets and mouth.
12. 12 Thin the base skin color with water into a glaze and brush it from the highlighted areas down into the darker areas, repeating as needed, to smooth the transitions.
13. 13 Shade the base again with Nuln Oil, applied fairly liberally to reinforce the dirt, grime, and separation between the rocks.
14. 14 Highlight the hair by mixing Fenrisian Grey into Hull Red, building up over three layers that cover progressively smaller areas focused toward the top of the head.
15. 15 Pick out the teeth with Iraqi Sand, then paint the inside of the mouth with Necro Grey for a dark, bottomless look.
16. 16 Use Necro Grey to pick out the fingernails and toenails, then mix in some Stonewall Grey and add a small highlight spot on each nail, brightening further with a touch of pure Stonewall Grey.
17. 17 Thin Mayhem Red into a glaze and brush it around the outside of the mouth over a few transparent layers, letting each dry before the next.
18. 18 Thin Hull Red with water and brush it over the entire area of hair to pull the highlights back toward red and tie the color together.
19. 19 Highlight the clothing by mixing White into Iraqi Sand over several layers, moving the color only slightly each time and covering a smaller area with each pass, until it reads as white rather than yellowish brown; use the same mix to touch up the teeth where red got on them earlier.
20. 20 Mix Agrax Earthshade with Lahmian Medium and cover all the clothing to bring out the shadows and give it a dirty look.
21. 21 Paint the insides of the eyes with pure White, then thin some Mayhem Red and glaze it over the whites of the eyes for a glowing effect.
22. 22 Add more shading to the lower parts of the hair with Carroburg Crimson, avoiding the highlighted areas.
23. 23 Return to Nuln Oil and splotch it onto the clothing and base in a few more places for extra dirt and stains.
24. 24 Paint the rim of the base with Abaddon Black.

Paints used

• Abaddon Black (Citadel)

  Base rim, painted as the final step

• Agrax Earthshade (Citadel)

  Mixed with Lahmian Medium and applied over all the clothing for shadow and grime

• Athonian Camoshade (Citadel)

  Splotched wherever moisture would collect on the base, suggesting algae and plant growth

• Carroburg Crimson (Citadel)

  Extra shading in the lower parts of the hair

• Eldandil Violet (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Mixed with Necro Grey for the near-black base skin tone

• Fenrisian Grey (Citadel)

  Mixed into the base skin color for the skin highlights, and into Hull Red for the hair highlights

• Grim Black (Army Painter, Speedpaint 2.0)

  Thick wash-like coat over the entire base to darken it

• Hull Red (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Base coat for the hair; mixed with Fenrisian Grey for highlights, and thinned to pull the highlighted hair back toward red

• Iraqi Sand (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Base coat for the clothing and the teeth; mixed with White for the clothing highlights

• Lahmian Medium (Citadel, technical)

  Mixed with Agrax Earthshade to soften it before glazing over the clothing

• Mayhem Red (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Thinned into a glaze around the outside of the mouth, and over the whites of the eyes for a glowing effect

• Necro Grey (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Mixed with Eldandil Violet for the base skin tone; paints the inside of the mouth; picks out the fingernails and toenails

• Nuln Oil (Citadel)

  Shades the base, applied liberally for grime, then splotched on again later along with the clothing

• Seraphim Sepia (Citadel)

  Washed haphazardly into the base's recesses and dirt areas for color

• Stonewall Grey (Vallejo, Game Color)

  Base coat for the rock and stonework on the base; mixed with, then used pure over, Necro Grey to highlight the nails

• White (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Dry-brushed over the base and miniature; mixed into Iraqi Sand for the clothing highlights; paints the insides of the eyes

• Zandri Dust (Citadel)

  Fills in the textured dirt areas on the base