Blade Maiden Leader
by Jennifer Haley
I wanted to give her a deep, rich skin tone with an Eastern feel, so I first washed the flesh areas with GW Bestial Brown. Successive layers were built up with Armory browns and buffs mixed with an acrylic blending gel. Nomadic warriors rarely carry makeup bags, so lips and eyes were highlighted with warm browns. (And yes, her right nipple is larger than the left; the peculiarities of friends somehow tend to find their way into my miniatures.) I used Micron Pigma pens, size .005, in brown and black for the almond eyes.
Furred areas were given a wash of black ink, then shaded in smoky grey and white. I decided this could be a snow leopard pelt, appropriate for a northern warrior and providing a good cool contrast to the skin. The inside of the pelt was scored with a file to give it a texture like roughly tanned leather, but I didn't achieve the effect I wanted. Her armor and sword hilt were painted bronze, washed with brown ink, and highlighted with gold to bring out the chasing. The hide loincloth needed some embellishment, so I added dark blue scrolling designs, again with the Pigma pens. Twisted silk cords and tassel in a warm Chinese red seemed appropriate, as did the red jewels, which were gloss-coated for extra shine. Perhaps she lost the top right ruby wandering in the snow? I used a microbead "snow" powder over a layer of gravel and static grass, and brought a little up over the toes of her buskins.
Jennifer Haley
Previous Miniature
Visions in Color #4 Index
Next Miniature