At this point I was pretty happy with what I had, but I was still unsure about what kind of base to do. In the end, I decided to keep the base simple, and mounted the figure on a large GW circular base.
Using a mix of Liquitex Sand Medium and some ballast, I made up my standard course-sand mix with Americana Burnt Umber mixed in. This was painted over the entire base and left to dry.
This was then carefully drybrushed with Apple Barrel Carmel, and then drybrushed again with Americana Toffee.
I thought it was too dark and rough-looking, so I washed it all with Ceramcoat Pigskin, and drybrushed again with Americana Toffee.
It was then that I realized I had a severed head and no blood. I am not the biggest fan of blood on weapons - in fact, I really prefer my toy soldiers bloodless - but in this case, it seemed odd to have a pristine blade. So I painted on a base color of Americana Deep Red, and then picked out streaks with Americana Santa Red.
So there it is. I have to admit that I am quite pleased with the figure, given the limited amount of time I had to paint him up and the problems that came up along the way. I also did not realize until now how often I kept using the same colors in this figure, but it all seemed to work together in a pleasing fashion. I hope sincerely that you have gotten some useful tips, and will send me on to the next round. Thanks!!