I wanted this lady to be especially pale, so after starting with GW Foundation Tallarn Flesh and highlighting with VMC955 Flat Flesh and then VMC815 Basic Skintone, I added some extreme highlights using GW Pallid Flesh. In order to make her look sexier, a little GW Red Ink was used to tint her lower lip to make it stand out more. Her gown was basecoated with VMC990 Light Grey, and then highlighted with VMC905 U.S. Bluegrey and VMC820 Offwhite, taking care to leave deep contrast between the folds and crests of fabric.
The dress is the main area of this miniature and I wanted a deep, rich red for this, so I began with a coat of VMC814 Burnt Cadmium Red, which I highlighted using VMC957 Flat Red, followed by VMC817 Scarlet and VGC Hot Orange up to VMC949 Light Yellow (for some of the more extreme points of light). Then a glaze of pure GW Red Ink was layered on to tint the highlights, followed by a glaze of GW Yellow Ink in order to increase colour depth and richness. The necklace was painted in VGC Glorious Gold and washed with a little GW Brown Ink, while the chandelier was basecoated with VMC998 Bronze and highlighted with a little VGC Glorious Gold; the candle was basecoated in VMC884 Stone Grey, highlighted with GW Bleached Bone and VMC820 Offwhite; and the flame was painted with VMC949 Light Yellow, to which more and more red was added going up towards the top.