I began the figure by basecoating the flesh with GW Dwarf Flesh, with a little Bestial Brown mixed in. The leggings, severed head and belt were painted with GW Scorched Brown, and the arm armor, weapon and helmet were basecoated with Apple Barrel Black. The loincloth was basecoated with Americana Honey.
Next was to shade the flesh. In order to make the musculature show up better, I referenced my anatomy book, and began painting in where the muscles would show up. I used a mix of Bestial Brown and Dwarf Flesh to get an effective shade for my base color, and thinned it down to about 40/60 paint-to-water. I gradually added layer upon layer of paint to build up up the color, so the transition would not be too stark. The loincloth was shaded with Ceramcoat Autumn Brown (same ratio as the flesh shade).
The arm greave was drybrushed with Vallejo Gunmetal, and then repeatedly washed with GW Armor Wash and drybrushed again. I continued to wash the greave because I wanted to clearly define the shade and highlight regions. By washing with GW Armor Wash, the shade regions continued to gradually get darker, and the drybrushed region would remain brighter. (The hair of the severed head was washed with Armor Wash, as well.)
The flesh was touched up with the Dwarf Flesh/Bestial Brown basecoat, and then highlighted with a mix of Dwarf Flesh and Americana Toffee. This is a very light, buttery color, and gave a nice highlight to the base color. By adding a lighter shade to the basecolor, you have a more natural highlight (or shade, for that matter), that blends the colors together more easily than trying to pick completely different colors. The helmet was basecoated with GW Tin Bitz, as were the belt and leg greave. These were then shaded with GW Brown Ink. The leather belt and leather greave were basecoated with Americana Raw Umber and washed with Brown Ink.
