Nocturna Models Freya [WIP - Skin Tone and Eyes]

After a lot of thought into how I wanted to approach the paint job for Freya's skin tone, I finally settled on keeping things simple and used just four colours namely Reaper Ashen Brown and Citadel Scab Red, Tallarn Flesh and Elf Flesh. I felt it was more important to do the simple things well rather than botch up a complicated paint colour scheme. I might still do some touch up work on the skin tone after I have finished painting the rest of Freya but for now I am happy with how she looks.

Nocturna Models Freya with skin tones and face completed

Because I might have been too 'trigger-happy' when applying the shadows, Freya came out looking a bit older than I expected. So that kinda tags her as a seasoned warrior whose beauty still holds up after many years out in the open fields of battle. A 'Xena Warrior Princess' if you will. 

Lucy Lawless as Xena (left) and Lucretia (right)

Speaking of Lucy Lawless (the actress playing Xena as pictured above), I had thought Lucretia, the character in Spartacus looked very familiar but it took me a whole season before I could remember she was previously Xena. Pardon me but I digress ... back to Freya now.

Shadows for skin tone comprised a cool colour

Highlights were placed selectively for a more subtle effect

For Freya's eyes, I went for the K-Pop star look. It seems many Korean pop stars put on special contacts to make their pupils look bigger. Now I don't know how true this is but perhaps you can gauge the truthfulness of it but checking out the eyes of Girls Generation, a popular K-Pop group.

Eyes of Girls Generation, a popular all-girls K-Pop group

Freya with her K-Pop eyes look

Even at 54-mm scale, Freya's eyes were difficult to paint. For a reason I can't seem to recall, I did not use any form of magnification when painting her eyes and at times I could barely see where my brush point was touching (on the eyes). I placed a hint of green irises on her eyes to balance out her large pupils. But additional work is needed on the lower part of her right eye which needs more shadow.

Macro shot of her eyes helps me to see where touch ups are needed

One cool thing about taking photos using a dedicated macro lens is that it clearly shows up any mistakes which sometimes are hard to detect with the human eye. One might argue as to the point of repainting something the human eye can easily miss out. But if you are planning to post closeup pictures of your miniatures, it doesn't hurt to repaint where needed. Thanks for checking out my progress on Freya. It has been fun painting her so far. Till the next Freya update, stay safe.