So this previous Sunday, we started the third branch of a new 4e campaign (in which each player is fielding a character in each branch). One of my characters, Arkan, is shown below in a state of near completion. Just as these pictures are sub-par, Arkan himself has some touch-ups and detail work yet to go. That being said, I wanted to get some points up on the board, and will repost with all three minis in a couple days when I have better lighting/photo conditions.

Because this character is a hybrid Rogue-Warlord with some background as an assassin, I wanted a miniature that looked physically solid, though stealthy, and had an urban feel. Similarly, I wanted to shy away from the greens and browns that can sometimes dominate in a game that deals with the wilderness quite often.

Particularly in my fantasy minis, I like to give each item a different color - where sensible. IRL, my leather shoes barely match each other due to various environmental experiences and wear; so I figure a character's gloves, boots, bags, and hilts ought to be recognizably different unless there is military uniformity involved. I accomplished this above with varying mixtures of Citadel's Scorched Brown, Snakebite Leather, Terracotta, Devlin Wash and Black Ink. Cloth and leather are my favorite materials to simulate because they can vary so greatly in a single item, and mistakes sometimes turn into wonderful, realistic imperfections. For the first time, I also made an attempt at giving a character a bit of stubble. I think it turned out well here and makes him look rather stern, along with largely blacked out eye-sockets rather than the goofy anime eyes that I sometimes end up with.

To get that city feel, I tried for a "contemporary" style of urban camouflage on his cloak, which is conveniently reversible, with a brown interior - there aren't many good reasons to be sneaking around in a city, so I trust he'd wear the brown on the outside most of the time to avoid any unwelcome attention from city guards. Anyway, others can judge my success, but the simple vertical grey markings on the bluish-grey cloak add the sort of color differentiation I wanted as a painter, and facilitate a king-slaying practicality required as a player, while hopefully avoiding glaring anachronism..icity.