Darksword’s Harbinger

 Darksword's Harbinger is a really beautiful mini.  I don't paint many stand alone figures, which is something my friend Tanya B thought I should correct... and I agree!

...but... I couldn't resist working Harbinger into the background fluff for mt TGG armies! DoH!
 Here she appears to be crying... some bloodstained tear tracks down her face.
 I opted to steer away from the very smooth highlight transitions because the figure just seems to be made of drama... sharp shadows and highlights make for easy drama.  I ended up shading the shadows which was a fun experiment.

I used GW Asurman Blue as the initial shade and then Secret Weapon Blue as a highlight shade.
The base robes were an old Rackham Glacial Blue (thanks Pat!) that got highlighted with Vallejo Foundation White and Vallejo Pure White.
 This is the plot board for the freehand designs.  I was trying to come up with a simple symbol I could use in the fluff for the "Cult of the Harbinger" which worked out pretty well in the topmost circled rune.

Then a border design and some experiments for spacing and some modified lettering.  My first take was a little crowded looking so I went with (circled) a wider spacing.

I've got a long way to go to get really strong, regular and subtle designs but I feel like I got a good start on it.  I'm already able to repeat the simple designs in fairly uniform size but the strength and depth of the lining needs work.  I'll be able to compare future projects to this and see how its going.
  ...sigh... feathers!  I am going to need to do more feathers... as I seem to not quite have it yet.

I wanted to give the impression that Harbinger's appearance was accompanied by a spurt of growing, living, things.. so the a profusion of  flowers got added to what was an otherwise barren landscape on the base.   I originally intended to work outward with dead grass and weeds but it turned out to be a bit too much and blurred the transition zone.
 Here are some of the WiPs as I was figuring out actual placements for the designs.
Messing around with feathers....

Thanks Tanya!  This is going to launch me down a different path for a bit.

... now to find something challenging for her! Muahahahaha!