Squarg the Frog Rider - Part 5

This week I've focused my attention on getting Squarg's tattoos painted. I felt he needed a bit more detail and pattern on him to bring him up to a level with the frog. I first considered adding some stripes or maybe checks to his trousers. This idea didn't feel quite right to me as Squarg's clothing and equipment look fairly primitive and appear to be made from various skins he has hunted and processed himself. Tribal tattoos seemed to be the answer as they brought an extra level of detail and felt in keeping with the tone and character I was aiming for.

I didn't want solid black tattoos so I went for a diluted blue/black mix using GW washes. I hoped this would help to get a softer more faded look by using transparency.  The end result is a little darker than first intended but I'm satisfied with the tattoos so that's OK.

Painting the tattoos was a bit of a fiddle as it wasn't really possible to pencil in any guidelines so they were painted completely freehand. The edges were tidied up with a little of the flesh tone and this made a huge difference to the clarity and definition of the design.