Skorne Flesh

Plarzoid

Skorne flesh in the Forces of Hordes: Skorne book has a bluish, almost undead feel to it. I, of course, had to do something different. Instead, I went with a paler, fairer skin. In the background for the Skorne, it’s clear that they are an offshoot of the Iosian elves. They had different religions beliefs and left Ios in order to pursue their own ideals. They ended up in the far reaches of the desert, surrounded by strange creatures and over time, developed into their current society.

Rather than go the “undead vampire elves” direction that Skorne always gets lumped under, I went the opposite direction. These folks revere their elders, the ancient warriors, their ancestors. To me, that means they also take very good care of themselves. Not because of arrogance or vanity, but so that they are as capable and worthy to carry out their daily tasks. So, in that regard, I went for a lighter, fairer flesh. To me, that played off the red and bronze better. Since they live in the desert, having some dirt and grime in the creases of their skin made sense too. So, the end result was something very light on the edges, and very dark in the creases.

Here’s how I do my Skorne Flesh.

Prime Black
Two light coats of Foundation Tallarn Flesh
Two coats of Citadel Elf Flesh
One coat of Citadel Gryphonne Sepia
Drybrush / highlight with Citadel Elf Flesh
Details (White Eyes, red scars, silver piercings)

Step 1 & 2: Prime Black, then some Tallarn Flesh to set the base tone

Step 3: Two coats of Elf Flesh to get that fair, light skin tone

Step 4: Gryphonne Sepia wash to give us some depth and dirt in the creases

Step 5: Highlight parts of the face with Elf Flesh, the base color

When highlighting the face, I pay special attention to the cheeckbones, jaw line, eyebrows, nose & nose ridge (think Worf from Star Trek) as well as the ears, crown and center head ridge. Also, hit the top of the upper lip, and the top of the bottom lip.

Step 6: Details

All my Skorne are getting white eyes. They’re creepy desert elves who have no afterlife! Of course they get creepy eyes!

Also, the scar on Hexeris’ head was hit with Citadel’s Red Ink, so it looks nice and fresh. I also blacked out his fingernails, so I can paint them later.

The last step will be to paint all his piercings silver, but I’ll do that with the rest of the metallics later.