Painting Nolzur's hero miniatures for D&D

Introduction

I bought the following due to a sale at my favorite FLGS: female half-elf monk, male tabaxi rogue, male tiefling rogue, male tiefling warlock. I painted them using Contrast paints for the basecoats, then regular highlights, and metallic paints.

Contrast basecoats

All the available shades of brown for the leather-clad rogues. I decided on blue accessories due to the fine contrast with brown.

I went into greenish hues for the warlocks, to contrast with the red skin.

I did the tabaxi in a Garfield-like orange scheme with black stripes.

I left the monks last due to lack of ideas, then decided to apply the one complementary color duo I never get to use: yellow and purple.

Highlights

Go for the usual painting tips:

• Light skintone (Contrast) for the half-elves
• Light leather (Contrast)
• Medium leather (Contrast)
• Shiny black
• Black hair
• Filthy cloth on the zombie
• Bone (Contrast)
• Warm white cloth
• greenish zombie skin

Then some experiments:

• Shyish Purple, Heavy Violet, mix in Dead White for the final highlights
• Iyanden Yellow, Fluo Yellow (tried Sun Yellow, it's actually darker than the low-point)
• Nazdreg Yellow, Fluo Yellow (tried Sun Yellow, it's the same shade as the high-point)
• Ork Flesh, Scorpy Green
• Ultramarines Blue, Ultramarine Blue, mix in Dead White for the final highlights
• 2x Wyldwood, Khaki, Seraphim Sepia for the wood
• Apothecary White, Dead White
• 2x Gryph Charger Grey, Wolf Grey
• Gore Grunta Fur, Khaki, Hot Orange
• Blood Angels Red, Hot Orange
• Gryph Hound Orange, Orange Fire with Sun Yellow mixed in (tried pure Orange Fire, same shade as the high point)

Metallics:

• Speed painting silver
• Shiny gold

Finish off with some cheap effects:

Bloodletter glaze on the blades of the warlocks.

Waywatcher Green on the rogues' blades - poison all the way!

Gem paints and Blood for the Blood God! on the jewels.

After spray varnish (which "primes" the transparent plastic) apply Hexwraith Flame unto the warlock's spell effect and Iyanden Yellow/Gryph Hound Orange on the monk's fireball. Finish that with a coat of gloss varnish, which not only makes it "glow" better, but removes any fogging from the plastic, leaving it truly translucent.

Basing

Woodland base.

Finished!