Step-by-step: Adding long-healed scars to a barbarian

Once you have your figure painted in, start by adding a lighter line to indicate the shape of the scar. Remember that scars showing a battle wound shouldn’t be perfectly straight. If you’re adding multiple scars, make sure they criss- cross at different angles and try to avoid 90 degree angles whenever possible.

Add a darker tone on both sides of the scar; scars don’t heal perfectly. When adding tones around the scar, apply a bit of Jitter to introduce a “cauliflower” look. Lighten the centre line to show various highlights. Using a pressure-sensitive Eraser brush, lightly erase sections of the scars that are in the darker shadows.

The last step is adding colour to the scars. For lighter skin it’ll be a pinkish tone. For people with darker skin, it’ll be a more purple hue. The intensity of the colour depends on how recent the scar is. So a more recent scar will be more intense in colour, while an older scar will be less intense in colour and appearance.