Thanks for all the input guys! I have been reading it I promise
just haven't replied as I was concrete-mixing all weekend :S
I must admit I did a slight double-take when you made the suggestion of something that's
not red Cav
that'd be as if I've got more than 5 different pots of paint...or more than two colours on a single model!
great insight into how you plan your colours though, and it absolutely works for your guys
I really liked the idea of doing a fade from a bright red at the Guardian down to a sepia the closer it got to the Yncarne. I did about 4 or 5 test runs on various bits of spare swirly stuff and just flat-out could not get it to look how I wanted :S
Still, managed to incorporate some of the ideas you guys had
specifically the subtle fade and red wash in the recesses.
You guys tried
one day I'll paint something that's not sepia and red. I promise...
Just thinking about it, what I've actually done is faded from quite a bright white at the Soulstone through to the sepia of the body colour (not sure how well the pics show that, or how well I've done it to be honest!). I suppose I could use that as pre-shading for a really light red wash of some sort. I'll do some test pieces
The other option is to continue the dark red wash I've done on the inner holes of the energy (which looks more prominent in real life) all around each contour so it sort of looks like it's backlit in red.