Painting Steel & Bone: Abyssal Charcoal, Oxblood Fur and Ember Light

Steel & Bone is a dramatic two-character display piece from Realm of Dreams: Lyssara the Bladeborn stands beside the monstrous Korr, turning the sculpt into a study in scale, texture and opposing personalities. The live Maximum Minis listing describes it as a 120mm-scale model standing roughly 180mm tall, or about 205mm including the base.

Actual unpainted resin model printed by Maximum Minis.

Build the contrast before choosing colours

Because Korr fills most of the composition, begin by deciding how Lyssara will remain visually distinct. A strong approach is to keep the giant dark and heavy while making the smaller figure cooler and cleaner. The shared ember accents then tie them together without flattening their differences.

Prime in black or very dark brown, then apply a soft grey zenithal pass. This immediately maps the deepest recesses beneath Korr’s brow, fur and armour while preserving a readable guide for Lyssara’s face, hair and clothing.

Abyssal charcoal skin for Korr

Start Korr’s skin with a black-brown base rather than pure black. Layer cool slate grey across the forehead, cheekbones, shoulders and raised muscle groups, leaving the warm dark base in the folds. Glaze the transitions with thin blue-grey to keep the skin cold, then add sparing pale-grey edge highlights to the nose, brow, knuckles and most exposed ridges.

For extra texture, stipple a few irregular warm-brown marks into the lower arms and torso. Keep them subtle: they should break up the broad surfaces while preserving the strong charcoal silhouette.

Oxblood fur, aged ivory and ember light

Paint the fur in deep oxblood, shade it with blackened burgundy and pick out selected tips with burnt umber and a restrained orange-brown highlight. The horns, teeth and skull trophy can begin from a dark sepia base, move through aged ivory, and finish with small warm-white points on the sharpest edges.

Use ember orange only in controlled areas—eyes, selected recessed markings and tiny reflected accents. A bright yellow-orange centre surrounded by red-brown glazing creates heat without making the whole model glow.

Digitally coloured example for painting inspiration. The supplied model is unpainted resin.

Moonlit ivory and burgundy for Lyssara

Give Lyssara cool moonlit skin so she reads separately from Korr’s charcoal mass. Build from a muted ivory base, shade with soft violet-grey and reserve pale highlights for the face, shoulders and upper chest. Deep burgundy cloth connects her visually to the fur, while dark leather straps and worn metal keep the palette grounded.

If you paint the full sword described on the product listing, keep its brightest reflections narrow. A few warm glints can echo Korr’s ember light, but the blade should remain steel rather than becoming a second glowing focal point.

Worn metal without losing the sculpt

Base the armour and fittings in dark gunmetal, wash into joints with black-brown, then restore the upper surfaces with short silver strokes. Add rust as stippled reddish brown around rivets, scratches and lower edges. Finish with a few clean silver chips on corners; these tiny bright marks make the weathering feel intentional.

A scorched base that supports the figures

A restrained base will keep attention on the pair. Try charcoal rock, patches of cool grey ash and a small amount of burnt-orange pigment near cracks. Sparse dead grass or pale bone fragments can add scale, but leave open dark areas so the figures remain the focus.

Imaginative lore: The Last Balance

The following is optional invented lore for display inspiration, not official product background. At the edge of a ruined kingdom, Lyssara and Korr discover that the enemy hunting them feeds on divided loyalties. Neither trusts the other, yet every victory requires perfect coordination: her measured strike opens the defence, and his fury breaks it. Painters could reflect that uneasy pact by repeating one ember colour across both characters while keeping every other surface deliberately opposed.

Finishing the display

Protect the finished model with a matte varnish, then restore selective satin sheen on eyes, polished leather and fresh metal. A final inspection under side lighting will reveal any missed mould lines, support marks or overly abrupt blends before assembly.

Steel & Bone is supplied as an unpainted, printed-on-demand display model. Explore the model and current listing here:

https://www.maximumminis.com/product-page/steel-bone-realm-of-dreams