FROM RESIN TO RELIC
PAINT THE SCARLETT MADONNA
The Scarlett Madonna was designed as a dramatic canvas for miniature painters — rich crimson fabric, pale flesh, aged metals, dark leather and the cold steel of her sacred halo.
Follow our step-by-step painting tutorial and learn how to bring this haunting display piece to life.
SCARLETT MADONNA PAINTING TUTORIAL
STEP 1 — PREPARE & PRIME
The process begins with a black spray basecoat. Once dry, Titanium White is applied through the airbrush to establish the values in grayscale.
This creates the light-and-shadow foundation that will guide the color work in the following stages.
STEP 2 — ESTABLISH THE COLOR SKETCH
BUILD THE LIGHT, COLOR & MOOD
After the black basecoat, Titanium White is airbrushed over the model to create a grayscale foundation.
Cold Red is then airbrushed over the dress, concentrating the color toward the upper areas while treating the breast and belly as rounded forms.
For the deeper shadows, Magenta is mixed with Black and applied toward the lower areas of the dress. A diluted Turquoise is airbrushed over the face and globe to introduce a subtle cool blue tone.
At this stage, the goal isn't to finish individual areas. It's to establish the overall values, color relationships and atmosphere of the piece before moving into refinement.
STEP 3 — PAINTING THE FACE
BUILDING COLD, UNNATURAL SKIN
The face begins with a greenish light created from Yellow mixed with Black and White. This establishes the pale, slightly unnatural character of the Scarlett Madonna's skin.
Warm Red and Cold Red are introduced into the shadows, particularly around the nose, cheeks and lower areas of the face. Rather than completely covering the earlier turquoise tones, allow some of those cooler colors to remain visible and interact with the warmer flesh tones.
Continue refining the face by moving between light and shadow, adjusting the midtones and introducing subtle reflected colors from the surrounding red fabric.
The goal isn't perfectly smooth skin. The shifting warm and cool tones help create the eerie, almost lifeless complexion that defines the Scarlett Madonna.
STEP 4 — REFINE THE SKIN TONES
BALANCE WARM & COOL TONES
With the initial skin colors established, continue refining the face by strengthening the contrast between the highlights, midtones and shadows.
Build the lighter areas gradually while allowing the cooler green and blue tones underneath to remain visible. Warm reds around the nose, lips and cheeks provide contrast against these colder areas and keep the skin from becoming flat.
At this stage, work back and forth rather than following a rigid light-to-dark progression. Adjust the saturation and temperature of the skin as needed, using subtle transitions to bring more definition to the nose, mouth, chin and cheeks.
The result should retain the Scarlett Madonna's cold, haunting complexion while giving the face enough warmth and variation to feel alive.
STEP 5 — BRING THE FACE TO LIFE
PUSH THE FINAL FACIAL CONTRAST
Continue refining the face by strengthening the brightest areas and cleaning the transitions between the warm and cool skin tones.
Focus the light on the most prominent facial volumes—the nose, cheeks, upper lip and chin—while keeping the areas beneath the blindfold noticeably darker.
The lips are defined with deeper, cooler tones, creating a strong focal point beneath the pale skin. Small adjustments to the shadows around the mouth and nose help sharpen the expression without losing the soft transitions established earlier.
At this stage, step back frequently and judge the face as part of the entire miniature. The surrounding reds, dark blindfold and metallic details all influence how bright and saturated the skin appears.
STEP 6 — REFINE THE CRIMSON ROBES
SHAPE THE FABRIC WITH LIGHT
Return to the Scarlett Madonna's dominant crimson robes and begin strengthening the separation between the illuminated surfaces and the deep folds.
Build brighter reds across the raised areas of the fabric while preserving the darker magenta and near-black tones established earlier in the recesses. Treat the large belly and breast areas as rounded volumes, allowing the highlights to describe their shape rather than simply following every sculpted fold.
On the sleeves and veil, use more directional highlights to emphasize the sharper folds and edges of the cloth.
Keep evaluating the reds against the pale skin and dark blindfold. The robe is the largest color mass on the miniature, so controlling its brightness and saturation is essential to keeping the face as the primary focal point.
STEP 7 — REFINE THE SECONDARY DETAILS
BRING THE MATERIALS TOGETHER
With the major colors established, begin refining the secondary elements surrounding the face and robes.
Strengthen the dark blindfold and collar while preserving enough reflected color to keep these areas connected to the rest of the miniature. Refine the chest ornament and forehead detail so they provide small points of contrast without competing with the face.
Continue developing the reliquary and its cooler blue tones. These cold colors provide an important counterpoint to the dominant crimson robes and help balance the composition.
Work across the entire miniature rather than treating each element in isolation. At this stage, every adjustment should help reinforce the overall lighting, atmosphere and focal point of the piece.
STEP 8 — PAINT THE METAL & HALO
BUILD AGED, WEATHERED METAL With the main figure established, attention turns to the metallic elements and the Scarlett Madonna's distinctive halo.
Begin with a dark metallic foundation, keeping the deepest recesses and intersections nearly black. Gradually build lighter metallic tones across the raised edges, spokes and outer rings.
Rather than creating a perfectly clean silver finish, introduce subtle discoloration across the surface. Small variations of cool blue, violet, brown and muted warm tones give the metal an aged, weathered appearance.
Finish by reinforcing the brightest edges and points of the halo. The contrast between the dark recesses and sharp metallic highlights creates the worn, sacred-relic appearance seen on the finished piece.
STEP 9 — FINAL ASSEMBLY & REFINEMENT
With the major areas painted, the separate halo is attached and the miniature can be evaluated as a complete composition.
This final stage is about refinement rather than introducing new colors. Revisit the strongest focal areas — the face, blindfold, chest ornament, globe and upper folds of the red fabric — and strengthen highlights or shadows where additional separation is needed.
Check the metallic elements against the surrounding red fabric and skin. Small edge highlights help define the intricate shapes without overpowering the figure.
Finally, inspect the miniature from several angles and correct any transitions that feel too abrupt. The goal is to bring the individual techniques together into one unified piece while preserving the dramatic contrast established throughout the painting process.
THE SCARLETT MADONNA — COMPLETE
FROM RESIN TO RELIC
From bare resin to the finished Scarlett Madonna. Deep crimson robes, cold flesh tones, weathered metal and carefully controlled highlights come together to create the final piece.
Use this tutorial as a guide rather than a rigid formula. Experiment with the colors, push the shadows, change the metallic tones and make your Scarlett Madonna your own.
Now it's your turn to paint her.
THE SCARLETT MADONNA — FINISHED GALLERY
PAINTED BY @FREKSTAR_MINIS
THE ORDER OF THE SCARLET MADONNA
THE CHOOSING 👁️🩸
THE RITE OF PREPARATION 🕯️🔥
WHAT IS CREATED 🐛👶🩸
The children of the Scarlet Madonna are not offspring in the human sense.
They are called The Afterbirth.
Each birth is different. Some emerge as crawling choirs of pale, whispering larvae. Some as malformed saints of flesh and teeth. Others as living reliquaries — bodies built to carry fragments of the Worm Host’s will.
None are meant to be loved.
They are meant to be released.
Each birth advances the Worm Host’s assembly. Each daughter hums part of its memory into the world. The lullabies sung during labor are not prayers — they are instructions.
The Madonna often does not survive the final birth.
Those who do are venerated, not as saints, but as gateways.
THE RITE CONTINUES
THE SCARLET MADONNA &
THE AFTERBIRTH
Bring the story beyond the free bust with the complete Scarlet Madonna & The Afterbirth STL Bundle.
This downloadable set includes two separate printable miniatures: the full-body Scarlet Madonna and the horrific creature known as The Afterbirth.
Two models. One story. Print the next chapter of the Scarlet Madonna.
GET THE STL BUNDLE — $3WHY THE WOMEN KNEEL 🖤🩸
This is the question outsiders always ask.
Why would anyone choose this?
Because the Worm Host offers something the world does not:
Purpose that does not lie.
The Order does not promise salvation.
It promises usefulness.
To be broken for something.
To become necessary.
To matter, even in ruin.
In the end, the women of the Scarlet Madonna do not pray for mercy.
They pray for delivery.
A birth without grace.
A god that crawls instead of descends.
A future assembled from what was thrown away.
🩸🔥 REMEMBER THIS WHEN THE CANDLES GUTTER
AND THE BELLS FALL SILENT 🔥🩸