How to Paint Everything: Marvel Crisis Protocol - Tigra

Hey everybody, I'm back with another How to Paint Everything: Marvel Crisis Protocol and this time we are going to take a look at how I painted Tigra from the Ronin, Echo and Tigra character pack!

Admittedly, I don't really know a whole lot about Tigra. She debuted in Marvel Comics, in the early 1970s under the pseudonym The Cat, predating Black Cat by about 6 years. A couple years later she was given the name Tigra instead. There's some Tiger God shenanigans and she's also been tied to Moon Knight on occasion. Anyway, this is an article about painting, and not a lore explainer so I'm not going to get too into her background.

After looking up multiple costume references, I decided to tweak the costume on her to recreate the one I liked more than the official studio costume. This suit features a white tiger emblem on the chest and a purple body suit. I omitted her gloves as well. Overall I'm pretty pleased with how that turned out.

So let's get into it. As always, below you'll find a handy paint reference chart featuring all of the colors that were used on Tigra.

Color Chart for How to Paint Everything Marvel Crisis Protocol - Tigra

Color Chart for How to Paint Everything Marvel Crisis Protocol - Tigra

credit: Brushwizard

Skin

Basecoat - Citadel Jokaero Orange: AK Interactive Pastel Peach Shadows - Previous Mix: Altdorf Guard Blue Layer - Citadel Jokaero Orange: AK Interactive Pastel Peach Highlight - Previous Mix: AK Interactive Ivory Highlight - AK Interactive Ivory Lip - Citadel Bugman's Glow Eyeliner - Vallejo Model Color Black: Citadel Rhinox Hide Eye Whites - AK Interactive Ivory

Non-standard skin tones always give me trouble, be it green, blue, purple or orange. I tried to keep the skintone interesting without it coming out like she was just a Caucasian woman with a skin condition. I had previously painted Ahsoka Tano for Shatterpoint and decided to use similar colors here.

This time I mixed a Jokaero Orange with Pastel Peach to try to cut the orange tone down a bit. The shadows were painted by mixing Altdorf Guard Blue into the basecoat mix and painting that into any recesses and areas that were cast in shadow.

A clean up layer of the basecoat mix was then used to fix any mistakes and blend the shadows into the basecoat. I then mixed Ivory into the basecoat mix and started doing highlights on any raised areas, finishing them off with another highlight of Ivory.

Her bottom lip was painted with Bugman's Glow. The eyes were given a basecoat using a mix of Black and Rhinox Hide and the whites of her eyes were done with Ivory.

Tiger Stripes

Basecoat - Citadel Rhinox Hide: Citadel Doombull Brown Highlight - Previous Mix: Citadel Jokaero Orange Highlight - Citadel Jokaero Orange

Tigra is covered in tiger stripes, something that always gives me problems. I tried to use the box art and comic art for references, but I'm just not great at making them look like they belong there.

For Tigra's stripes I started with a mix of Rhinox Hide and Doombull Brown. I then felt like I had gone way too dark, so I tried to correct it by mixing in Jokaero Orange and then straight Jokaero Orange.

Hair

Basecoat - Citadel Doombull Brown Shadows - Citadel Doombull Brown: Citadel Warpstone Glow Layer - Citadel Doombull Brown Highlight - Citadel Doombull Brown: Citadel Wazdakka Red Highlight - Previous Mix: Citadel Jokaero Orange

Tigra has reddish hair, which I usually have fun with. This time I started with Doombull Brown as a basecoat. I mixed in Warpstone Glow and painted that into the recesses and shadows before adding another layer of Doombull Brown.

For the highlights, I mixed Wazdakka Red into Doombull Brown and painted all of the raised areas. Finally I mixed in Jokaero Orange and gave it another highlight.

Purple Suit Sections

Basecoat - Army Painter Warlock Magenta: Citadel Caledor Sky Shadows - Previous Mix: Army Painter Lava Orange Layer - Basecoat Mix: Additional Army Painter Warlock Magenta Highlight - Army Painter Warlock Magenta Highlight - Army Painter Warlock Magenta: Army Painter Impish Rouge Highlight - Previous Mix: AK Interactive White

For this model, I decided to try out some new colors and instantly fell in love with them. Rather than use purples from Citadel, I switched it up to The Army Painter's Warlock Magenta, its such a wonderful color.

To start, I mixed Warlock Magenta with Caledor Sky to create a darker purple for the base. Using the basecoat mix, I added in Lava Orange to create the color for the recesses and shadows.

To begin highlighting I returned to the basecoat mix and added in a bit more Warlock Magenta and painted that on any areas that would be catching light. She was then highlighted with straight Warlock Magenta followed by another highlight with Impish Rouge mixed in. To finish it off, I mixed in a small amount of White and painted the brightest highlights with that mix.

White Suit Section

Basecoat - AK Interactive Pastel Violet Highlight - AK Interactive Ivory Highlight - AK Interactive White Lining - Vallejo Model Color Black Grey Cat's Eyes - Army Painter Emerald Forest Cat's Eyes Highlight - Army Painter Rainforest

As usual, the white tiger emblem started with a base coat of Pastel Violet. It was then highlighted with Ivory and White. The outlining was painted using Black Grey rather than black, that way it wasn't too stark of a dark line.

The cat's eyes were painted with Emerald Forest and a quick highlight of Rainforest.

Metal Belt Diamonds

Basecoat - AK Interactive French Blue Highlight - AK Interactive Snow Blue Highlight - AK Interactive White

The silver diamonds along her waist were painted in a non-metallic metal style using a basecoat of French Blue, followed by highlights of Snow Blue and White. Since they are so small they don't need a lot of attention, so simplified NMM is perfectly ok.

Broken Tiger Head

Basecoat - Citadel Ushabti Bone Stipple - Citadel Screaming Skull Stipple - AK Interactive White Wash - Citadel Contrast Apothecary White

I tend to paint all statue pieces on MCP bases the same as I paint the concrete on my bases, but I decided not to on this one. Instead I went with an off white/bone stone for it. I started with a basecoat of Ushabti Bone and then stippled it with Screaming Skull and White. It was then finished off with a wash of Apothecary White Contrast paint to tie it all together and shade the recesses.

Treadplate Basing

Basecoat - Citadel Mechanicus Standard Grey Layer - Citadel Mournfang Brown Drybrush - Citadel Fire Dragon Bright Wash - Citadel Agrax Earthshade

As usual, the treadplate on the base was given a basecoat of Mechanicus Standard Grey. I then thin down Mournfang Brown and add some brown splotches around the metal surface. Once that's dry it is given a light drybrushing of Fire Dragon Bright to give it a bit of orange rust and then it is finished off with a wash of Agrax Earthshade.

Brickwork Basing

Basecoat - Citadel Doombull Brown Layer - Citadel Rhinox Hide Layer - Citadel Tuskgor Fur Wash - Citadel Agrax Earthshade

The bricks on the sidewalk start with a basecoat of Doombull Brown. I then pick out individual bricks and paint them either Rhinox Hide or Tuskgor Fur. It is also given a wash of Agrax Earthshade.

credit: Brushwizard

That finishes off Tigra! In the end, I fel like she turned out well. But she was definitely one of those models that I had to power through. Maybe one day I'll return to her and redo her skin and stripes. But for now She's ready to join the done pile and get some games in.

A big thanks to Atomic Mass Games for sending these new boxes for this tutorial, I very much appreciate it! Have you picked up the new Echo, Ronin and Tigra character pack? Let us know in the comments, which of the new characters is your favorite. Hit me up on social media too, you can find me on Bluesky, and Instagram. Also, if you're on the Goonhammer Discord server, be sure to hop into the Marvel Crisis Protocol channel and join the conversation.

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