A 28mm dragon in three stages. This is the broadest possible breakdown — I'm skipping the dozen sub-steps because the point is the progression, not the recipe.

Stage 1: Sketch in paint

Block in every colour at its mid-tone. Don't think about highlights. Don't think about shadows. Just commit to what's red, what's brown, what's bone. This stage should take 20 minutes and look terrible.

Stage 2: Shade everything

Shade the recesses. One wash, ideally one mixed slightly warmer than the basecoat. You should now have something that reads as a finished mini from across the room. It's not finished. But it reads finished, and that's the morale boost you need to push through the next stage.

Stage 3: Highlight, slowly

Stage 3 takes longer than stages 1 and 2 combined. Edge highlights on the scales, glaze passes on the wings, two-step highlight on the belly. Take breaks. Come back to it.

The whole model: about eight evenings. Worth it.