Tying Figures Together

(But not with string!)

I've worked a little bit more on the Frostgrave minions today; getting the bulk of the base coats on and starting to work on some highlighting. The group is made up of lots of different figures from different manufacturers - North Star, Eureka, Ral Partha, Eolith, and one that I can't identify - and they're all wearing very different clothes. Which is fine, they're a band of adventurers in the pay of a wizard, not a uniformed group at all. However, how do you go about making them look just a little like they belong together?

The best way is twofold, in my experience. First, a limited palette - use roughly the same colours on each figure. Here I'm using quite natural colours, mostly: khakis, olive green, bleached cloth, dark brown leathers, grey fur. Second, a spot colour to tie them all together. That was rather decided for me when I painted Jester like Bruce Timm's Harley Quinn, in black, red, and white. Red is a striking colour that stands out even in small quantities, so red is present on all the figures so far:

The thug's robe is edged in red, the women-at-arms have red on their shields (and backing their fur cloaks), the two archers use red fletching on their arrows, while the human has a red-backed fur cloak and the dwarf has a red hat. Jester, of course, is wearing red quite prominently. The wizard's going to have red embroidery on her dress and probably a ruby topping her staff, while the apprentice will probably get a red cloak. 

Once they're all done, and based together in a mix of snow and a bit of grass tufts (and maybe some cobblestones), the overall effect should be of a reasonably cohesive group of cut-throats and ne'er-do-wells.