I'm starting to paint up my desert army, but I'm a novice when it comes to painting. What kind of colors would you recommend for this sort of color scheme? Should I get white primer or stick with my usual black? Should I pick up some devlan mud wash? I'm not fully attached to the yellowish color on the lizard, just the color on its legs and the red spots. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The reddish color looks a lot like the color I use on my Cold Ones and my Kroot. It is done by first priming with black or grey. Then, a basecoat of Scorched Brown followed by a wash of Devlan Mud. Then I apply soft highlights with Bestial Brown, and extreme highlights with Vermin Brown.
I'd definitely go for the washes. I found it very easy to get great looking models with little painting experience. Just start with a basecoat slightly lighter than what you want and apply the wash. It shades the deeper areas, and darkens the whole model up. The trick is to just get it on evenly or it will look blotchy, or different areas will be much darker than others.
I used desert yellow and bubonic brown for my sand lizzys and I think it worked fairly well. (the pics are a little dark I know, will take better ones in the future)