Painting scabbards?

[Feinman]

Thanks.  I've set up a board with chamois swatches and I hope to eventually test out every combination of glue-soaking, sanding soaked and dried pieces, gesso, and wax top coats, and I guess I'll start ordering paints and associate materials soon.

The dyed and sealed leather is probably the most realistic option, but I find a solid-colored scabbard really dull.  Plus, I'm not only designing one for myself, but also for this guy in California who is hoping for something very fancy, as he's portraying an Immortal.  So I want to explore all the possibilities for complex paint designs using period-appropriate materials before admitting defeat.

You Might consider oil paints.  I know their origin is very controversial, but I suspect that pigment ground in oil and wax is older than folks think.