Paint your figures all flat black first, this way if you miss a spot or two it will look like shadowing.  Then start with the lighter colors and end with the darker colors for the clothing and skin.  Always use flat colored paints.

I've finally added as much plaster cloth as I expect I'll need, and have moved on to priming the base before painting it.  Priming made it look unfamiliar, [ ... ]

For the TL;DR - just scroll down an look at photos is useful since it's about architecture :) Feedback appreciated !

I want my layout to have a high level [ ... ]

Here's video of my layout, first in near-total darkness, then in daylight. [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLmc2DIJHkY 100x100]