Sunday, April 17, 2016

Captain of the Hussars Part 2

Alright, now that I have a general plan for the colors, it's time to start painting!  I began by base coating the top half of the rider.  I'll most likely be holding him by the legs to help steady the figure while I paint, so that's why I'll leave that bare until later.  After that I got to work on the face.  It's the same basic approach I use on most of my figures, you can check the tutorials section here for a more in-depth discussion of painting faces.  I'm not sure if I mentioned it in the last post, but this figure is 75mm scale.  So he's a little bit larger than the typical 54mm figures I paint, but smaller than the 90mm samurai I just finished.

I do want to stress that painting the face is a process and not one I necessarily complete in one sitting.  Here's a comparison of the face at two different stages.  The first shows my initial highlights and shadows in place.  After that, I took a break and then re-evaluated the figure.  There were some shadows I thought weren't quite right and the upper highlights needed a little more pop.  So I went in a tweak the parts I felt needed it.  Once that was done, I painted on more of the details (hair, chin strap, collar) and then put on the glazes to add that color variation to the skin.  


Because his head is turned and titled slightly, I painted much stronger shadows on the right side of his face.  You can see that more clearly when I show the two sides next to one another.  I also painted his eyes looking to the left (following the direction of the head turn).  

Still not 'done' with the face.  Looking at the pictures, that shadow over his left eye needs to be fixed (the blend at the top needs to be improved).  But, otherwise, I'm pretty satisfied with how he looks.

I also started working on his hat.  There's a flowing 'sock' on top and I wanted to add some extra detail on it.  The box art has something similar, so I'm borrowing the idea for my version.  The details will be done in gold, but I started with a layer of Burgundy Wine as a base.  I'm having a bit of trouble putting the gold on top.  It's just not looking as clean as I'd like.  I'm not sure if I should make the purple line thicker and then do the gold (sort of using the purple as a border between the gold and the red), trying to completely cover the purple with gold, or do a dot pattern like I did on the sculpted detail.  I'm going to have to think about this one a bit and probably give a few different things a try.

6 comments:

  1. Another face very well done. I always get sad when finishing a face on a figure like this because there is no more skin to paint. Is that weird of me?

    Two additional comments: first, the casting looks a bit rough in spots, perhaps image face area could have benefitted from a bit of light sanding? I am talking about the barely perceptible bumps on the surface that is probably quite normal and truly does not require any remedying, but thought I would mention it just to spark your pursuit of perfection tendencies :)

    Next, I have noticed that a trademark of your paintings is to take traditionally warm tones and make them cold. You have done this with your violets and reds here. I love the look, personally :) $$$$$

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    1. Thanks! I know what you mean. Although sometimes there are hands to do!

      It could be the casting, though it's probably just due to the layers of paint building up. I should point out that it's really only noticeable here because the picture is so zoomed in. If you look at the figure in real life or even an image of the full figure and not just the face (like I posted over on my CMON WIP thread), you can't see the bumps at all.

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  2. Your painting is fantastic. I notice that you do a lot of sub assembly with your work which is ideal for obvious reasons. Say you've painted the main body of a figure and want to attach the arm, however, there's a gap you need to fill. How do you fill the gap without spoiling the work you've already put in?

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    1. Yes, that's very tricky! For pieces like that I will dry fit them to what sort of gaps or seams I'll be dealing with. If there's going to be a large gap, then if there's any way I can paint the piece with the arm in place, I will. Of course there are some instances where you really need to leave it off but also have a large gap to fill. One solution is (prior to painting), fit the piece into place and fill the gap. If you cover one of the ends with something like vasoline, the putty won't stick and you can remove the piece when the putty has dried. However, the putty will stick to the other piece and you won't have that large gap when the two are finally put together. Best to try this out on some scrap pieces first just to get a feel for how it works.

      Another option, if that won't do, is to use clay shapers to help smooth the putty when you do fill the gap. You'll still need to do some repainting around the border to blend the new work into the old. But it will help you avoid the need to sand or file down the putty to make the transition look seamless. I tend to do this for small gaps.

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    1. Unfortunately I don't think so. I've never been to Amsterdam or, as far as I know, done a commission piece for anyone who lived in the Netherlands. Sorry I couldn't be more help. Best of luck finding the right David Powell!

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