Empress' Dragoons Officer Part 4

Taking advantage of the painting time and getting as much done on the Dragoon as I can.  I cleaned up the gold lace/cord and did the rest of the cords and epaulets.  This was done with Burgundy Wine, Muddy Brown, Palomino Gold, Buckskin Pale, Linen White, and Pure White.  I then took care of some small details (the last of the horse hair on the top of his helmet and the medal on his chest) and then I turned my attention to the boots.  Like the horse hair, I wanted a shiny black look for the boots.  I'm putting together a detailed tutorial which will be posted over on FigureMentors (though I'll share the announcement/link here as soon as it's up).  In the meantime, here's a quick look at how I painted them.  As you'll notice, I only completed one of the two boots.  The blending is a time consuming process, so I find it easier to just focus on one at a time.  I'll hopefully take care of the other boot later this week.

First, I began with a sketch of where I want the highlights

Then I start the slowly blend them back down into the black.  I start with the lightest shades and gradually get darker and darker.  Here's a look at that partially done.  The image on the right has been blended from Vampiric Shadow (an off white) to Dark Elf Highlight and then to Dark Elf Skin.

From there the blending continues, going from Dark Elf Skin to Dark Elf Shadow.  A little Pure Black was used in some shadows, but most of what appears to be black is just the Dark Elf Shadow.

Finally, I went back in with some Vampiric Highlight and then Pure White to add some extra pop to the reflection points.  You can see the comparison below between the previous blend (on the left) and the one with the brighter reflections on the right.  I also made a few tweaks so some of the blends (like on the top of the foot) while I was at it.

I've written up a much more thorough discussion of how I did these and how I approach shiny black in general.  I hope to get it posted in the next few days, so check back for an update with the link!

Now that you've seen the boots, here's the rest of him.  Just a little more to do on him and then it will be time to tackle that base.