Hera Models Orc Bust

Wow, it's been quite a while since I've updated this blog! Over the next few posts I'll try to catch up on the projects I've completed. The first one I want to share is my most recent, the academic orc bust from Hera Models. I think their academic line is a neat idea. It provides figures that are great for focusing on a technique or skills such as shading, blending, skin, etc. They also provide a nice base figure that could be converted into something unique by adding clothing and equipment. While I didn't make any modifications to the orc, it's something I'd like to try on some of their other busts at some point.

I've seen this bust painted up quite a few times. It's a popular figure and, having now worked on it, I can easily see why. It's a dynamic piece with a lot of great shapes to work with. Unfortunately, since he's already been painted by so many artists, I struggled a bit to find a way to do something unique with him. In the end, I decided to focus on lighting. Most of the versions I've seen use traditional zenithal lighting, so I decided to move my main light source off to one side. It's a bit like 3/4 lighting, but perhaps a bit farther to the side that even that. I also liked how this lighting throws half of the face into shadow and, in my opinion, makes him look even more menacing. I think I also angled him a bit farther forward that most of the other versions I've seen. He feels a bit more feral this way. And, it's a bust, so there's no clear 'correct' angle like you'd have with a figure on foot.

With the main light source off to one side, I added a secondary light source from the other side and below. This helps provide some definition to the shapes on the shaded side of the face and, in my opinion, just looks cool. =P Working with multiple light sources is something I still find very challenging, so the academic bust provided a great opportunity to practice. I painted the entire bust with the primary light source before added the secondary light. I did a rough sketch of the secondary light to check my placement, did it look like the right surfaces were being hit? I went through several iterations of that. Refining the sketch with some rough blending, allowing me to start to vary the intensity/brightness. Stop to see how it's reading. Some parts would look good, other parts wouldn't feel quite right. So back for another round. As I became happy with regions, then I'd go in and refine the transitions to smooth them out. It took some time, but in the end I was happy with the final result.