Been a weird few months, and the last couple of weeks were kind of bleh and couldn't decide on what I could do or find the motivation to do much of anything. I remembered I had this chap from my 3d print test collection and thought I'd try to have some fun with him and practice some NMM techniques.

I started off priming with Scale75 black and white primer to get a value sketch, something I haven't tried often enough. My white primer had last been used maybe two years ago and was literally a solid lump that took 15 minutes of prodding and stirring to break up enough to get something smooth enough to use. I love how these primers go on, and they are very workable and dry dead flat. My only reason for not using them more often is that they aren't quite as durable as Vallejo Surface Primer. If the figure is well pinned for painting, then it isn't really a problem. If you have to handle the figure a lot, then it does tend to wear off a bit before you get some paint on it.















I decided on using the Malefic Flesh set from Nocturna/Vallejo and added Red, Prussian Blue, Light Yellow, Sunny Skintone and white and black to the palette. A lot of lovely desaturated colours to work with, plenty of purple undertones.















I had originally done up a sketch in GIMP with cool looking black armour, but once I got the first layers down, I thought this was looking rather nice and stayed light.


After another session, things have really started to look pretty good, if I do say so myself.













This is turning into a rather fun, free-flowing piece. The value study has helped somewhat, I've gotten too heavy in some areas and the priming doesn't come through as well. I do think it is worth the extra effort though as it gives you a good idea of values right from the start, and with more practice, you'll be able to incorporate this better into the piece.

Kimmo

Cheers Nap!

Keep forgetting to mention that thumbnails are clickable, zooming in usually makes things look somewhat horrible at this stage but not this time around. I'm being very loose, yet purposeful with brushstrokes and shading.

Got some more work in yesterday, mostly definition with the straps and the gold NMM. I decided I don't want super shiny metal, I think it would look out of place with how the colours are muted, adding a touch of a green tone to the shadows for the gold made quite a difference in feel. I'm also trying out some stippling with the plume, needs another round of midtone.














Should get more time in today.


Kimmo

Cheers Nap! It's a good bit of fun...


Didn't get any painting done yesterday, but did get a base made out of a plastic lid and blue foam. I keep lids from food containers to use as bases, they just need to be reinforced and a wee bit of filling and/or sanding get you based rather quickly and effortlessly. I think I'll have to make a mold one of these days.





I did get some painting in today, and it was time to get the armour cleaned up.
















And a quick fit on the base






Still a couple of sessions to goat least, the armour needs some more work and the sword and sheath do as well. It's slowly getting there.


Kimmo

A bit more progress, the sheath and sword were the focus of today's efforts. Still a ways to go, NMM is a bit of a dark art...














Next up will be a round of inks to get some tones into the gold and sword, the armour could use a bit of oomph as well.

Kimmo

Got the base mostly done yesterday, I tried the same priming technique using black and white to get some volume and texture. Then I used 4 different shades from the Malefic set and a wash of purple and black with a bit of an edge higlight on each stone.









And a look with Cedric in place
















A bit more highlighting is needed on the base, and I'll also add some inks.

Kimmo

After a round of inks I went back to clean up some edges and staining, I also redid the NMM on the sword.














Still a bit of work to be done, but nearly there now.

Kimmo

Cheers Nap!

A few minor touch ups, some texture added to the armour and a wee bit of tone to the gold later, it is just about time to stick a fork in this. There are a couple of spots that need fixing, but this is pretty much it.














This was a fun challenge, I'll have to find another figure to use the Malefic set on, it's rather versatile and moody. I'll do the final corrections and get some good photos taken.

Kimmo

Cheers Nap!

I made a conscious decision to try and be a little uncomfortable with this one and see where it went. Worst case scenario would have been to strip it and start again. I used my Rosemary's again and that really helped because I'm beginning to know what they're capable of, and what I can do with them. I'm just loving the flexibility of the Series 66, I think it produces better fine lines and holds the point better than your typical round but can fan out with pressure.

Kimmo

A gallery is now up and can be seen here. I'm including 100% crop photos below, click on them to get full size. I'm rather chuffed with the brushwork and thought I'd show off larger versions.



























Thanks to those who followed along and commented.

Kimmo