So thinking about composition here. Any input would be appreciated. I’ve added the stone and raven, and a nice Celtic warrior from Nuts Planet. I couldn’t pass up the Roman helmet and skull on his staff. At this point I’m married to where the Roman and the chariot are, but everything else is moveable. The tree is a place holder too, so that can go. I could even re-do the base itself, I suppose. Any thoughts about better arrangement?

Roman shield underway...

Excellent paint job and presentation!
Gary

Excellent concept and presentation Matt.
The detailing is very impressive.

Cheers,
Andrew

Finally back to the bench after a bit of a break. Chariot is assembled, Roman is almost done, still working on the crouching Celt. I’m adding two war dogs running with the chariot and a yet-to-be-built dead Roman. Maybe done by the end of the month?

Looks great and it will be very impressive when completed so keep at it, there is lots of room available for those little extras (dead roman, dogs etc).
TERRY

as the others have said, looking great. If you manage to get this ready by mid august, you can still put it in the FOTM of this summer

Agreed, but the standing figure was just too posed, he didn’t seem to have much interest in the action. With the additions and groundwork, I think the composition will fill up.

This is superb. I find Roman shield heraldry in larger scales a real b****r, let alone in the smaller scales.

Mike

It's all looking good.

excellent work, the shield is amazing..

Adding dogs and the dead Roman. I got some accessories from Scale 75 and the scutum is very small. Was there a smaller version used by some, or is it maybe just a gladiatorial thing?

Let slip the dogs of war!

You should bring that dead roman to the celt.
The celt and the dead roman are so lonely that they have noting to do with the dio.
Like Shep Paine said: Every figure must have a relation to another in the dio. Otherwise it looks theatrical.

Marc

Corpsicus the dead Roman is taking shape, and is moved up the hill a bit. I know the celt isn’t making full contact with the ground yet, when I get to terra-forming that will get worked out. I think I need to change his cape color too; my concept was that it was a looted Roman cape, but there will be too much red if I leave it as is. Maybe it will darken down to a burgundy.



Looking at this, I’m going to move the body back down the hill a bit. It takes focus away from the foreground.

Outstanding work

I can understand your concern regarding the colour red. It is a strong colour that will attract attention, perhaps more so because it will be surrounded by lots of green.

On the other hand, in your composition there are two lines (one formed by the running roman + horses + chariot; the other by the menhir, crouching Celt and dead Roman) that point towards the Boudica figure. This technique is often used in Renaissance painting to direct the eye of the viewer towards the real subject of the painting.
The Open University had a post on LinkedIn that explained this in a manner, and used a picture (can't remember which one at the moment) of a large number of Dutch soldiers sitting at a table. The central figure was seated with his back to the viewer, but looked towards the viewer over his shoulder - so I thought this was the subject of interest, but as was explained there were two subtle lines pointing to the figure on the far left who ended up being the most important one of the lot.

Personally, I find this the most challenging aspectc of art. There is also the 'rule of thirds' to take into account. but when I look at the overall picture, my eye is naturally drawn to the chariot as it is. That may change with adding the read colour, but then again, it may not.

The colors of the groundwork will change things as well. That’s part of the fun, figuring this all out!

I had to take a break for sinus surgery and a few other projects, but I finally have the figures down to the touch-ups stage, and it’s time to get the ground work going. The tree will be built up and filled out, rocks painted, grass & shrubs added, then, after painting the base edge, water effects added. Fingers crossed!