Hi, new project that I will post here.
This is "The little Crook" by Nick Tsouhlos. He asked my if I wanted to paint it, so I started painting it at a painters hangout in Nürnberg/Germany.
Since I had no idea how to start I did some research during the train ride to Nürnberg. I'am a fan of Johan Egerkranz, so I searched some art by him that would fit the theme.


I started with some German Dark Camo Green (VMC) over the skin. I mixed some Rosy Flesh (new VGC) in the GDCG and painted it into the still wet layer from before, but only on his left side.
I did the same with a mix of GDCG and Emeral (VMC) on the right side and his back.

The rest of the skin is mainly a back and forth between the folling mixes:
GDCG + Ivory (VMC)-> Basic mix
GDCG + Sunny Skin Tone (VMC) -> for warmer areas (left side)
GDCG + Ivory + Emeral -> for colder areas (right side and back)
GDCG + Rosy Flesh -> area around the nose, ears and mouth
I added Ivory when I need brighter tone of those mixes.
(the right side is painted with the GDCG+Ivory mix if you need a reference)



I used glazes of Mahagony Brown (VMC) for the ears and some shadow areas.
I also made a dark red out of Black (MINIM) and Primary Red (ABT502) and used it around the nose area.

I used Deep Green (ABT502) for the eyes. I added some brighter tones with a mix of Deep Green and Yellow Green (VMC). The white reflections are painted with Intense White (AK 3G).



I painted this in r.a. 5h. Still pretty early. They colors I used were the ones I had at hand. I usually bring only a few colors and my Primary & Complementary Color Set from Abteilung502.

I probably need to rework the eyes, but they are good enough for now. I will paint the ear rings in NMM next. They are an important focal point. I need to sketch the highlights on his "hat" too. Then I will have a better idea how this will work out.

Thanks for reading! Cheers

Looks amazing, thank you for your mixes, I always have trouble with fantasy skin tones.

Not my kind of thing but the painting looks spot on.

Oda.

I did some more work. Colors and mixes are nearly the same as before. I added an Orange by Abteilung502 to the palette and used to add saturation to the mixes of skintones. This is still a sort of sketch.

Ufff ... I need to be more active in here.
I was pretty happy with how the skin turned out and liked my references. However. In mid june I visited a workshop with Arnau Lazaro. If you're not familiar with him check his instagram. He is well known for his use of colors.
After that workshop I felt the need to change everything. So I started again:



The process is pretty easy. It's just about building up brightness layer by layer. I can't remember all colors, but most important are: Royal Purple (VMC), Prussian Blue (VMC), Emerald (VMC), Cadmium Skin (VGC), Ivory (VGC).
Here's a picture of my wet-palette. (Some of the colors are mixed by me, some just mixed themselves. The green is a strange mix of the Prussian Blue and Cadmium Skin, both colors flew into another)
The skintone between the blueish/tourquise skin was just an idea in the first sketch. But I really liked it. I like how that V on the throat area stands out.



I usually don't use wet-palettes. Never felt that I nedded. But the workshop with Arnau showed me how useful it is and how satisfying it is to not constantly remix colors. Still need to learn how to use the space better.

After I "finished" the skintone I tried to paint the eyes. I didn't succeed. Here's a pic of a "failed" attempt. I just didn't like it. It made him look too kind.



I didn't like the general idea. I made some photoshop manipulations where I added some generic goblin eyes to a WIP picture. I also found some cool fantasy creature eyes.



I asked people on several discords and did a vote on discord. So the majority voted for the top right one. Only a few liked the bottom ones. But I really started to like the one on the bottom right. So I painted this one. Sadly the picture does not show it, but the orange is very bright. I used a orange flour ink to push the saturation.



Thanks for reading.

Now it's time for the rest of the miniature. The hat drives me insane. I repainted it three times by now and will repaint it again. I need to paint his earrings first, though ... Should have done this from the start.

I like use of color, it also has application with Historical miniatures if you want to experiment. I’m always amazed at Mike Blank’s work and his use of color. It more artistic and less workman like.

Hm ... what do you mean by that? I know the work of Mike Blank. He uses colors that fit the reference and work with the atmosphere. His work isn't about the exact representation of the right tones. I read an interview with him in Tint Inc. magazine (published by AK). I like his work.

It was great. Arnau is a great teacher and his approach is interessting. He adds so much color to his sketches.
Here's my result and a picture of everyone's testsubject.

Hi Arnau
Always enjoy your shares here & again surprised you don’t get more curiosity from PF membership.
That said I’m just catching with posts after lots of offline distractions.
Arnau is a wonderful artist & love seeing his work with its incredibly vibrant look. Can see influence & learning from your first version through to the second take on this creepy little guy.

Good on you bringing your own flair to his eyes.
These look good & do give him a reptilian look adding to overall atmosphere of him.

Thanks for sharing & will keep an eye out for next update on leather cap. What are you finding frustrating with this leather?
MikeTheKiwi

The main problem with the leather cap is the brightness. The thing is, if you paint a single piece of the miniature without knowing how the rest looks or will look you'll get lost.

I really like the hat as it is in the last picture. It is dark enough. It has a lot of colors in it. BUT, it is too bright (I wasn't aware of that when I took the picture).
I started to do the detailing. By default I mixed brighter tones for highlights. Small highlights look stupid without a bigger specular highlight. So the hat got brighter and brighter.
I then decided that magenta, tourquise and orange would be a great color palette (the backlight and backdrop will be magenta). So I repainted the hat in more orange tones and got too bright again.
I want the skintones and his silhouette to stand out.

The earrings are an important focus point imho. If the hat steals more attention than the earrings ... than it looks wrong to me.

Finally finished this little guy.

Really interesting to see where you started in June and how the little gnome has evolved. Excellent brushwork and sense of colours (and proper creepy eyes).
Really looking forward to your next project - whatever it may be.
Karl

Beautiful work my friend!! I like the purple skin tones!!! Nick have beautiful busts!!I have paint this Rat too

Just caught up with this thread, he really is a little gem and your painting methods are well explained and informative, the eyes are great.

Cheers Simon

I saw this one on Nicks Instagram. Looks great

yeah Nick post it both mine and yours!

How did I miss this thread,
Fantastic brushwork .

Malc