This is my new little project. Since I recently did better pictures of the Gasmask Zombie, I decided that I need to paint this head right now. Also: I got this as a gift, because I painted another one of those fridge magnet head bust thingies and it is laying here for ages.



Here's a little summary of the steps so far. Note that this an underpainting. It will define some colors and values. It will be painted over in the end. Maybe you see a spot that is left in this stage.



1. Primer with Wraith Bone (Citadel)
2. Just some thin layers of Raven Black (Minim), Purple Rain (Minim) and a mix of Raven Black Purple Rain. The brighter black tones are a mix of Raven Black and Emerald (Minim, beware: looks different than normal Emerald). I tried to cover everything, also parts that won't be much darker. For those rather bright parts I used very thin layers to get some contrast and textures.
3. I added pure Black Red (VMC) to his gums, ears and eyes.
4. I used Emerald (Minim) to add a greenish/tourquise tones to the skin. You can see that this Emerald does not look like normal Emerald, but it is named Emerald.
5. I used Raven Black in thin layers as glazes for the darkest parts and a mix of Smoke Black and Light Blue (both Abteilung502 DAC) in glazes for everything else.

Next important thing will be the eyes. I'am not sure what I want to paint. But I tend to red. The third picture is a nice reference for the eyes.

Interesting, I've seen people paint some pretty odd things to great effect and this is right up there, will be interesting to watch.

Cheers Simon

very nice vampire head! and very nice tutorial!!! red for the eyes!!!

You have managed to capture the effect of suspended putrification most successfuully.

Oda.

Thanks guys.

They eyes will be red, at least the iris. Not sure whether I paint the eyeballs black or rose.

@Oda: It will look brighter in the end. Next step is building up highlights. The underpainting is just a dark surface for further work.

Nice work. And what a hideous fridge magnet!

The painting took like 2min. Photoediting and this post r.a. 90mins.



1: I painted the Iris with Black Red (VMC) and the eyeball with Smoke Black (Abteilung 502, DA).
2: I tried to paint a half circle with Dark Vermillion (VMC). You can also just paint half the surface of the circle, since we the half circle will show once the pupil is painted anyways.
3: I mixed Dark Vermillion with Sunny Skin Tone (VMC) and painted a smaller half circle. Again: You can cover less surface of the circle instead.
4: I added a glaze of Primary Magenta ink (Amsterdam All Acrylics, looks more like blood). I pulled the brush from bottom to top.
5: I added a glaze of Reflex Orange Ink (Amsterdam ..., Flour Color). I pulled the brush from top to bottom to build up a bit more brightness at the bottom.
6: The pupil is painted with smoke black. If you painted steps 2 and 3 as plane surfaces this step will form the half circle.

You can use other inks. You need a vibrant red ink and a flour orange ink f.e from Schmincke. The flour ink will make everything pop even more.