Round Two Report from Garness-at-Home - Part 2

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Dread Pirate Garness continues:

The rest of the figure was fairly straightforward. I painted the armor plates using Aleene's Deep Beige, and ran a wash of Americana Soft Black using a mix of Future floor wax and water. The wash is a 50-50 water and Future acrylic floor wax. I add 1 part paint to 4 or 5 parts wash and mix together. I like this because it does not stain the original color much, and because I can then make a wash from any color I like.

When the wash had dried, I touched up using the Deep Beige and then mixed in GW Golden Yellow and Golden Acrylic retarder to get a highlight color that was warm and natural looking. In some areas of the armor plating I mixed in some Americana Raw Umber to the base color and painted in to give added shadow.

The interior of the cloak was painted black and highlighted with Duncan Steel Grey and Americana Victorian Blue. The swords were painted using NMM starting with a base of Victorian Blue as a base, and adding Ceramcoat Blue Heaven as a highlight and Americana Prussian Blue as a shade, both mixed into the original color. White was used to pick out the highest details. The grips of the swords were painted Americana Prussian Blue. Ceramcoat Blue Heaven was added to gradually build up the color.

Of Note: The detail on the grips is a little hit or miss, so I tried to keep the diagonal pattern for the handles even where the grip was flat. Some areas I had to fudge it a bit, because the sculptor did not line up the diagonals. The pommel and guard were painted black, highlighted with Americana Navy Blue and True Blue.

I made the base out of a few small pieces of blue foam, mixed up some milliput and rolled it around the foam, then sculpted out some rough-looking bark, and then detailed out where the tree had broken with the exposed wood. I rolled a few long rolls to use as vine hanging over the fallen tree.

I used All-American Nutmeg Brown as a base, washed it with Americana Soft Black and dry-brushed with Americana Khaki, Raw Sienna and Ceramcoat Autumn Brown. The vines were painted with Americana Plantation Pine, and drybrushed with a Polly S Green Olive and Americana Celery mix. The wood was drybrushed up using Americana Raw Sienna and a gradual mix of Ceramcoat Pineapple. The ground was made from Liquitex Stucco Acrylic gel medium, some small basalt turf, and All American Nutmeg Brown. When the base dried, I cut a few sprigs from our Christmas wreath and added them to the base as large ferns.

There is not much to say about the face. I painted what was exposed using Vallejo Sunny Skin washed with GW Flesh Wash. The eyes were painted with white and dotted with black. The flesh was highlighted with a mix of Sunny Skin and white. Around the cheeks I painted in GW Brown Ink to make the face and eyes stand out more.

I painted the rifle black and highlighted with grey, but when it came time to add it to the figure, much of the detail I had worked so hard on was covered up by this massive firearm, so I left it out.

I really want to emphasize the careful planning used in getting the transition of the figure. The perspective lines help keep everything in line and in order, so you can always line up the same viewpoint. But in addition, on the arms and cloak, part of it as well was to paint just enough on the curved surface so that when viewed from the side or from above, the parts flow into one another. The overall placement of all the colors and positions were part of a grand plan so that when viewed from most points of view, the figure still blends in with everything around it. The finished pictures will show the figure from several different angles so you can see the transition from one viewpoint to another.

It is my hope that I have provided something you all can appreciate and learn from. This 3D effect was certainly a learning experience for me. It took some long hours to get everything just right, but I am very pleased with the result. I also like the gritty look of the camo when contrasted with the smooth armor. To me it looks like the Knight of Balance is "stepping out" from the background. Thanks everyone, and here's to hoping I move on to the next round!

See the Final Pictures