Monday, February 2, 2015

Autumn Bronzeleaf, Elf Magic User: Figure 135 of 265

     This week I painted the a third figure from the Elves set, Autumn Bronzeleaf.  She appears to be a magic user.  One more elf to go after this one to complete the set.
       I prepped this figure in the usual way; soaking it in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish- soap added, then giving it a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying.  I then glued the figure to a 1" black-primed fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and glued the washer to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of Elmer's White Glue.
     I began painting by giving her a wash with thinned black ink with a tiny pin-point drop of dish-soap added to help it flow into the crevices and help show the sculpting outlines.  I then by chance went to see the latest Hobbit movie last week, and got the idea of painting her in all white, kind of like Galadriel looks in the movie.  So, I went back and I painted  the entire figure (except for the head), staff included, with Apple Barrel "Rock Grey"; covering over the ink wash.  I then painted her footwear with Folk Art "Medium Gray"
  Next, I gave the whole figure a heavy dry brush with Americana "Dove Grey", followed by a lighter dry brush with pure white.  I then painted all her skin with GW "Elf Flesh".
   Next, I mixed together some Americana "Moon Yellow" and Americana "Asphaltum, about 50/50, and painted her hair.   I then took Folk Art "Silver Sterling" and drybrushed the leaf pattern around her midriff.  I also used the "Silver Sterling" to paint her necklace, wrist guards, buckles on her leg straps, and the dangles at the top of her staff.
  At this point I went back and carefully drybrushed her hair with the base "Moon Yellow", doing the edges with a fine brush.  I then went over the hair once more, drybrushing with Apple Barrel "Lemon Chiffon" adding another layer of highlights, and finally I mixed a little white into the "Lemon Chiffon" and did some last detail highlights.  Next, I worked on her eyes; painting the sockets black, then adding whites, and lastly black pupils. I painted her lips with a mix of Americana "Shading Flesh" mixed with  a little of the "Elf Flesh";  I then added a little extra "Elf Flesh" to do highlights on the lips.   Lastly, I mixed some white with the "Elf Flesh" to do highlights on the skin.  I added a little more white, and did another level of skin highlights as well.
       Lastly, I painted the figure's integral base with Americana "Mississippi Mud".  I then mixed some of the "Rock Grey" with a little of the "Mississippi Mud" and painted the rock she has her left foot resting on on.  After the rock dried, I went back and drybrushed it with a little Duncan "Slate Grey".
     I let the figure sit all day, and that evening I gave it a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  The next morning  I flocked the base, and that afternoon I gave the figure a coat of Testor's "Dullcote" spray varnish.
     I like the way the all white turned out.  It certainly is the palest figure I think I've ever attempted, and I think it works.  As you can imagine it was very hard to photograph, and get it looking decent.

Figure 135 of 265: Complete

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