“Alasss, poor Jossssseph. . . !“ – Judge Death

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Judge Death - Painting (X): Wrapping-up, pt. 3

I will be the first to admit that this is rather embarrassing: Judge Death, who is no more than 2-3 short sessions away from being a fait accompli, has been patiently awaiting the execution of sentence for over 5(!) months! This is certainly not justiccccce!

The first coat (oils) on the helmet should be done by eod today. DONE! Once that is done, all that remains are the dismembered digits of the elbow pads, and final detailing/outlining/finishing.

Stay tuned!

UPDATE 26.01.2015. . . The helmet issssss DONE!

UPDATE 08.02.2015. . . The right elbow pad issssss DONE!

UPDATE 09.02.2015. . . The left elbow pad issssss DONE! With final detailing/outlining/finishing all that remains to be done, thissss figure isss judged completed!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Judge Death - Painting: Intermezzo

It is damn hard to believe that it has been three(!) weeks since I've even looked at Hisssssssss Honor!!! Well, that simply will not do! I hope to have Death in the cabinet by the end of the Labor Day weekend; but in the meantime, I still have to get past the elbow guards!

In the meantime, it's time to re-familiarize myself with the piece--especially since the oils are now essentially as dry as they are going to get. And the way I prefer to get the re-familiarization up to speed is by outlining and spot-staining (i.e., feathered deep shadows). So now, the groundwork is finally done; and the outlining is all-but-done. 

I should be able to start working my way through the dismembered digits in the next day or so... Stay tuned!

Judge Death - Painting (IX): Wrapping-up, pt. 2

18.07.2014 - Final fitting of Death to the groundwork.

22.07.2014 - The feet are done! As are the chest "stitches". All that now remains are the clawed fingers on the elbow and knee pads and the helmet. Getting there. . . 

23.07.2014 - The knee pads are done! Now to decide whether to transfer Hisss Honor to the display base; or finish the elbow pads before making the move. . .

25.07.2014 - The week is finally over! Regrettably, there is no way that I will be slinging any paint tonight. So. . . after carefully assessing the pros and cons of transferring Death to his permanent pedestal at this time, the Chief Justice of Deadworld has been relocated and integrated onto the groundwork. I will hopefully be able to begin finalization of the groundwork sometime this week- end. Stay tuned!

27.07.2014 - The groundwork--painting--is now all-but-done! All that remains are the final touch- ups once the colours settle to visually integrate the subject with its setting. NEXT: the elbow pads!

Judge Death - Painting (VIII): Groundwork

15.07.2014 - The groundwork has been undercoated (Vallejo Medium Sea Grey), and a grisaille of Van Dyck Brown (oils) has been applied to integrate the groundwork to the display base, as well as get an idea of the tonal values to strive for.  

16.07.2014 - The first drybrushing (oils) session is in the can. . . This establishes the basic tona- lity within the various textures. I will let this set until the weekend, when I can hopefully begin to work on the battered, gilt stone eagle. As with Dredd, this will be the most challenging aspect of the execution: how to best depict weathered and battered gilt stone? 

17.07.2014 - Phase 1 of the painted gilding is now done. The overall tones might be somewhat darker than I had hoped; but as a "base coat" I think I am just about where I want--and need!--to be. I will probably start working-up the colours tomorrow, and hopefully be all-but-done by the end of the weekend. 

21.07.2014 - Painting of the groundwork is now essentially done. Finalization will take place once the figure is permanently attached.

Judge Death - Painting: Intermezzo - "Alasss, poor Jossssseph. . . !"

The skull has been mounted and permanently attached. The claws will be refinished during final wrap-up.


As I said, still loads to do, but coming together quite niccccccely. . .

Judge Death - Painting (VII): Wrapping-up, pt. 1

Let there be no misunderstanding: there is still LOADS to be done. Having said that, by my cal- culations, there are no more than 12-15 hrs. worth of work remaining on Hissss Honor. Essen- tially, a long weekend. This does not take into account the groundwork, which at this point is being reconsidered; but even if I were to stick to the original plan, this is no more than 2-3 full sessions away from primer.

09.07.2014 - The skull is done! The buckle and the left hand are done as well. All items are now under the lamp. . .

10.07.2014 - The right hand is done. . . 

11.07.2014 - Intermezzo

12.07.2014 - Final finishing outlining and touch-ups are underway. . . (This is actually the most critical "step" of this figure. To think that you've got it covered during the initial paint, or that you can knock-it out in one final step, is sheer folly. . . !!!). 

17.07.2014 - The chest "stitches" have been undercoated with Reaper Golden Blonde.

Judge Death - Painting (VI): Right Pauldron

Judge Death's right pauldron is a caricaturish pterodactyl, obviously the Deadworld's counterpart of the Street Judges' eagle. And it is brilliantly rendered in miniature, provided as a one-piece(!) casting.

I modified mine slightly as I wanted a more natural drape to the tail; and if you recall I had some restorative repair work to do on the right leg of the pterodactyl. I only mention this to underscore the fact that this is a rather fragile and delicate piece. Thus, once I had it undercoated (Vallejo GoldBrown), and stained the dorsal surface of the pterodactyl (underside of the pauldron) with a Raw Umber/Mars Black grisaille, I went ahead and permanently attached it to he figure. I'll be the first to admit that I probably jumped the gun on this one, but it's definitely workable--and much safer!

This first phase was concluded by applying the aforementioned grisaille to the ventral surfaces and quickly blocking in the values throughout the morphology of the flying reptile. Once it is completely "dry", I will "block" in the oils. 

This--and all the DWC figures I've worked on to date--require one to think outside the box, and dig deep into the "bag of tricks" for techniques and approaches that have long been mothballed. This alone makes them a 5-star "canvas" for this miniaturist!

More to follow. . .  

UPDATE 08.07.2014. . . Phase 2 of the right pauldron is done! A bit tight to work around in spots, but nothing to fret over. I definitely recommend painting the dorsal surfaces first and then permanently attaching the pauldron before proceeding with the rest. . . if for no other reason that it will integrate much more readily with the figure rather than looking like a separate little model attached as an afterthought. 

Judge Death - Painting (Vc): "The Greens", pt. 3

Session #3: the cartridge belt. 

As a continuation of Session #2, the cartridge belt was painted with the same base colour as the elbow pads, but modified with Chrome Green Oxide and but a touch of Raw Umber. Shading was done with Mars Black, Raw Umber, and Green Umber. Highlights were varied (read: secondary stippling) to create more of a mottled, worn effect to enhance the visual flow. Final detailing will be undertaken once the oils are dry.

Judge Death - Painting (Vb): "The Greens", pt. 2

Session #2: the elbow pads. 

Death's "greens" are significantly more worn/weathered; hence, the knee pads will be the 'green- est' of the "greens". The elbow pads were painted using Raw Umber Light as the base colour, modified with Raw Umber; and applied as a glaze over the green undercoat, allowing the latter to modify the hue of the former. 

As with the knee pads, this step simply addresses "the background". The clawed fingers will be addressed in a follow-up session. 

NEXT: The cartridge belt. . . 

Judge Death - Painting (Va): "The Greens", pt. 1

"The Greens"--the ancillary equipment of the Judges--will be tackled in three primary sessions, and--in this case--any number of follow-up sessions. . . 

On the slate for today: the knee pads. As with Dredd, the base colours for all the green gear will be formulated around Grumbacher's Pre-Tested Chrome Oxide Green (Opaque), but with a touch of Greenish Umber to taste, further modified by varying amounts of Raw Umber and Raw Umber Light.

The knee pads (read: the background) are now done. What follows will be addressed in the follow-up sessions: the rolls on Death's pads are replaced with clawed fingers! I have yet to decide what will be the predominant tonal hue on the dismembered digits.

Little by little, Deathhh livesssssssss. . .

Judge Death - Painting (IV): Left Pauldron

With the head all-but-done, I can now begin to address the "accessory" items. First-up: the left pauldron. 

The Mega-City One Street Judges' left pauldron can probably best be described as a pad with ho- rizontal rectangular rolls. Death's left pauldron was a pad with human bones taking the place of the rectangular rolls. It is usually depicted as moderately-to-extensively weathered. 

I applied the oils directly onto the primed surface--no undercoating. This approach works particu- larly well on small leathery items. The pad was painted with Umbers (Raw and Burnt) and Lamp Black. The bones were stained with the pad colours, and wiped clean. These will be painted individually once the pauldron is permanently attached.

NEXT: "The Greens"

UPDATE 01.07.2014. . . The left pauldron has been permanently attached.

Judge Death - Painting (III): The Head

With the jumpsuit essentially done, what remains are a series of short 1 or 2-day sessions (save for "the greens") that will ultimately breathe life into Judge Death.

Whether it be Fear's winged helm, Mortis' sheep's skull, or Death's portcullis-visored helmet over a Joker-like rictus, all the Dark Judges--unlike their live Mega-City One counterparts--are readily identifiable by their likenesses. As such, much of the success of this undertaking will ride on how less-than-25% of the head is rendered. 

Phase 1 of the head is now completed; i.e., all the un-helmeted area. My base colour for the flesh areas was Grumbacher Greenish Umber--strong enough to impart a sickly greenish cast to other colours, yet transparent enough to be easily modified. The toothy rictus has been blocked- in and will be mostly finalized in the next session.

UPDATE 29.06.2014. . . The 'flesh' areas were workably dry this morning, so I decided to pro- ceed with the lacquers: the helmet trim and the portcullis visor are now "metallized". I will hope- fully have some time this evening to finish the overall touch-ups to the helmet itself. DONE!

Judge Death - Painting (II): The Jumpsuit

As with Dredd, I decided to tackle the jumpsuit in two sessions. Whereas Dredd could have been done in one sitting if not for the engineering workaround, Death's jumpsuit is definitely a 2+ ses- sion garment. "+" in that this one will absolutely require a revisit, once everything is done, to deepen shadows, punch-up highlights, and, in general, do a wet outline with variable blending to integrate the various elements of the "robes of office".

So. . . the jumpsuit legs are now 'done'. This may be the last time I pick-up a paintbrush until the first weekend in July, but we can always hope. . .

UPDATE 26.06.2014. . . "Hope springs eternal. . . " Caught a break today and was able to call it a day early enough to get some brush-time in. . . And the jumpsuit--or rather, Phase 1 of the jumpsuit--is now done! 

Judge Death - Painting: UC'ing - Graphic Interlude

With Tyrion done, the time has come to shift my focus back to Deathhhhhhhh. . . 

Death is ready to roll. A couple of days of normal hours at work, and the oils will be broken out!

 

More to follow. . . !

Judge Death - Painting (IB): UC'ing 2 - Back to Black

. . . or close enough. . . 

 

The foundation piece of the Judges, regardless of the dimension from which they hail--the jump- suit--is now undercoated. I am very pleased with how it turned out: I used a roughly 60-20-20 mix of Vallejo Black, Reaper Midnight Blue, and Reaper Nightshade Purple: as with Dredd, the achieved undertone is perfect for what lies ahead!

More to follow. . . !

Judge Death - Painting (IA): UC'ing 1 - Goin' Green

Whereas I would normally do the flesh first and the gear last, since I decided to undercoat these areas in tonal variations of a basic hue (Reaper Olive Green), I went ahead and painted all the greens. Which means that Hisssss Honor is just short of 50% done.

Next up will be the jump suit, followed by any necessary touchups. If all goes as anticipated, Death will be ready for oils by the end of the weekend--but not before I post an image or two. . .

Stay tuned!

The time is nigh. . .

The figures are primed. . . and I have just completed cleaning my brushes, rearranging my painting bench, and sorting-out the acrylic undercoating palette. . .

Which means that as soon as the opportunity presents itself, painting will commence on Judge Death and The Imp. . .

Let the good times roll!!!

Judge Death - Painting: Intro

You might recall the legion of variables encountered when painting Judge Dredd. Dredd was bad; but Death is arguably worse, if only because of the absence--by design--of any regulated uniform- ity. As a painter, this is not necessarily a bad thing, as we can now be guided by our artistic eye and our sensibilities--but it still has to look right! And therein lies the rub.

Death will be an exercise in tonality and hue. Do I go with a greenish skin, a bluish skin, a deathly flesh tone. . . or a custom mix of all three? The gear--how faded/worn should it be depicted? And so on, and so forth. . .

Fortunately, the only canonical speed bump to be negotiated is the helmet. When the chromatic Death first appears, he is wearing an alternate version of the standard Judge's helmet--i.e., black helmet with red trim. At some point, an alternate scheme was introduced: a strongly blue-biased black helmet with silver trim. Not knowing the timeline of this development, and/or the reason for it--in spite of rather diligent research, I am inclined to go with the original iteration. 

Stay tuned!

PS -- As before, any comments, especially from our die-hard 2000AD fans, are most welcome!

UPDATE 24.06.2014. . . I have concluded that not only Judge Fear, but Death (and possibly Mortis?) are all based on the iterations found in the Batman/Dredd crossover, "Die Laughing" (hence the chained badge, etc.). Thus have I decided to paint the helmet in the aforementioned alternate scheme.

Judge Death - Painting: Priming

The crime of an idle paint brush will be tolerated no longer. . . it mussst end. . . and sssssoon. . .