"Graf Orlok welcomes a guest. . ."

Another project wrapped-up in as many days. . . hmmm. . . must mean a show is right around the corner. . .

Without further ado. . .





And the de rigeur "creepy" shot. . .



I apologize for the less-than-stellar images: not only am I still worming my way through my erstwhile studio, but my tried-and-true dinosaur of a camera gave up the ghost last night, forcing me to press into service its replacement which I can barely navigate at this time. . .

ENJOY! And thanks for your patience!

A~

Monarch Nosferatu--PAINTING--GRAPHIC UPDATE

Here are some "teasers" of the work to-date. There is still much to be done in terms of finishing, etc. (e.g., I haven't even glazed the eyes yet), but hopefully it will serve as an appetizer for what is to follow shortly.

UPDATE
Since the above was posted, I have glazed the eyes, re-glazed the flesh-tones, completed the buttons and lacing, and airbrushed the groundwork. . .

Definitely on the home stretch. . .

FOLLOW-UP
The figure has now been permanently transferred to its display base. Tomorrow, the keys. . .

UPDATE (2)
The left hand is now painted, which, save for the keys and the nightcap, just about concludes the brush work on this piece. The keys are next (yes, I've been putting it off). . .

Monarch Nosferatu--PAINTING (IV): Groundwork

My attention will now shift to the groundwork and the base. This is going to be a tricky one, but hopefully not too. I've so far roughed-in the groundwork that supports the figure. Once that is cured--and fit of figure-to-groundwork/base checked, I will proceed with the peripheral, "outer-ring" groundwork.

Almost there!

FOLLOW-UP
The basic groundwork is now done and curing. All that is left to do is sparingly add groundcover and some greenery, and it will be ready for the airbrush.

Moving right along. . .

Monarch Nosferatu--PAINTING (III): Oils 4--Wrap-up (I)

As of this posting, this piece can be considered all-but-done. Still loads to do, but save for the hat (after mounting), the right hand and keys (detto), and the buttons and lacing/braiding, all the components of this piece can now be deemed completed. And yes, the head has been permanently attached!

Now for the fun part: tying it all in!

Monarch Nosferatu--PAINTING (III): Oils 3--The Face (II)

The face is now done!

This has been one of the most enjoyable and challenging undertakings in quite a while, if only because of the radical departure from my usual [human] fleshtones palette. Also, I used mostly transparent colours to allow the undercoat to "bias" the base colour, something that I will have to keep in mind when I return to the "mortal" world. There remains quite a bit of "tweaking" to be done, but this will have to wait until the oils have dried and the head is permanently attached.

I also went ahead and painted the left hand. Considerably more "tweaking" will need to be done to this extremity, but the bulk of the work is done.

FOLLOW-UP
The left hand is all-but-done, and the cravat is now painted. Once the latter is "dry", I will permanently attach the head.

Images to follow over the weekend. . .

Monarch Nosferatu--PAINTING (III): Oils 2--Pants & Boots

Just finished the first round with the pants and boots.

These were painted in black, of course, but using a different base mix, this one with a stronger and distinctly blue bias: to wit, a mix of Monestial Blue and Burnt Umber. Preliminary weathering has been incorporated in the wet application of the oils using Burnt Umber and Raw Umber Light. This will later be enhanced with pastels once the figure is mounted.

Feel free to ask any questions; as for me, the bench beckons!!! :-))))

Monarch Nosferatu--PAINTING (III): Oils 3--The Face (I)

Admittedly, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself; but in honouring the concept of the sbs, I am compelled to log the next step in today's extended painting session.

As I had my blacks out and ready to go, I figured I'd go ahead and block in the pupils. Those of you who have followed my sbs's in the past know that I usually do the irises first and then add the pupils. In this case, however, being that the scene occurs late at night, I wanted to depict dilated, "hunter's" pupils. Before I proceed with the rest of the face, I will carefully apply a bordure of icy blue: Max Schreck's eyes were apparently blue.

But first, the pants and the boots. . .

Monarch Nosferatu--PAINTING (III): Oils 1--The Frock

IT. . . HAS. . . BEGUN!!!!!!!!!!

I have just completed the basecoating and shadowing of the frock. It is coming out quite nicely and underscores my comment about the grigio-verde undercoat.

Base color was a 60-40 mix of Ivory Black and Raw Umber with a touch of Burnt Umber added. Shading was done with Mars Black and Weber's Permalba Black.

Now comes the highlighting. . .

FOLLOW-UP
Highlighting done! . . . Highlights are a mix of Liquitex Parchment and W&N Raw Umber Light, with smidges of Indian Red and Burnt Umber added in select spots.

One thing I would do different on a project of like scale is use brass tubing (instead of tin solder) for the foot pegs. That would relieve the considerable strain on the forearm from a top-heavy figure. . . On the other hand, I could just try to paint more often throughout the year rather than immerse myself in these once-a-year marathons. . . ;-)

More to follow!

Monarch Nosferatu--PAINTING (II): Undercoating--GRAPHIC UPDATE

Monarch Nosferatu--PAINTING (II): Undercoating 2

In anticipation of a busy weekend with the oils, I decided to go ahead and finish the undercoating of the sub-assemblies; i.e., the head and the hands. In other words, save for the night-cap, all visible flesh.

Rather than stick with my conventional formulae, I thought I'd have some fun and try out some new paints. My basic undead flesh was u/c'ed with Badger Freak-Flex's Nosferatu Flesh (#13-156) and Vallejo's Game Color Elf Flesh (#4). Some of you might recall my review of the Game Color series on EPH, where I lamented the thinness of the paint: next to Badger's Freak Flex, Game Color is as opaque as it comes! Keep in mind that BFF is meant to be applied with an airbrush, and as an a/b paint it would excel straight OOB; but I was pleased to see that it could also be applied with a brush, as long as one is careful and is willing to apply 2-3 coats. And as a tonal glaze (chromatic grisaille), it is superb!

Hands and head are now curing in the oven. I will block-in the night cap (Vallejo Model Color Black [#950]) tomorrow, as well as apply a tonal wash over the cravat and the cuffs.

I will try to post images in the next few days, or at the latest on Saturday before breaking out the oils. . .

07.01.10--FOLLOW-UP
The undercoating has been completed! Aside from continuing the tonal washes on the face using very dilute Vallejo MC Black (VERY interesting!), the only noteworthy twist was taking advantage of the plasticity of the acrylic to lightly texture the close-napped velvet cuffs.

Monarch Nosferatu--PAINTING (II): Undercoating 1

As I said in the last posting. . . "Let the painting begin!"

Given the scale of the project, the fact that it is essentially achromatic, and in the interest of moving things along, I decided to apply the undercoating with the airbrush. Legs and shoes were u/c'ed in Floquil (lacquers) Dull Black; while the frock (save for the cuffs) was u/c'ed in a mix of Dull Black and Roof Brown: the latter yielded an interesting very dark, warm grigio-verde that allows for a number of possibilities when it comes time to apply the oils. . .

The head will be u/c'ed entirely in acrylics with a brush.

Monarch Nosferatu--PAINTING (I): Primed

Let the painting begin!!!!!

A~

Monarch Nosferatu--PAINTING (I)

I had a spare hour or so this afternoon, so I decided to go ahead and get the spot-priming behind me. "Spot-priming" is what I call the select application of primer to suspected/known trouble areas. It's not something that, as figure modellers, we tend to do as a matter of course, but it is nonetheless an essential technique for most aspects of scale plastic modelling.

I use the G-S Mr. Surfacer primers for spot priming, due to their filling properties. In this instance, I used Mr. Surfacer 500 applied with an airbrush, with special attention being paid to the long lateral seams of the frock and the medial seams of the boots.

All in all, I was very pleased with the results. While flaws were indeed revealed (including one to which I didn't have a clue!), they were relatively few, and should be taken care of before calling it a night today.

If work isn't too bad, I will try to get the figure primed and on the paint bench by tomorrow evening. In any event, I should be applying the undercoat by this coming weekend.

FOLLOW-UP
The figure is now primed!!! I'll try to give it the final once-over over the next few days, and then post images of the primed piece.

28.12.09--UPDATE
The figure has been moved to the painting bench! I'll try to get images of the primed components posted by the weekend. Back to the hands!