The Vampire Bat

Used a flash on this series of shots (no cracks about vampires aren't supposed to cast shadows!). . .

Vampire Bat - Painting: Wrapping-up

And then there was one. . .

Save for the face, the Bat was all-but-done. But with the eyes behind me, the face was the tallest hurdle in the race! More zombiesque than vampire, it was a significant challenge. It finally boiled down to reproducing in a reduced scale with brushes what is regularly done in the larger scales with an airbrush. Once I was committed to that, it was smooth sailing. . .

And so we are down to 0 with less than 40 hrs. to go. Well, not quite, as there are still the final once-overs, a select number of to-be-done outlining sessions, polishing of bases, etc. But considering where we were less than 24 hrs. ago, I can consider myself . . . DONE!

Also on the agenda tomorrow is the long overdue photo-shoot!

Vampire Bat - Painting (V)

Once I returned to the bench and took stock of what was still left to be done, I felt a disquieting surge of what could only be described as panic--or as I prefer to describe it, adrenaline. And so, without so much as changing my clothes, I loaded up the airbrush and went to work on the Bat's eyes.

Mission accomplished! Things went A LOT better than anticipated-- thank God for Vallejo Model Air!--and I am 90% satisfied with the results. And it certainly does create the effect I was striving for!*

So. . . with the airbrushes cleaned and put away, it's time to get back on familiar ground and get ready for what will be close to an all- nighter. . .

*EERIE! I have it lit by ambient light--effectively, low-key lighting: the lamps are on the other pieces hopefully speeding things along-- and it is positively eerie!

FOLLOW-UP . . . The craggy pedestal is now done. A few minor touch-ups and tweaks might still be in order, but these--if any--can be addressed during the pre-Show final once-over. All that remains to be done on the Bat is the face. . .

Time for a little gnosh, maybe 40 winks. . . and then back at it!

Vampire Bat - Painting (IV)

Since my last posting, I have been working on the Vampire Bat's cowl and cape. . . It is now done--and so am I!

WHEW!!!!

Tweaks to follow on the morrow. . .

PS--Before calling it a night (or at least resting the eyes and back for a few hours), I will permanently attach the Bat to its display base.

By way of follow-up (13.02.11), the bust is now mounted on its display base, with additional groundwork modelled in Aves Apoxie-Sculpt.

The eyes have it. . .

By way of update, I'm about ready to begin Phase II of the eyes on the Bat and the Red Skull. The former will not be completed until later next week, as it will involve some "special effects" that are uncharted territory for me; the latter should be ready for glazing by Sunday. . .

FOLLOW-UP. . . The Red Skull's eyes are now ready for glazing. With the eyes done, I went ahead and completed painting the lower portions of the cranium and jawline, and permanently attached the head.

Vampire Bat - Painting (III)

With a little over a week to go, I was finally able to break out the oils on the Bat!

Tonight, I did the grey of his torso. If everything goes as planned (and people call me a "pessimist"--HA!), I'll have the cape and cowl done by the end of the weekend.

Vampire Bat (II)-- Undercoating

VB is now undercoated! I wish I could enhance this posting with images, but I've got two other pieces waiting in the wings. If I can manage to squeeze off a few shots before I break out the oils, I will edit this post.

U/C'ing was very straightforward. The only mentions of note are that I "painted" the exposed face entirely in acrylics (Badger Freak-Flex) as a rough chromatic sketch to serve as a foundation for the oils to follow; and 2) I used Vallejo Oxford Blue (#807) for the cowl and cape.

BACK TO THE BENCH!

Vampire Bat (I)-- Priming

As I won't know day-to-day when I will have the opportunity to string a thread of meaningful posts together, I am going to [try to] break these sbs's down to their structural components. Thus, step 1 is Priming, and the Vampire Bat is now ready to accept the acrylic undercoating. . .

On to Acts I. . .

The overtures are completed for two of our protagonists (with two waiting in the wings), so as stages are prepared for the respective first Acts (bka undercoating), I just wanted to let you know that the "Vampire Bat" and "Doom" are now primed, and curing. If it's not too cold or humid tomorrow, I might start blocking-in some acrylics. . .

Kelley Jones' Vampire Bat-PAINTING

As priming will not be done until the weekend--later in the week at best--I thought I'd get the ball rolling with images of the pre-primed bust. . . Consider this the overture to what is to come. . .




As I mentioned earlier, the only real modifications to the stock piece was the reduction in height of the base, and the adjustment of the attachment of the bust--and thereby the "pose"of the bust--to the same.

PAINTING SEASON HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY DECLARED OPEN!