Eki's WIPs - finally got the gumption to post something

[Graishak]

You're mastering the painting of eyes! That's looking great. A real improvement if I remember back struggles from the past ;-)

[Kallfa]

I second that, very nice work on the eyes ! And don't worry if you mess something up, that's the best way to learn. Keep up the good work!

[gorb]

Yeah, those eyes now look striking. Very well done!

[ekipage]

Thanks for the kind comments all! I here is a slight update (little better lighting - it really helps when you have the right "white balance" setting) mostly working on the leather top after I gummed up the face a little bit. I didn't get the red to the right consistency so I have some tide markings and am going to have to try to fix the face (at least the cheeks part) hopefully. Oh, and ignore the harsh highlight on the right shoulder (left side of pic)...some how I spilled a drop of orange paint there, even though I didn't use any pure orange on the bust recently and just used it mixed into the Burnt Umber as I work on the leather....go figure

[Lone Lemming]

You can also try to add some red wash to the corner of the eyes, will look more natural.

[ekipage]

Thanks for the tip Lone.

Took a bit of a break since my back has been acting up lately and just wasn't in the mood to paint (or feel like I could do it with any accuracy)

Glazed some red on the cheeks (if you can see it with the crap light I am still fighting with right now). Tried to get some of the red in the corner of the eyes, but either my glaze was too opaque or not enough on the brush so just wasn't getting the red in the corner of the eyes yet. I have also been playing with my cameras settings trying to get some more experience with manual mode, so that is probably a bigger reason why the photos look bad. I need to quit trusting what the image looks like on the tiny screen on the camera and take some multiple pics with different f/stop and aperture settings and then see which looks best (instead of just one pic and going with it).

[gorb]

I'm sorry to hear you are having back pain, that always makes life barely livable.
The figure looks great though, with a bit of warmth in the face she looks even better!

[Dexter0015]

This is coming along quite nicely. The addition of color surely is an improvement.

[ekipage]

Thanks Gorb, yeah the back pain is no fun.

Thanks Dex

Okay, at least partially figured out the issue with photos (I really need to remember that "white balance" control)! I keep forgetting that I have been out taking some photos and have the white balance set up for those shots. So, here is a little bit better photo (nothing new done to the bust)

[Kallfa]

I wish you the best about your back pain, it can’t be easy to live with. Indeed, the last photo is much better. Keep up the nice work !

[gorb]

The colors look much better in the latest photo - white balance will mess them up, always good to have it set right.

[BloodASmedium]

Excellent nick- gorgeous piece- those eyes!!!

[ekipage]

Thanks all, only problem I have now is that I totally missed that she has a tiny little bump on here nose (missed a piece of excess material when cleaning it up) and now that is all I can focus on! Well that either means filing that bit down and repainting it or learning how to paint a zit

Merci Kallfa, yes, it can make it difficult to paint (just not in the mood when the back is at its worst).

Gorb, yeah, just seem to keep forgetting that setting when I go from outdoor to indoor pictures

Grazie mille BAM! I will give busts this prop, they eyes are much easier, just have to be more detailed

[ekipage]

Hey all, going to get back into painting a little more regularly. Kind of got out of it as I was getting into some photography as I figured it would get me outside more, and it did at the cost of painting. Here is some of the newer stuff I am working on:


Still plan to work on the previous bust and some of the other small figures I have worked on. Actually the Aztec one I finished up, just need to get a pic of it and put it on a base (that I haven't figured out what I want to do yet). Hope everyone is doing well!

[Kallfa]

More projects, you make a good start to the new year . Have fun with them !

[ekipage]

Thanks Kallfa!

Small update on the new bust I am working on. I switched up the head dress/hood color as I realized the base tan I had was starting to look to similar to the highlight skin tone

I also realized (you think I would have thought of this before I started it) this is the first time I have tried painting a dark skin tone and not 100% sure the colors are working, but I think it is looking alright. Still need to do some more work on it and some glazing to blend the tones a little better. Also realized I should have paid more attention when I was cleaning the bust as there are some print lines (especially on the arms) that I should have sanded down. I was struggling with cleaning up the cloth (it is textured) and trying not to lose the texture while removing lines and flash that I completely forgot about really looking at the arms

[Graishak]

Your experiment was a success. The skin tones look very well!

[ekipage]

Thanks Graishak! Roughed in the black for the eyes (looks much better with pupils starting to take shape), put some pink in the lower part of the eye, and started on the lips. Still not sure if I should go a little lighter on the highlights though as it kind of looks too close to each other, but I actually kind of like it that way