Okay here are my different tries with Joan 3.0's sword. When I first started painting everything was an experiment and it was fun, then the experiments got harder and more involved and it was still fun, then they got really hard and really time consuming and they are still fun, but also pretty frustrating. I recognize this as my own learning process. Every time I go to a workshop or take a class I have to break down my own recipes and notions and then build them back up with the new information incorporated. The victim this time is Ms. Joan. I started here following the steps from the Angel Giraldes book the I took the Alfonso Giraldes workshop and am triyng out a lot of what we worked on her. I am doing some stuff on the armor but teh sword is what I have really struggled with. Here is the progression:
The point where I got with the book :
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another angle:
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Pretty cool. A lot of blue.
Okay now after the Alfonso "Banshee" Giraldes Workshop:
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Have the contrast pumped up a little on the photo to show the sword. Kind of neat but reads like a wavy line on a flat surface. not sure what I did wrong but doesn't look right. This is after a 6 hour painting session trying different stuff on the sword. Notice i filled in the letters.
Took a few days off and this is where i went:
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A total departure from trying to make sense but I am getting some neat contrast and F' it I want a pink sword

Also using metallic medium in the highlights and fluorescent pink ink because why not.
Here is a view of the armor at this stage:
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Sort of a compromise between the two styles. I should really go back in and paint everything with those crazy horizon lines like the sword, but I need to keep my sanity. I have a few fantasy projects lined up that will let me work on this stuff without going nuts.
Here is my inspiration for the sword, Banshee's Ironman bust:
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The sword is very flat compared to Ironman but like I said, "learning process."
What do you guys think?