2 weekends ago I attended a Masterclass by Miniature Monthly. We painted the bust "Mary Fixit and G.R.I.T.T." which consists of 2 characters. Elizabeth Beckley taught traditional painting on the Mary figure, the little fox girl.
Contrast is an area where I struggle and I was glad that was a big focus of the 1st day's class. By following along I noticed a big difference in contrast during the first few color transitions on the face:
This is where I got her at the end of the class. I was quite happy with her, except for the yellow leather. Didn't look good enough to me and I was struggling with the yellow paints we used at the class. Here she was at the end of the class:
Over this past weekend I finished her up. Completely redid the leather using some different colors to give it a more leathery look. I also finally decided that I wanted to at the stereotypical white tip to the end of her fox tail, which I think turned out great:
The 2nd day was Aaron Lovejoy teaching airbrush techniques on GRITT. I've always had a difficult relationship with my airbrush and was really glad Aaron was able to very clearly give direction and advice. Now I feel more confident with my airbrushing, but I know I still need to practice. This was at about the halfway point of GRITT:
Putting both pieces together at the end of the masterclass was really satisfying:
Over the weekend I also started working on GRITT's backpack. I stippled a couple different browns over the area, which made a really nice effect, then started on some highlights:
This is what I've worked up to at this time. Some of the higlights seem too extreme and it seems like I've lost some midtones. Also I want to keep working on the little freehand to make it pop more, as well as ensure the fox tail flourish on the cursive 'M' reads well (Also some of the paints I'm using apparently dry very shiny):
