Monday, February 24, 2020

NaMoPaiMo: Week IV: I DID IT!!!

Unlike in previous weeks, I actually did some work on Saturday before driving out to a second interview & job shadowing over the weekend. With the texture now showing through on the scales, I was torn on whether or not to still use the glitter polish. The shading looked nice and I just wasn't sure. So I texted some friends as well as asking on Model Horse Blab.

While waiting for replies on the subject of "glitter or no glitter" I glossed the eyes, hooves, antler and scutes of my kirin to make them stand out a bit more from the body.


Saturday night and into Sunday afternoon I was busy interviewing and job shadowing. Once I got home, I eagerly looked at what friends and Model Horse Blabbers had to say about "glitter or no glitter"...

It was tied. 

(Paint with the glitter polish compared to the Kirin)
I was reassured by this answer as it told me I probably wouldn't ruin my Kirin by using the glitter polish. That being said, I glossed the scales as they were, not wanting to risk it.

With a reminder to add chestnuts from the NaMoPaiMo Facebook group painters, I added chestnuts to my kirin as well as my signature on the bottom of a front hoof.

(Don't forget your chestnuts!)
It wasn't until this morning that I looked at my kirin again and felt unsatisfied with the scales as they were. The shading underneath had been done under the assumption that the scale texture would not show up through the layers of paint and polish. While the shading didn't look bad, I wasn't 100% satisfied with it either. On went the polish with my heart in my throat!


I nearly cried...

From joy! 

My kirin now looked exactly how I'd envisioned! His scales shone like jewels, his color was semi-realistic on his fur, and I'd used multiple mediums to achieve this look just like I'd declared from the start! I did it! Meet Emerarudo! 


While this is technically the end of my NaMoPaiMo adventures, there will still be a post for Mini Adventures and a "reflections" post from my experiences this year.

Till the next time!



Saturday, February 22, 2020

NaMoPaiMo: Week III: Ch-Ch-Changes!

As per usual, the weekend I did not paint. What WAS unusual was that I did not resume painting until Wednesday. Monday, I was just not feeling well and the idea of smelling sealer was not appealing in any way, shape or form. Instead, following last week's trend with Lucky-Rory served as inspiration

"A little less than 2 weeks left! You've got this!"
Tuesday I had an interview for a new job that was an hour and forty minutes drive from me as well as a riding lesson that I needed to teach that evening.

When I did resume work on Wednesday, my poor dog, Lucky, tweaked something in his back again. This time has been the worst compared to his past times. I honestly worried that he was paralyzed in his hind end (thankfully it was not that extreme as he can still walk). There was an emergency visit to the vet and now he's on some pain killers and rest for two weeks.

(My precious Lucky before he tweaked his back, he's got several dog beds to lay on-and he's currently laying on his extra soft one now. Yes I am aware of the growth on his paw, it does not bother him so I've left it alone.)
I currently have WAY too many in progress horses and I think only one...no two, are currently a sales pieces. I am definitely remedying that after I finish my NaMoPaiMo model. At least they aren't all for my personal collection. Three are for friends, one is for a swap and then the rest are mine...oh boy.

(Not sure why Adipose's donkey was on my table...)
I've also neglected the Facebook page the last few days, which I'm making up for now, even as I write this blog. As I stated in the prequel, but it bears repeating here: I always want to ensure that people feel their efforts, struggles and hard work are acknowledged. 

(The "Pastel Table")
After several more layers of pastel on the points, I finally said "heck with it" and plopped my kirin back on the acrylic table to get some acrylic on the legs and muzzle to be closer in coloration to the mane, tail, feathers and beard. I don't mind how it looks as the pastels that remain on the legs still softened the shading enough for my tastes.

With the points done, I re-painted some of the yellow on the hooves, antler and scutes to make sure it would help with the subtle shading. From there, I did the first layer of gold...and I'm not sure I like the gold. I will most likely put one more layer of gold on tomorrow and if I still don't like it, I will switch over to silver.

Thursday, I focused on getting the antlers to silver as I really disliked the gold. It took several layers as my metallic paints are not great at covering other colors. Once there I started the eyes by putting down a white layer of paint...and then I stopped. Originally, I intended to paint blue eyes, but the more I thought about it, and the more I looked at the model, I just wasn't sure blue eyes were what this model needed. I set it aside for the rest of the day.


Today (Friday) I went with brown eyes, and I'm so happy I did! This kirin is really starting to look near completion! Once I finished the eyes, I went over some of the white dapples again as they've been fading with the sealer being added, and did one last layer of matte sealer.

(Tri-colored eyes before adding the pupil)
Once I'd applied the matte sealer I started on finishing the scales. First, I put down a layer of dark green nail polish which made the scales that much nicer and softened the shading further.

(It's so shiny!)
Aaaaannnd, I reached a stopping point again due to the scale texture being so visible. My original idea was to add glitter polish over the dark green, but now I’m wondering if it’s necessary? I have a whole weekend to ponder it so we’ll see. The end is in sight! We can do it!

Til the next time!



Wednesday, February 19, 2020

NaMoPaiMo: Mini Adventures! TWO!

NaMoPaiMo: Mini Adventures!
Week Two: Painting begins!

Adipose started off the week with an unexpected visitor. It would seem that my Quality Control Manager, Renji, the cat, needed to inspect that Adipose's work space was adequate. He also had some words with Rory to make sure that the Goldfish was not being imposed upon by this strange, white creature.


On the same day I helped Adipose post his blog entry; he started to paint! He asked me for my help in picking out colors for his donkey model but insisted that I let him do the painting. The base coat went down without a hitch!


Thursday came, and Adipose was super excited to shade his base coat! He picked some pretty bold colors and I warned him that a little bit of color, especially on white, goes a long way. Adipose brushed it off and eagerly went into his painting. 


I went back to working on my own model (and several others). I didn't see what happened, but the happy sounds of painting soon turned to sounds of exasperation. I wasn't too concerned, as sometimes I did that too, especially if I am trying to paint areas that are hard to access. Next thing I knew, I heard a small clicking sound, like a tiny paintbrush being thrown. Now I was concerned.

I got up from my table and walked over to find Adipose staring forlornly at the wall. Double-checking that his donkey was still on his table, I asked him what was wrong. Adipose claimed that he ruined his model. Frowning, I went to check his model, as when I had given it a cursory glance before checking on him I'd seen nothing wrong. Sure enough, the model, while starkly shaded, was in good shape. No nicks, dings, broken parts, nadda. The donkey was perfectly fine. I told Adipose that the model looked fine and he asked if I'd seen the paint job. I informed him that I had. He asked why I wasn't upset as it could be plainly seen the model would need to be restarted. 



I informed him that his model was not a lost cause and that it could definitely be made into the donkey he wanted it to be. He countered that it looked nothing like any of my horses on my acrylic table. It took a lot of reassuring, but eventually I did convey to Adipose that while the stark coloration looked ugly right now, we could soften it with a layer or two of his base color. No model (that I know of) has ever looked great on its first couple layers of paint, and many suffer from the "ugly stage" for quite some time. It was a natural step in the process and he could keep working on it as it was not a lost cause. I told Adipose that he should probably take the rest of the day off from painting, and continue working on his model tomorrow. He agreed and apologized for losing his brush. 

It turned out that it would be several days before Adipose or I returned to work, but when we finally got back to it today (Wednesday) we went at it with a vengeance!

First, I had to demonstrate on a model what Adipose needed to do. To soften his shading, Adipose needed to do washes of white over his shading. 


Adipose only had to do one wash layer, while I had to do four on my pony. This left Adipose feeling quite smug about his painting abilities. 


Then we moved on to markings. I advised Adipose to use several colors for the spot markings as the fur color would not be the same color throughout on a live donkey. He did this with remarkable speed and his efforts looked quite good!


Once he'd completed his markings, Adipose moved on to softening those said markings. Using a white colored pencil he softened the edges of the spots so that they blended with the fur a bit better. 

After that, Adipose started to work on his details. He started on his eyes and hooves, but then decided that he needed a break. Especially after seeing that I'd zoomed through my Appaloosa pony. He couldn't believe who quickly I'd gotten it done. I informed him that I had more experience and as I liked to work on several projects, it was only natural the pony would be finished.



Not in the least bit reassured, Adipose said he was going to find the Doctor...there was also something about time travel to speed up his painting process...?

Til the next time!






Saturday, February 15, 2020

NaMoPaiMo: Week II: Pastels, Pastels Oh the Pastels!

Saturday and Sunday have just become designated days off. After working at the barn, I usually do not have the energy to work on art.

Monday rolled around and while I got sealer on my model, for some reason, I just could not commit to my model. So while I procrastinated, I posted a picture of Lucky to encourage others on the Facebook page. After all, who doesn't like to see a cute animal picture?

(Lucky believes in everyone! You can paint/finish your model!)
I also received an unexpected visit from my Quality Control Manager. Renji decided that he needed to take a look at all of the pastel horses on my pastel table. I guess it was suspicious that I had so many horses on that table. Usually the acrylic table has the majority of the horses. Later in the day, there also happened to be a family emergency, so that ended any slight indication of wanting to work my model.

While the situation wasn't resolved on Tuesday, I was in a better mindset and set to work...sort of. I first worked on using up the rest of my sculpey clay can making more of my "Ruthless" magnets. I will be donating a couple to NaMoPaiMo as prizes (along with a couple other goodies).

(Four of the six I ended up making of my Ruthless magnets)

Eventually, I did get to work on my kirin. I got three layers on my model and was content with that as my base color, as I did not want the model to be too beige in color. I was aiming more for a cream base.


For some reason, by the end of that session, I decided that my Kirin needed some dapples. It didn't help that the image I was referencing had dapples in it too. While I have a method I like for dappling in pastels (eraser), I decided that this time, I would try something new. I only started dabbling in pastels last year & I know I have a lot to learn!

On Wednesday, I started shading my kirin's fur, and adding in the dapples. This time, I was just adding with the pastels. There would be no eraser and no paint. By layer three, I liked my dapples and shading enough to call the body shading good. Tomorrow, I'd be ready to start on the dark points I wanted my kirin to have.


Thursday proved to be a busy day in the studio. I really knuckled down and set to work on adding the dark points to my kirin as well as darkening the mane, tail, beard and feathering. 


It was at this point that I decided to add in some pigments. Usually, I don't touch these as they just seem more intimidating. Pastels are one thing, they are easier to get if I do go through them, but pigments...yeah I am not at a point I can get those readily, so I treat the small containers I do have like they are treasure. 



I was feeling really good as I worked on my model. This kirin was looking EXACTLY like I had envisioned!

So, of course, doubt set in. 

By the time I finished for the day, I was frowning at my model. I wasn't upset with it, but I was wondering if the mane and tail were really heading in the direction I wanted? Did I still want this to stay 100% to what I had in my head? How much dark is too dark? Flaws also started to pop off the model too! I could see several dingle-berries (mentor's name for them lol) some spots with pigment/pastel that wasn't meant to be there, and the list just went on!

I stopped for the day.


As artists, we are very self-criticizing. It's both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing, as it means we are always, ALWAYS striving to do better. It's a curse because we are always belittling our work, even if it's better than our previous works, or one of the best we've done. When I get to a point where I am hearing so much self doubt in my head that means its time to stop on the project for the day. Tomorrow, with fresh eyes, I can look at it from a fresh perspective and without all the negativity. 

It's a bit silly too because I KNOW that many of the things that are being picked at I can fix! Some are just lessons learned for prepping that I can use for the next time. Others are just worries and nitpicking that I need to take with a grain of salt. That being said I utilized the NaMoPaiMo pastel experts asking how they did manes & tails. 

(You can see for yourselves that the advice went a long way!)

Mondays & Fridays are physical therapy for my shoulder & this session wiped me out! Thankfully, I was able to read & take the advice of our pastel experts (thank you all so much!) and base coated, in acrylic, the mane, tail & feathering. This has revealed that I have a long way to go on my points to get them dark enough, but that’s fine. We’ve got two weeks left in February yet. That being said, I did grab my colored pencils & did some simple shading to be softened with pastels next week.

(Stopping point for this week)

Till the next time.




Wednesday, February 12, 2020

NaMoPaiMo: Mini Adventures!

NaMoPaiMo: Mini Adventures!
Week One: Choosing Your Work Space Shouldn't Be This Hard!

This year for NaMoPaiMo there has been the addition of Team Minis Painting Minis (#teamminispaintingminis). Originally, I did not intend wrangle any of my figures to participate, as my NaMo kirin, while going smoothly so far (knock on wood) is quite challenging!

However, I soon found myself wanting to participate in the fun everyone was having with their action figures from Tony Stark/Ironman, Dr. Strange, The Doctor (13th), Batman, Bucky (The Winter Soldier), Natasha/Black Widow, etc. The problem was...I don't HAVE many action figures.

At first I considered my T-Rex-Rexy...but she promptly mangled her model!


Then I remembered that I had a pose-able Kakashi Hatake (Naruto) figure. But like any good Leaf Village ninja...he was nowhere to be found (maybe next year).

From there, I considered my Funko Pop Doctor (13th) but as someone was already using a (way cooler) Doctor, I didn't want to detract from it. Then it hit me! I had a Funko Pop Adipose (which, let's face it, is basically the same as the regular Adipose!) from the Doctor Who series.

So Adipose was brought out. Now the next question was-what model?

At first, Adipose wanted to paint my new Maggie Bennett micro, Timken. I promptly shut that idea down as I wanted to paint it lol.

(The shot-down Adipose model-January 2020 Maggie Bennett release-Timken!)

I also had to stop Adipose from taking from my sales box of model horse bodies. I explained that it was my tradition to keep the NaMoPaiMo models as they served as a gauge of my skills through the years. Adipose decided to adopt this tradition too and went to the correct box of "keeper bodies".


Finally, the chosen model was pulled out a (pre-primed) Breyer Stablemate Donkey! A fantastic choice!


Next, Adipose had to pick out a color to paint his model. Of course, Adipose wanted to paint a white donkey. Even though it's his first time, I reminded him that there should be more of a challenge to painting his model. After some huffing, he settled on a red/chestnut spotted donkey (dominantly white please & thank you!)

With the color chosen, I helped Adipose to my studio tables. Now, I don't claim to be an organized or clean person, but apparently my space was a bit too...crowded? Disorganized? Whatever it was, Adipose was appalled at its state!


So began Adipose's search for a space to paint! He looked high, he looked low, but many, many, MANY! Spaces were occupied by intimidating sizes of model horses! Adipose couldn't oust them from their spots! They were too big! Plus, he asked and I said no they were staying. 

Finally, Adipose felt he'd found the perfect spot. It had the room for his little table, model and most importantly, himself! A few stuffed animals and a Hippocampus with far too high an opinion of herself would just have to be relocated! Plus, the view was just grand!



At first, I was against it. After all, that area was Rory's (Goldfish) space. He quite liked his sea-themed exterior. Also, there was the issue of sealing. Not to mention the fact that the spot was on perfect level for Lucky's tail to swat Adipose and his model off! Even a curious cat may want to take a swat at them! Was it worth the risk? 

Adipose made some good points-it was well lit, he wouldn't seal his model near the tank, and he'd even get to know Rory beforehand. After these points? How could I say no? Plus the background for pictures would never be boring with Rory!


Adipose spent most of the day getting acquainted with Rory. While Rory still seemed wary of Adipose, he at least wasn't outright against the addition. I think Rory found a certain resemblance shared between himself and Adipose. Maybe Adipose felt the same connection? He does look kind of fish-like! Rory was at least not against the move, unlike the Hippocampus, Ursula. Oh did she put up a fuss at being moved! Even reasoning with her that she was now out of a dog's tail range, she was still squealing and striking out with her fore-hooves...she even tailed slapped me!

The arduous move aside, I managed to get Adipose and his model settled and ready for painting to begin! 


Adipose says, "Till the next time!"









Saturday, February 8, 2020

NaMoPaiMo: Week I: Questioning my Sanity

For once, I started the month off with an already prepped model...but I still didn't start painting until day three. Working at the barn & traveling around left me worn out this weekend & unwilling to do more than curl up on the couch and read with Lucky snuggled up next to me.

(Tired out Lucky accurately summed up my energy level over the weekend)

That being said, thanks to my prepping, it was an easy thing to start on my model, on Monday, by starting with a yellow base coat. While I'm not sure how common colored base coats are in the hobby, I've found that they are quite helpful. They add a little extra to the overall color, even if it's very slight.


I nearly forgot that I stated in my entry that I would do acrylics & pastels on this Kirin. Bearing this in mind, I decided that the scales would be done in acrylic, while the actual "horse" part of the Kirin would be done in pastels. Based on my sketch, I wrote down that I would have an emerald green for the scales, as Kirin are described as having "jewel like scales". I also knew from my sketch that the body would be a light color-maybe a cremello or some other light coloration. Admittedly, I've been pondering the colors of the horns, hooves, mane and tail. 


Starting off with the scales, it became clear that between my priming, base coat and now the dark green, I was fast losing the definition of the sculpted scales. I was hopeful that I would be able to save them even knowing that there were more layers to come.


Continuing with the process, I started to add shading to my scales basing them off the hues seen in an emerald and using a green colored Betta Fish to aid in shading. It was at this point that I questioned my sanity. Not only was I struggling to find where I had made the scales as some had already been lost, but I was questioning why I'd made them so tiny to begin with! It was hard to apply a rough mid-tone to the scales. 


I finished the mid-tone color I wanted each scale to have, and it was at this point that I decided that I was going to ignore the sculpted in scales. Too many of them were lost or would soon be lost in the next wash of paints. 


In between layers on my actual model, I was also working on pasteling several models. I was testing a new technique to see if it was something I would use on my NaMo horse. I'm glad I tested it. While I liked it at first, I soon grew annoyed with it. Now, it was probably my application, but trying to soften the acrylic paint shading, surprisingly, annoyed me more than just using a flat base coat. The closet one I liked, and would use again on a dark horse, was my Morgan mini by Maggie Bennett. I actually shifted him over to the pastel table as I wasn't getting the effects I wanted on him via paint. 

(The pastel models some with paint shading some without near the start of their journey)
The next step on my NaMo model was to add in the rest of the shading. First, adding light tones on him followed by darker tones. When I do this I try to not use black, white or even grey. I prefer to use colors as I find they add more to the model than the neutral black, white and grey. Even more so in this instance with the scales. I decided to go with a blue and yellow (though I first used a lighter green than the base and didn't like it). You can see in the picture below that I wasn't as restricted in my application of the scales and more free-flowing.


To finish off the scales, I went over them with a wash of the original base color. To do this I used a thin, nearly watery, wash of that dark green so that it softened the shading but didn't lose the details I just put on. While I know it will look better once the scales are glossed; I can't help wanting a more shimmery or jewel like look to them. I will have to see what I have in my bag of tricks (and maybe phone a friend too!)


The next day (Thursday), I started off the day by bringing out good ol' Paint. Paint is there to take on just that-paint. He's my test model for paint thickness, color, etc. This time, Paint got brought out for extensive testing. While I do not have metallic paints on hand, I do have nail polish. More than is probably healthy for someone who does not use nail polish outside of painting model horses...

(Four polishes-convenient spot of green paint for glitter polish to go over)

Anyway! First, I pulled out four green polishes to test thickness, color etc. Two paints were immediately removed as one was too thick when applied while the other was just not the right color, even if it was a thin coat. The other two were a glitter polish and a nice dark green. I set up a test area that mimicked the scale pattern on my kirin and first put on a single layer of each.

Upon seeing the lovely thin coat I could get with the dark green, I put a second coat of glitter polish down (to see if I liked that better than a single layer) as well as putting some over the dark green. I was quite pleased with the glitter polish over the dark green and decided that would be went I used on my kirin. 

(The test area for top two polishes)
From there I was more focused on my horses that needed pastel layers than my NaMoPaiMo horse. That being said, I did get one layer of white over the yellow so that my kirin was no longer dominantly yellow. As much as I love what colored bases do to subtly shift a colors, I am more than happy that 80% of it is gone! I will do at least one more white layer of acrylic (if not two) and will than start on my pastel layers. I'm aiming for a cream colored horse with dark brown points, mane and tail. I'm thinking the scutes will be gold, but I might use paint one last time to see what I like better with the green scales.

(Much better!)
I did get one last layer of white over the yellow on Friday, as I was having quite a rough day (honestly over something silly that I shouldn't have let bother me...but alas, it did). It was a struggle to make myself do even that, but I'm happy I did that small bit of painting as it did improve my mood. Now I just need to seal the model and I can move on to pastel work.

This week I have also finished several models that I started either in January or even last year!





So that's all for my week in NaMoPaiMo. No painting today as I was at the barn giving riding instruction lessons with another instructor. I also have a mini/action figure on Team Minis Painting Minis, but that's a blog for another day. 

Till the next time!