Thanks, everyone! Jai, I'll take another look at the base. The blocks are meant to be stones, rather than specifically bricks. So I think there's a lot of possible variation on the acceptable sizes. I will see about tweaking the hinges to make them more prominent. And I had wanted to add something to the top of the pillar. I'll probably keep it simple, but will see if I can find something that will work.
I've been busy trying to finish up this figure. Since last time I took on the cord details and epaulets. I then turned my attention to the boots. I wanted to get a similar shiny black effect to what I did on the horse hair helmet crest. It's a slow process, so I've just done one of the boots (the other is only a sketch). I'll be wrapping that up very soon and then can turn my full attention to the base.
As for the boots, I'm writing up a detailed tutorial on how I did them. That should get posted in the next few days and I will share a link here. In the meantime, here's a quick preview. Color names refer to Reaper Master Series Paints. The images are pretty big, so click on the thumbnails to see the full size.
First, I began with a sketch of where I want the highlights
Then I start the slowly blend them back down into the black. I start with the lightest shades and gradually get darker and darker. Here's a look at that partially done. The image on the right has been blended from Vampiric Shadow (an off white) to Dark Elf Highlight and then to Dark Elf Skin.
From there the blending continues, going from Dark Elf Skin to Dark Elf Shadow. A little Pure Black was used in some shadows, but most of what appears to be black is just the Dark Elf Shadow.
Finally, I went back in with some Vampiric Highlight and then Pure White to add some extra pop to the reflection points. You can see the comparison below between the previous blend (on the left) and the one with the brighter reflections on the right. I also made a few tweaks so some of the blends (like on the top of the foot) while I was at it.