A little von Blucher bust progress

[Mongo Mel]

Hi,
I haven't had anything to post for quite a while now. I've really been in a slump. But I did make some progress recently.
I'm painting another von Blucher bust (this one's for a friend).
I tried something different on the hair this time. I like the results but would appreciate hearing what you good folks think.
I wasn't too happy with the eyes and these pictures just reenforced my feeling. So I've redone the whites and will repaint the iris portions soon. I'll probably go back to my usual blue as I don't like the green on this piece either.
So, as always, I'd appreciate any feedback you have for me.
Thanks,
Craig

 

[diosytexas]

blutcher

hi craig. i think the hair is looking good may be you can run through the way you did it, as for the eye's i think it's a shame you have changed them. the pupil's could have been darker but, i did like the colour they made a change from the normal. but saying that with this being a character figure you will have to go with what colour his eye's were which is documented some where no doubt. great skin tone goes well with the old look to the figure. keep it going good to see posting. dave.

 

[Mongo Mel]

Hi Dave,
I did some searching and found a description of his 'fiery blue eyes".
But the big reason I am repainting them is the position, not the color. I like the right eye but the left one was not shaped or positioned well enough to suit me.
For the hair, after painting the face, I then painted the hair with Liquitex Parchment paint. After it dried, I added thin washes of Sepia, going heavier in the folds and lighter around the front hair line and on top. When this dried, I gently highlighted with Parchment and highest highlights with Titanium White. I did the same for the mustache and sideburns, just heavier washes as every discription and painting I found showed them darker that the rest of his hair.
Now I just have to hope that my friend likes it too .

Parchment is no longer being produced but you can mix some up easily enough. I've had some success mixing Yellow Ochre and Lamp Black into Titanium White to give it just the slightest greenish tint.
Thanks for the feedback ,
Craig

 

[Stephan]

I like him, specially the eyes.

 

[megroot]

Great work Craig,

Indeed, the eyes are incredible. The color of the skin, well i've seen people who looks better then this. I find it to white, a little color off a sick man. I really like the color off his hair, thanks for the mix.
But it can be the light.

marc

 

[Mongo Mel]

Hi Steffan and Marc,
Thanks for the comments.
The skin is deliberately pale. My friend wanted him to look this way as he was in his 70's when the portrait that this piece is based on was painted. Couple that with his wild lifestyle, I'd bet he did look pretty sickly
Craig

 

[Christos]

Good work Craig!
christos

 

[vergilius]

great colouring

 

[periklis_sale]

nice one mate, i would prefer a bit more contrast on the face. is it finished?

 

[Sambaman]

Nice start Craig! The hair is really nice! This is such a beautiful sculpt, I'm excited to see you trying your hand at it. I can appreciate the fact that you are approaching the fleshtones with a creative twist. Can't wait to see him come together!

Jay H.
OKC

 

[Mongo Mel]

Hi guys,
First off, thanks for your comments. They're much appreciated.
Periklis,
Yes, the face is done. My friend wanted his skin to look very pale and in fact, used another figure I had done like this as an example for me to follow.
With the pale skintone, I thought that any more contrast in the shadows wouldn't look right. And I couldn't get any brighter highlights without using straight Titanium White. And that ended up looking too stark.
I talked with my friend last night and got a big thumbs up from him for how the bust is looking so far. He did agree with me that the eyes weren't quite right as far as position. And he thought he had read somewhere that Bluchers eyes were blue, not green. But he did like the bloodshot effect .
Thanks again everyone. I do count on your opinions to help me out like this
Craig

 

[Excatlon]

niec work my friend