Completed Nuts Planet Hannibal Bust

[Kimmo]

The last week or so has been one issue after another with the computer, internet and a whole lot of other stuff. I'm somewhat amazed I haven't had a meteorite crash into my house. Yet. The month isn't over. anyway, with the extra time on my hands I broke out this lovely bust that has been kicking around for several years and I had almost forgot about it. The main reason it was tucked away was I didn't feel I was going to be able to do it proper justice at the time. So, here it is, already well under way.











How I got here can be seen below. Primer, and a dry brush of white to set the lighting.













Main colours blocked in.










Continues in next post.


Kimmo

 

[Kimmo]

I really wanted to try and play with the lighting, and to give darker skin tones a go. Plenty of canvas to work with, that is good news bad news. I continued working up the armour and skin tones, I count the leopard cape as skin.











The face has gotten a lot of attention, the size demands it. Click for full resolution.





And a comparison to where we are now. Still some work to be done.





I'll list the colours used in the next update. I decided to go with purple and break from red as is usually seen for the plume. My reasoning is that the Phoenicians were known for their purple, and figured a person of high stature would want to use it. In any event, it brings a different look and there is no definitive evidence for what Hannibal looked like (lots of conjecture and speculation, yes), let alone his sartorial tastes, so we get to have some fun with artistic license. The biggest challenge to date has been to try and keep the main tones different, even though the base colours are quite similar. The next challenge is to get the silver bits looking more silvery, and then the spots on the cape, which should be fun if not tedious.


Kimmo

 

[Nap]

Kimmo

What can I say .....coming on really well , even now that animal skin is almost alive !

Like the purple choice

Looking forward to seeing more your going great on this ...glad you took it back

Following with interest

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[Redcap]

Fabulous work.
Gary

 

[Kimmo]

Cheers Nap and Gary!


Nap, the cape is perhaps the trickiest thing to paint. Somewhat ironically, the amazing texture makes painting rather difficult. The same applies to the beard. I found a combination of heavy washes and dry brushing was the easiest way to get paint where it needed to go. I also used a decent rather than a good brush, I was fairly certain that the tips would get destroyed when all was said and done. Speaking of brushes, I've basically used the #2 Kooh-I-Noor for everything so far. I should get an update in today at some point.

Kimmo

 

[Kimmo]

A bit more progress, still not happy with the silver. I did a bit of work on the fur by adding yellow to the highlights. I really like German Yellow, it's not a bright yellow and works well muted highlights.















And as promised, the colours.














I'll get to the spotting tomorrow, and try to get my silver sorted out.

Kimmo

 

[Kimmo]

The cape is now well and truly spotted. I think there's a bit of an issue with the proportions, it feels like it is more lion than leopard sized judging by the girth. In any event, the excellent but oversized texture and folds made this more challenging than it should be. I loaded up the brush with a very dark brown grey and got splotchy. There is a double row of elongated blobs running along the spine, then a series of open dotted circles going down to closed splotches as it nears the lighter shade and over the white. The open circles then got a drop of Orange Brown. It isn't really accurate as such, but the overall look is close enough. Some careful dry brushing and washes were applied to bring out the texture and get better definition. I'll have to see how things look when completely dry. The silver got some minor work done, still on the fence about it and whether or not to apply inks to all the metal.












And a look at the backside, which didn't get as much attention as it isn't really meant to be seen.








I need to give the plume and fur a flat coat as there is a bit of shine I don't really want. Like the inks, I'm not sure if I want dead flat or to add satin varnish to the metal. Not much left to do except for some final touches here and there.

Kimmo

 

[Nap]

Hi Kimmo

Catching up a bit here , thanks for the colours you've used ...and the well worded explanations

I do like the way you are going with the animal skin , personally I like the silver areas now but inks would give it a " zing" , as for metal my thoughts are that dead flat wouldn't look right ...but it's there in front of you !

Glad you put this on the bench , enjoying the results

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[Kimmo]

Cheers Nap!

Pressing on, I did decide to go with inks and satin varnish to help things stand out a bit more. Very light glazes helped bring some extra life to the silver bits and smoothed out a few spots on the helmet and armour.











And a close up of the head. Rather chuffed with how the skin turned out, worth clicking to get the full effect.





I'll let things dry overnight after getting some varnish on the plinth and see what things look like tomorrow.

Kimmo

 

[Kimmo]

Finally decided to stop trying to improve things, I could have gone on for a few more sessions but I'm not sure there would have been any noticeable difference. The silver got a bit of tweaking and I realised the neck needed a highlight. A few edges were redone, the satin varnish toned things down somewhat, which worked well in some areas and took away in others. Always some give and take. I'm happy with the results, particularly the face, hopefully I can translate the lessons learned into smaller scales as well. A gallery link, and a teaser:





Thanks to everyone who followed along and commented.


Kimmo

 

[Nap]

Lovely result Kimmo

Thanks for sharing the WIP

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[Kimmo]

Cheers Nap!

Kimmo

 

[Steve Ski]

Justice has been served quite nicely. Brilliant colors, I love it!

 

[Kimmo]

Cheers Ski!

Kimmo