WIP Wyatt Earp Bust - 1/12 Jaguar release

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There's no going back now, more busts in the pipe line ? Exceptional paint work and the black looks great.

Good job Ken, as Bob said the black is great and the pinstripes on the waistcoat have come out a treat. (y)

Thanks Guys! It was fun (even though I had to walk away from the black a few times, to lower my blood pressure :rolleyes:) and I look forward to doing more busts in the future.
Ken
 
This looks great Ken. Your decision to alter the waistcoat colour and add the stripes has worked a treat and lifted the otherwise somber colouring.
 
On another forum I received a comment that the eyes appear too dark and maybe a catchlight would help.

My response:

"Not a bad idea. I thought about it after seeing the photos but went ahead and posted anyway. The eyes aren't quite so dark when viewed in person, but by putting a coat of gloss on them they appear much darker in the photo??? Also, in person you see a natural catchlight because of the gloss and I was afraid my painted catchlight would interfere. I will probably replace the gloss with a satin effect and add my own catchlight, but I might just lighten up the blue in the eyes at the same time."

The result is I did just as I said. Here is a new photo with the satin replacing gloss and the catch light added. Not a major difference, but I think it helps.

Thanks,
Ken


P1030216.jpg
 
I was asked on another forum about my flesh mix and could I list the colors.

Since I tried something entirely different from my normal approach on this figure, I thought I'd post my response here, on Planet Figure. I am not necessarily recommending anything, just telling you what I chose to do. Any questions, let me know.

Thanks,
Ken

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I have had the same consistency problems with flesh mixes from figure to figure. So, for this figure, I started fresh and bought the Vallejo 8 bottle face painting set. It comes with a simple guide to painting faces by Jaume Ortiz. Mainly, how to use a base color plus a few highlights and a few shadows, plus maybe a "reddish" glaze for the cheek area. Nothing really earth shaking but a very nice summary. The set is for fair and dark faces, 4 bottles for each.

Fair: base= #804 Beige Red, lights = #928 Light flesh, shadows = #859 Black red, reddish glaze = # 812 Violet Red

Dark: base= #876 Brown Sand, lights = #815 Basic Skin Tone, shadows = #814 Burnt Red, (reddish glaze = # 814 Burnt Red again) and #950 Black.

Vallejo also makes a 16 bottle version that covers more skin tones.

For Wyatt Earp I used the "Fair" set of colors. Just those 4 colors were all I needed and I think it is one of my better faces.

So for the time being I am going to keep it simple and use these minimal palettes for most of my figures. If I need other skin tones, I'll try and adjust these basic mixtures somewhat or use some final glazes to darken the result. This will cover most, but not all, skin colors.

Make no mistake, when painting, I tend to approach the task from a more technical aspect rather than an artistic one. This comes, I think, from a strong engineering background. I would love to be more "artistic" and have the ability to use all kinds of exotic colors, but it just tends to confuse me.
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The simpler, more straightforward approach, suits me best.
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Hope this helps a bit,
Ken
 
Well I think I found my next bust to work on hiding in my stash of figures. Wild Bill Hickok, a "companion" figure to Wyatt, also sculpted by Mike Good.

I'll start a new thread when I get going on him. At least one other figure in the pipeline first.

Thanks,
Ken


P1030223.jpg
 
Excellent work Ken... Lovely paint job! I agree - Hickok will be a perfect companion piece. Looking forward to seeing how he'll turn out (y)
Phil
 
Hello Ken,

I would suggest that the trouble is not that the irises of the eyes are "too dark". The trouble is that they are too big. The irises should occupy about 1/3rd of the visible surface of the eye. Actually it should be a tad more than that. You have them covering about 1/2 of the overall surface area. It is too much and the eyes look weird because of that. (I am looking at the Wyatt Earp photo you posted on this page.)

Personally, I have no use for catchlights. It is an attempt to make the eyes look glossy by adding a fake glint. The problem with a catchlight is that it is directional. If the direction of the actual light hitting the figure does not match the direction of the catchlight, then the effect is subverted. My personal preference is to simply apply gloss paint to the completed eye. This way you make the eye look wet by actually making it look wet. That is much more realistic, in my opinion.

Nice paint job. Except for the eyes, your figure looks great. I hope this helps!

Cheers!!

Mike
 
Hello Ken,

I would suggest that the trouble is not that the irises of the eyes are "too dark". The trouble is that they are too big. The irises should occupy about 1/3rd of the visible surface of the eye. Actually it should be a tad more than that. You have them covering about 1/2 of the overall surface area. It is too much and the eyes look weird because of that. (I am looking at the Wyatt Earp photo you posted on this page.)

Personally, I have no use for catchlights. It is an attempt to make the eyes look glossy by adding a fake glint. The problem with a catchlight is that it is directional. If the direction of the actual light hitting the figure does not match the direction of the catchlight, then the effect is subverted. My personal preference is to simply apply gloss paint to the completed eye. This way you make the eye look wet by actually making it look wet. That is much more realistic, in my opinion.

Nice paint job. Except for the eyes, your figure looks great. I hope this helps!

Cheers!!

Mike


Thanks for the tips Mike! I'll revisit this bust and see if I can improve the eyes as per your suggestions and I'll certainly keep your tips in mind for the future. I need to check out the Hickok bust and see if that is also in need of adjustment.

Your suggestions are always welcome.

Thanks,
Ken
 
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