NaMoPaiMo: Beginning Detail Work

I finally checked off Sultanna's coat as finished - as someone said on the NaMoPaiMo Facebook site, sometimes we keep tweaking and fiddling when we are actually done and can move on.

Now it was time for detail work.

 I'd gone to Hobby Lobby and found a fan brush to use in shading Sultanna's mane and tail.

I mixed two parts Titan Buff and one part Burnt Sienna for the shading along with a little water to thin it. I also used that color on her hooves.

The previous day, I had watched several tutorials on how to paint eyes. I started by painting them white (and added Sultanna's star while I was using the color.)

I mixed Carbon Black and Phthalo Blue for her eyes.

The picture doesn't show it well, but I like how her eyes turned out. The tutorials also had a brown pupil in the middle, so I am not done with them yet.

I am not happy with how the muzzle turned out. I was going for a very soft grey as I did not want a stark contrast. 

 I'd mixed Titanium White with just a smidge of Carbon Black; today I will mix Titan Buff with the Carbon black and put on another layer.

 The hooves look a little too pink to me, so I will paint another layer using a mix of Titan Buff and less Burnt Sienna than I used last time.

I am determined to do my best, so I will be painting her chestnuts and frogs, too.

I have less than a week to finish her, but I am confident that I will.

NaMoPaiMo - The Ugly Stage Can Be the Excuse Stage

I have ten days to paint if I want to complete Sultanna by February 29, the ending deadline for NaMoPaiMo. And I do want to finish her by then. But I think that I may be procrastinating.

 I finally took the plunge and began shading her body color.

I mixed two parts Yellow Oxide to one part Titan Buff and got a nice subtle color that was a smidge darker than the coat color, and did an initial shading.

The light in my horse room, no matter how I shine it or the lamps that I bring in, is not what I'd like, but you can see the shading in the above photo. I like that it looks subtle and barely there. (I still need to do the lighter highlighting.)

 My detail brushes arrived and are ready for her eyes, hooves, and white markings.

I made a goof when buying a set of fan brushes for the mane and tail. These are way too big for a Stablemate! (I had a good laugh over that.)

For my twelfth painting session, I painted another layer of Titan Buff on Sultanna's mane, tail, socks, and hooves, covering some of the coat color that had gotten where it I didn't want it.

The mane is now the color I was working for; next I want to add some shading to it for a more realistic look. I'll stop by Hobby Lobby or Michaels today after I meet a friend for lunch and see if I can get a TINY fan brush for that step. (I am still smiling about those big brushes!)

But despite all the progress, I have been putting off the more difficult steps, the detail work that will bring Sultanna to life. The reason?  That detail work will also show me where I am as an artist. I am a beginner, no doubt about that, but can I really paint a model? Can I make it look lifelike, at least a little bit? I am not expecting perfection of myself, but I do want Sultanna to look nice.

And therein lies my hesitation. The ugly stage is also the excuse stage - "Well, it's still a work in progress so yes, we are in the ugly stage!" But getting beyond the ugly stage is when you find out if you can achieve what you'd hoped - a realistic looking model.

I have ten days to push myself out of the ugly/excuse stage and move forward. Wish me luck.