Greaves Lightning!

Go, Greaves Lightnin'
You're burnin' up the quarter mile
Greaves Lightnin', go Greaves Lightnin'...

I had John Travolta and "Greased Lightning" stuck in my head as I painted Bailey's greaves yesterday. I've started saying "greaves" now since I had to Google "metal shin guards" and realized they have a name-- I needed to brush up on my knowledge of armor! Here's a wonderful reference I found that may help you too:

I haven't painted on Bailey since June 8 and I've been in a serious creative funk. Now that I finally have my desk back and the construction repairs should be completed today, I powered-through my apathy. I downloaded a new audio book, prepped my brand new palette and refused to leave my chair until her greaves were painted. Here's where I left off:

I researched a few metal greaves online and found a few not-too-shiny green-gold references I could use. I also tried to imagine where the light would fall within the concept of zenithal lighting. While this diffused, overhead lighting angle doesn't work for everything (especially realistic lighting techniques like other-source-lighting and hyper-realistic NMM), I'm practicing painting NMM one step at a time starting with the basics. Here are some of the references I found online that helped me imagine how light would reflect off different metals-- so far, Bailey's metal matches Antique Brass the best!

Putting all of this information together, and adding an extra touch of high-contrast in the corners as a stylistic choice, she turned out pretty well considering my current skill level. I painted up her boots and bodice leathers. Now I can finally attach her arm and start painting her gloves and weapons-- last but not least will be her cloak!

...Greaves Lightning! Go! Go! Go! Go-go-go-go-go... 

Sunday Funday 6/28

This weekend the in-laws visited less than 48 hours after we had our flood-damaged floors replaced. Thank goodness our place is no longer a construction zone! It was so great to see my MIL & SIL and spend time catching up since we hadn't seen them since traveling to visit right before Memorial Day (right before the floods). We went to brunch and then enjoyed the weather and played with our three dogs-- they were so happy to be reunited for a day of play! While the pups were fast asleep, we even found some time to play Dungeons & Dragons! We dusted off our dice immediately began face-planting with natural 1s-- at one point, we all failed a skill check and went tumbling down a chimney to take a considerable amount of damage right before the big boss fight. Hilarity ensued and we had to get extremely creative to avoid that last battle and escape with our lives since we absolutely refused to leave without the treasure!

Obligatory picture of food!

One pooped pup napping after playing outside with his buddies :)

Yesterday, after we hugged and said goodbye to MIL & SIL for now, I sat down to paint and was horrified. I opened my wet palette only to find all sorts of nasty bits of fur and dark spots (is that mold?!) on my sponge. I swear I'd soaked it in boiling water just the other week, but with all the construction going on, I needed to replace it. I also admit to accidentally leaving it out for a few days with the lid on-- never a good move in this humidity! Since I only had about an hour to paint last night, I decided to clean up my workspace and make sure my wet palette was good to go for some Monday night painting. I got a few base coats on Bailey Silverbell's crossbow weapon and greaves, but I soon became frustrated with the NMM and called it a night. Sometimes you feel rusty and try to push through it. Other times, you've put too much time and love into a miniature that you don't want to compromise. Since this is a miniature I'm painting just for myself, I'm fine with setting her down and beginning again tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll admire my squeaky clean wet palette and do some more research on how light will reflect off metal greaves. Here's what I've found in the meantime!

Moving Back In

We're finally able to move back into our house after a miserable month of flood damage, filthy floors, and replacement repairs. I haven't been able to do any painting since I've been camped out at a co-workers house. We're finally moving back in and I can PAINT again! I'll be posting some pictures later today once I get my desk set up. It's like moving in all over again. Super. Stay tuned for a time lapse video of me putting table back together tonight... and drinking wine.

*update* Here it is-- my first (crooked) attempt at a time-lapse video!