The Once and Future King

[bailey03]

I started the figure, Arthur, from Figone the other day.  The scene I'm trying to create will be the young king Arthur right after he's pulled the sword from the stone.  The figure is relatively simple, not a lot of details, so I decided to add a bit more using some photo etch from Etch Master.  I attached the shield to his back along with the strap over his shoulder.  This will allow me to add some more heraldry to the figure.  I also swapped out the sword blade for one a bit longer.  I wanted the exaggerated length so it really looked like a child holding an adult's sword.

 

The face was a bit of a challenge. I needed to downplay the details as too many shadows or dark lines would ruin the youthful look. Still, I tried to build up some contrast around the cheeks and under the chin. I tried to keep the clothing simple so I stuck with primary colors: red, blue, and yellow. For a little more detail I did a checkerboard pattern on his pants. I've done this on a number of figures so it's something I feel pretty comfortable doing. I started with a base coat of yellow (palomino gold) and then took a medium blue (brilliant blue) and sketched in the squares. Try to keep the squares uniform and follow the lines of the pants. At this stage it's still pretty rough. Take a step back to evaluate the lines and square sizes. I then make a variety of tweaks to get it to look a bit better (adjust the squares to line are parallel, fix the sizes as needed, etc). Now I go back in with the yellow and do all of my shading and highlighting (chestnut gold, buckskin pale), followed by the blue (burgundy wine, ashen blue). It's at this stage that I try to clean up the lines and sharpen the corners. Finally I do a number of passes back and forth between yellow and blue cleaning up whatever needs to be fixed. If you're trying this for the first time, pick a surface that is relatively flat (not too many folds and bends). And you might find larger squares are easier to begin with than smaller ones. On a relatively simple figure like this one those extra details can really help. I also plan to add some heraldry to the shield, but haven't gotten that far yet.

 

 

Here's how the original figure looks before the accessories.

[CashWiley]

I'm so happy you began posting here, your stuff is very inspirational! Those photo etch details look great, too.

 

The info on the checker pattern is interesting, as I did a very similarly colored striped trews recently, totally differently. I finished the yellow and then put the blue over it, I can see how doing it all in base coats to clean it up would be much easier, especially with checks vs relatively easy stripes.

[ShadowRaven]

Oh very nice, very nice indeed.

[ub3r_n3rd]

Another fantastic piece, I really enjoy seeing your work on here and on WAMP.

[Baphomet69]

That is beautiful!

[tiniest rhombus]

Wonderful! I appreciate the little lessons you include in each of your posts.

[ShadowRaven]

Wonderful! I appreciate the little lessons you include in each of your posts.

This. So much This

[Darcstaar]

I echo other posts about appreciating the mini-tutorials. Wart is looking great in this iconic scene when he is thrust into adulthood.

[ShadowRaven]

I have to ask, considering the piece. Are you planning to put him on a scenic base? if so have you given any thought to how you wish to do the stone and anvil of lore?

[Talae]

This is wonderful work! Thank you for sharing.

[kay13]

Wow.  He's looking great, and thanks for the info you are sharing!