MamaGeek WIP: Autumn Ranger

[MamaGeek 1929]

This is Bones version of Nienna, Elf Ranger.  Most ranger figures I've seen are painted green or brown, but I thought I'd go for an autumn theme and paint her in red/orange/yellow/brown.  I started by painting the cloak a rusty burghundy, including all the highlights and shadows as if that was the final paint job.  Then I started painting a freehand patchwork leaf pattern.  Each leaf is painted individually, which takes a devilishly long time, I've come to discover.  This is going to take a long time to finish.

 

And right now she's at one of the those early stages when I can't stand what I'm working on and think it looks terrible.  I've been there so many times before, though, that I will push myself to just keep going, in the hopes it will all turn out right in the end.  

 

Here she is so far:

 

Edited April 30, 2015 by MamaGeek

[Darkmeer 5910]

It's awesome.  I have no words... the cloak will be amazing when you are done with it.  I really like how it's started across teh back o fthe hood and across. Are you planning a "cooler" brown to offset the cloak for the leather armor and other accents, or are you keeping it all warm?

[MamaGeek 1929]

@Darkmeer: I haven't thought yet about the overall palette of the piece, only the cloak.  That is going to take so much time that it will keep me busy for a while!

[Darcstaar 11551]

Very ambitious, but looking great so far. Nice idea for a ranger's temperate autumn Camo.

[Cranky Dog 31851]

Wow! He already looks more awesome than what I had in mind for my own autumn camo ranger. I didn't even consider lining the foliage pattern itself.

[Baugi 4034]

This is looking fantastic so far.  I had a lot of trouble with Nienna, because there was a fair bit of soft and confusing clothing detail on mine that I couldn't quite interpret, and she had no real face to speak of.. hopefully you're not running into the same issues!

[MamaGeek 1929]

@Baugi - So far all of my painting is on the cloak, so I haven't touched those areas yet.  And I probably won't for a long while.  This pattern is killing me!

 

[Jasonator 29612]

Wow, doing a Tartan must be exhausting, and daunting !

Looks magnificent though !

Good luck, and I thought I had patience !

[MamaGeek 1929]

Well, I have so little time to paint anymore that I just don't offert to paint things for anyone else.  This means zero expectations, zero deadlines, zero pressure.  I don't even do contests anymore.  I might toss something into one if I happen to complete something that meets the criteria at just the right time, but that doesn't happen often.  

 

So it's not really a matter of patience, since I don't have any burning need to see it done.  It will get there when it gets there.

 

Oh, and I have actually painted a real tartan before, and it was much worse than this.

Edited May 3, 2015 by MamaGeek

[MamaGeek 1929]

I haven't decided how to paint the cloak lining yet, or any of the rest of the mini, for that matter.  

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2015 by MamaGeek

[robinh 9917]

With the back of the cloak so amazing the challenge is high to make the rest of the mini fit!   No stress or pressure.. really!

[MamaGeek 1929]

I started painting the armor gold, but there was too much "yellow".  I switched to a cool gray, and that balanced much better with the cloak.  There are so many fiddly bits, and it's a Bones figure, so the detail is a bit obscured.  I had to look at photos of the metal version to discern what some things were.  The eyes are so small and under the hood.  I really couldn't do more than fill them in black.  I bet some better painter could manage it, but I tried, and failed...

 

[Tarsemina 2939]

Very nice looking,

can't wait to see it finished!

[Edsterdoom 5150]

Great work on the cloak, I can't wait to see it finished.

[Serenity 4882]

Were you using your best brush and magnifier?  If so, I'm not sure what else you could do. 

 

If the eyes were meant to be painted well, the hood would not be molded that way, or would be a separate piece (IMO).  With the stunning cloak design, no one will be looking at the eyes anyway.  They could also be painted in shadow, if you prefer a more realistic look, but they look good to me as is.  I like the armor color, too.