Tuesday 24 February 2009

Forest Nymph

This model is a Dark Nymph by Foundry Miniatures. However I have painted it in the style of a Forest Nymph or Wood Elf. The miniature is marketed as 28mm but actually stands 30mm from the base of its feet to eye level and 46mm to the tip of the spear.
Having recently completed a rather swarthy skinned Hannibal I wanted to tackle something a little more subtle and smooth toned. I have been concentrating on models recently that have allowed me to practice different types of flesh, and you don't get much more practice than with a semi naked Nymph! I used Vallejo Paints exclusively for this project. When painting the skin of the Nymph I started with Bronze Fleshtone(no.36) as the basecoat with a succession of Bonewhite (No.34) glazes and Dark Fleshtone (No.44) washes used to build up highlights and shade.
For the green spear shaft and headdress I used Dark Green (No.28) & Livery Green (No.33). I then gave it a wash of Dark Fleshtone to bring down the highlights a little.
To contrast with the pale flesh tones and green headdress I decided to make the jewelry and belt a rich blue. I was inspired here by some Lapis lazuli necklaces I saw some years ago in the British Museum. I used Ultramarine Blue (No. 22) as a base and highlighted with Electric Blue (No.23) with Electric Blue and White for the extreme highlights.
Unlike previous projects the eyes worked first time and needed very little additional work. I normally use a slightly off white colour for the whites of the eyes but in this case I wanted a bright, alert look. The fact that the eyes were small and narrow meant that I could get away with using pure white without them overwhelming the face.

I am very happy with the way this model turned out. The paint job was deceptively difficult but gave me ample opportunity to practice with blending techniques on large areas of bare flesh. I hope you like it.

2 comments:

  1. I think the flesh looks just right - I'm goint try the same mix on one of my female miniatures very soon.

    Tony
    http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for linking me over to this article.. will be trying this recipe out in the future. I will have to pick them up next time I get to the hobby store. Just wonderful painting mate!

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