The weird sisters, hand in hand,
Posters of the sea and land,
Thus do go about, about,
Thrice to thine and thrice to mine
And thrice again, to make up nine.
Peace! The charm’s wound up.
Macbeth - Shakespeare
Hey Caesurians, welcome back to The Art of Caesura!
It's funny, this game (The World of Smog: On Her Majesty's Service) has probably been the most continuous thread throughout my blog over the years. On reflection, it seems like I usually paint them around this time of year too - I guess when the wintery days are short, it's easy to transport oneself into the cold, oppressive Victorian setting of this game. Today we have The Witch!
Hidden amongst the common beggars and tattered wretches in the Market's alleys is a bent and hungry hundred-year-old woman, lugging around her amulets and oboe. Nobody suspects her melodies can twist steel and set glass ablaze, making everything around her a deadly trap. In ages past, improvised tribunals condemned many a wizard and sorcerer to the pyre. A few survivors fled to the kingdom of Oberon, hoping to practice their sabbaths in peace. Instead, the fairies persecuted them in ways more twisted than simple execution.
- The World of Smog: On Her Majesty's Service
I have talked many times before about what a joy it is to paint these busts. Because they are relatively quick (compaired to a 28mm mini), due to having fewer different textures and fine details, you can really lavish attention on them and try new things.
I tried a lot of new things on this mini. I have amassed quite a few paints over the past few years, but have still never bought a purple. "Purple?" I think whenever I'm in a hobbyshop "I never use purple." But I settled on purple for this model because it suited her gypsy look, and made her distinct from the other busts.
This purple is a mix of Screamer Pink and Altdorf Blue with two shades of Druchii Violet and then highlighted up by adding Lothorn Blue (and a bit more Screamer Pink) back into the original mix.
Her skin was the next new element. I haven't done such a sallow skin before, but armed with the Scale 75 Flesh Paints (using Indian Shadow as my base tone) and my wet palette, it was surprisingly easy and I think it turned out pretty well.
Lastly, is the glow of her eyes, and crescent moon on her forehead. I was originally going to paint this with the blue effect that I use on my Kharadron Overlords, but instead wanted to contrast the cool tones of her robes and hair. I painted the eyes and crescent Ushabti Bone, highlighting to pure white in the centres and then lathered the whole thing with Spiritstone Red (which should be called Spiritstone Orange, but oh well) it's the first time I've used this paint, and for this purpose, I think it added a nice effect.
I washed the grey of her hair and eyebrows with Drakenhoff Nightshade before highlighting them up to keep it in the cool register.
And that's it! Another agent of the Shadow Master complete, and he grows ever stronger...
See you next week on The Art of Caesura!
Watching: Source Code
Reading: Blackstone Fortress Rulebook
Next Week:
Cleanse it with fire...
Your the bestt
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