"Jazz Hands" - The Illuminated

The Illuminated are those who

manifest Brilliance in their bodies;

twisting themselves into inhuman monsters.

~ Wyrd

Hey chums, welcome back to The Art of Caesura!

This week we have the second of Jakob Lynch's drug-wracked Illuminated. The first Illuminated I painted was quite some time ago. I tried to keep some of the colour cues the same between them (normal skin tone, white shirt and then creepy alien extremities that darken to glossy blackness). 

It's fun to compare my painting from one year ago (of the other Illuminated) to this guy who's hot off the press. While there's some, but not a massive difference in skill level, something I definitely have noticed by painting a different model every week for the past year an a half is the speed and consistency with which I can get the same results that used to take me much longer.

I totally recognize that to really ramp up my skill at painting I would have to devote more time to experimenting with and learning new techniques. I often do try new techniques if a model calls out for it, but really my emphasis here is not to be the best painter in the world, but rather to get maximum enjoyment out of this element of the hobby with the limited time I can devote to it. And in that I'm undoubtedly succeeding. 

Now, back to the dude at hand! I tried to make is pants look worn with some soft highlights. I also tried to add sweat stains around the collar of his shirt, but they were starting to look like I'd just been messy with his neck paint so I dialed those back. 

Once again, I'm super happy with these bases. For this guy, I think it makes him look like he's getting ready to pounce, using the curb for leverage. 

Last year, for his female Illuminated compadre's tentacles, I wet blended from Ushabti Bone down to black. This time 'round for the alien arms, I again started with Ushabti Bone but used shades. I started with an all over wash of Seraphim Sepia, then Agrax Earthshade in the deeper parts of his forearms and hands. Then I used many layers of Nuln Oil (first heavily watered down up to the elbows, then less and less dilute towards the fingers). I painted his nails black, with Incubi Darkness edge highlights to make them look sharp and finished with a gloss varnish. 

Here's a close-up of his face, right as he's singing "It's up to you, New York, New Yooooorrrrk" with jazz hands flailing. 

Thanks for joining me on another week of The Art of Caesura!



Listening: The Inevitable Return of the Great White Dope - Bloodhound Gang
Reading: Dune Messiah - Frank Herbert



Next Week:

The proprietor of Captivating Salvage and Logistics...