"The Crone" - Escher Leader

The crone is a character in folklore and fairy tales,
 an old woman. In some stories, she is disagreeable,
 malicious, or sinister in manner,
 often with magical or supernatural associations
 that can make her either helpful or obstructing.
 The Crone is also an archetypal figure, a Wise Woman.

~Wikipedia


Welcome back to the Underhive...er...The Art of Caesura!

A few weeks ago I introduced you to my first Necromunda Gang: The Unkindness! So far, we've looked at a bunch of the gangers and their bases. 

Today is the leader of the flock: The Crone!

I picked the name The Crone for the leader of The Unkindness for a lot of reasons. There is the superficial near-rhyme to "crow" which is in keeping with the raven theme of my gang. But more important was the hearkening to the Wise Woman figure. I also liked the incongruity between the term "crone", usually referencing an ugly hag, with this character...who is a babe. Maybe, like in the fairy tales of yore, she actually is an old woman who has used various Escher elixirs to maintain her youth. Finally, unlike the other gang members, her name is a title, so I like the idea that when this leader dies a new one will rise to take the mantel of The Crone. Like the raven that influences this gang, things are not always as they seem...

As the leader of the gang, I lavished more time on her than the other members. I also wanted to bring in some elements of the other gangers: the red trim of her coat for Poe and Korv's armour, the blue tassel coming off her whip handle for Kwothe and Trixy, and the purple band on her thigh for Gripp and...someone we haven't met yet...

I approached painting The Crone from the inside out. I started by painting her skin to completion, using my "Caucasian Skin Recipe" that I outlined last week. I painted the elements of her lower body the same as the other gangers (leggings Ushabti Bone, boots black leather, loincloth Steel Legion Drab, metal on boots and spikes Leadbelcher). 

For her upper body, I painted her chest plate and combi-bolter Storm Host Silver before painting it Retributor Armour. Starting from a silver base coat rather than black give the gold an extra gleam. 

The Crone is my only gang member with metallic armour (chest and knees), making her stand out from the crowd a little. 

I used lines of diluted Abaddon Black for the warpaint of all my light-skinned gangers, and then provided highlights on the brow and cheeks by adding in a little bit of Scale 75's Pale Skin. I'll tell you how I did the dark-skinned warpaint next week...what a tease!

My favourite copper recipe (that I started using for my Kharadron Overlords), which I used for the Needler aspect of her gun and her whip is Screaming Bell (I love this colour!), shaded with Agrax Earthshade and highlighted with Hashut Copper, with Storm Host Silver on the lightest edges.

While we're talking about the metallics, to differentiate the gold of her armour from her gun (which are so close together on the model), I shaded her armour with Seraphim Sepia and then Retributor Armour again. The gun was shaded with Druchii Violet and then Agrax Earthshade, before being highlighted back up. 

I don't know if you can see it in the photos, but I gave the end of her bolter a coat of Typhus Corrosion to show the ash (?) on the end of the muzzle. 

To end this post on The Crone, I want to tell you how I painted the hair of the gang members. This was another unifying detail, and both stands out and ties the gang together. I painted the hair white (using many many thin coats!) and then used about 5 very thin coats of a mix (4:1) Lahmian Medium and Drakenhof Nightshade, then re-highlighted white at the tips. 

I am always trying to push my painting and learn new things. I'm really happy with how The Crone turned out, and am not meaning to toot my own horn too much when I say that I think she is one of the best models I've ever painted! If I'd gotten my act together, I would have entered her in The Everchosen painting competition that took place a few weeks ago. Oh well.

What do you think of The Crone? Let me know right here on The Art of Caesura!

Listening: C'mon Sea Legs - The Immaculate Machine
Watching: Dark - Season 2
Drinking: Casey Brother's Stout - Killarney Brewery 


Next Week:

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore...