"Werewolves of London" - Drago - Part 1

After years enjoying a privileged life, 

Drago was now forced to run, 

a hunted beast pursued by his father’s soldiers. 

- CMON

Welcome back to The Art of Caesura!

Today we have a bit of an intermission from all of the Black Templars content of late. Every so often I just need a bit of a palate-cleanser, and today is such a day. 

I have painted many miniatures from the World of Smog Rise of Moloch. I really love the steampunk Victorian aesthetic, and the miniatures are zany and full of character. 

Today we'll look at the monstrous Drago.

Drago was born into nobility and raised with all of the benefits of a royal life. His father was the Voivod of the Province of Valcea, and Drago was destined to succeed him in that role. That is, until a fateful foxhunt went terribly wrong. It had dragged on until dusk and the hunting party was just about to give up when Drago was attacked by a vicious beast that ran off before it could be identified. In his agony, Drago showed signs of the “Pricolici,” the half-man, half-beast creatures rumored to terrorize the nearby mountains. His fate was sealed by the Grand Pope, who demanded he be chopped into little pieces and burnt to ashes immediately.

Drago is the loveable werewolf of the club but certainly his most notable feat during the Kickstarter campaign was for his model to earn the ire of the crowds for not including the top hat featured on his artwork. Fans really do find the most extraordinary things to get incensed by. 

Anyway, I think he's a great model, and he painted up in no time flat - about half an hour. 

Inspired by Marco Frisoni's speed painting, from a zenital undercoat (sprayed black, then sprayed Grey Seer from above, then sprayed with white ink) I started with Contrast Skeleton Horde straight over his tattered shirt. 

Then Contrast Creed Camo over his shorts. 

And finally Contrast Space Wolves Grey over his skin and fur. I would usually work "from the inside, out" (i.e. from the deeper areas out to the more superficial ones) but when using exclusively Contrast-style paints, it often works better to start from the paint with the lightest hue. 

This was 90% of him done. I could happily have left him at this stage, but went a bit further with a few details (that you will see in photos next week). I painted his fur with Agrax Earthshade to given some separation to his more fleshy bits and painted his eyes with Mephiston Red, highlighted with Yriel Yellow to give them an ominous glow. I highlighted his skin with The Fang mixed with more and more white on his upward facing surfaces (face and shoulders and upper chest) and finally, I picked out his lips an ears with Bugman's Glow. I also highlighted a few of the tatters of his shirt with Wraithbone, but didn't bother highlighting his shorts. 

I hope you enjoyed this quick look at a fun and different model. See you next week for the completed model, right here on The Art of Caesura!

Watching: Forged in Fire

Reading: Lessons - Ian McEwan

Next Week:

A-wooooo, werewolves of London...