Monday 29 June 2015

Since I've been gone

Hello dearest Internet. You're right, it has been a while since I last walked your dark and questionable depths. I bet you have been driving yourself crazy, guessing at what could possibly have kept me away for so long. What? You didn't even notice I was gone? Oh...well I've already put together a report e planning what I've been up to, and I'll be dammed if a little thing like zero interest is going to stop me from posting it on the Internet! So sit down, shut up and read.

Since finishing college, I've been enjoying plenty of quality time with Alfie. This has comprised of countless walks in the park, endless hours on swings, plentiful time playing football and many hours more than anyone ever need be subjected to CBeebies. It has, in short, been fantastic. The one downside, if you can cal it that, is that I have had very little time for anything else. 

The time I have had spare has been spent digging up the back garden. With the decking all but completed, my sole mission now is to finish the digging and get the nice new turf down to finish it off. Once this has been done, it's goodbye spade and hello BBQ utensils. 

As if this wasn't good enough reason for my lack of posts, I'm also currently on holiday. Myself, Donna and Alfie, along with the In-Laws, have just spent the weekend in Devon and have now travelled down to Cornwall (Newquay to be precise) for the remainder of the week. The weather has been great and, among everything else, me and Alfie have spent plenty of time soaking up the sun in the pool. 

All this means that I have done hardly any painting recently. When I say hardly any, I mean it's so minute an amount that, to the naked eye, it looks as though I haven't done any. In fact, there are some who would say that I HAVEN'T done any, and to these people I say...shhh, don't tell anyone. Once I'm back home, however, I shall be back at the paint table. I am quite looking forward to painting my 11th Doctors, Ice Warriors and Amy Pond.

Until then, keep it real guys!

Catch you on the flip side!

J-Fuzz out!

Thursday 4 June 2015

2nd Doctor Paint Report

Hi guys,


So, I finally got around to painting my 2nd Doctor figure (that's the Patrick Troughton one, if you were wondering). I have to say, I am rather satisfied with the end result, especially when taking into consideration that I haven't painted for around 2 years. So, below is a step by step walkthrough of the painting process, showing the model at various stages and the colours I used to paint it.

A little bit of info on supplies

The model in question today was purchased from Black Tree Design. Go visit them for a range of great figures, or click here to go straight to this figure. Great value for money and the model quality is excellent.

Paint wise, I generally use Citadel paints. I always post pics and the names of paints I've used, and if it's not Citadel, I'll mention where it's from.

Step 1: Undercoat

 

The first thing I did when getting ready to paint the figure was to undercoat it using Chaos Black spray. The picture above shows both my Troughton figure and a Time Lord president figure, a future project that I decided to undercoat at the same time. Make sure to get a nice even layer, don't spray for too long in one place or you will lose detail on your figure.

Step 2: Skin


Once the undercoat had dried, I decided to paint the fleshy areas on the model (the face and hands). I haven't had to paint flesh in a long long time, so I was a little nervous. I opted to use a mix of Tallarn Flesh and Ceramic White, going with about half and half for the tone I wanted. Once I had got the areas needed, I touched the edges back up with Chaos Black so I could see where I was easier.
Step 3: The Shirt


Next, I decided to paint the shirt, as it was in an awkward position and would be easier to paint before the stuff in the way was done. Once again, I used a mix to get the right colour, this time of Ice Blue and Ceramic White. Fairly straight forward again, just neatening up edges once I had finished the shirt. At this stage, I also painted the bowtie, using Mechrite Red.




Step 4: The Hair



For the hair, I didn't want to go too light, as Troughton had very dark brown hair when playing The Doctor. I went with a mix of Calthan Brown' and Chaos Black at first, mixing it very dark. Once that had gone on, I mixed a slightly lighter shade and gave his mop a quick dry brush to add a bit of accent. After it had dried, I used a quick wash of Ogryn Flesh just to darken it back down a little. The picture doesn't show it very well here, but it looks good in person.

Step 5: The Jacket


With the jacket, I had a choice to make. Do I leave it black and go 'early' Troughton, or go for a dark blue and go 'end of era' Troughton? I decided to go end of era, as the shirt I had given him and the bowtie are both more towards the end of his run. I mixed up a lovely dark blue, using Midnight Blue and Chaos Black, mixing it so that it was nearly a hint of blue. It was at this stage that I also realised that I had not painted the shirt cuffs earlier, mistaking them for part of the jacket. I painted these too, using the same mix as earlier. I also painted the recorder and pocket handkerchief too, finishing off everything for the top half. For the recorder, I used Ceramic White and for the handkerchief I used Mechrite Red. I added the blue stripes to the recorder later, using Enchanted Blue.



Step 6: The Trousers


This was the section I was most worried about, due to the detail present in the trousers for this Doctors costume. However, it ended up being fairly straight forward in the end. First, I mixed a medium grey up from Chaos Black and Ceramic White. I used this to paint the whole of the trousers, giving them a solid grey foundation. I then mixed the grey a little darker, adding more black to knock it down a few shades. I used this to paint the vertical stripes down the trousers. I then mixed it even darker (nearly plain black by this point) and used that to paint the horizontal stripes. Once this was done, I mixed the grey back up to the original base coat, and gave the trousers a very very VERY light dry brush, just to blend it a little better. Don't go too heavy with this part, or you will lose the detail you just painted on, and will have to do it all again.

Step 7: Finishing Touches



By this point, I was pretty much done. I used Calthan Brown to paint the shoes, and then just checked over the model for any erroneous paint, touching up odd bits here and there until I was happy.

Step 8: Washing



The last thing I like to do is to wash the model. Some people aren't fans of washes, but I personally quite like them and think they add a nice finish, when used correctly. I applied a wash of Guilliman Blue to the jacket and shirt, Ogryn Flesh to the hands and face and, once those two had dried, a light wash over the entire model using Badab Black.

Once I had let the washes dry, I just added a few highlights to certain areas, just to sharpen it back up a little. I added a little bit of Ice Blue around the cuffs and shirt collar, and some Tallarn Flesh to the raised areas on the face and along the fingers. Doing this gives the shadows created from washing a bit of a better contrast.



Now that the model was finished, I was done. I've added sand to my base, awaiting a decision as to how I'm painting it. I will probably go with a grey, maybe add some road markings in too.

So, there you have it. One finished 2nd Doctor figure. I hope you found this walkthrough useful and have fun with your own painting. If you have any questions or comments or even suggestions for me, feel free to comment below.

Thanks guys,

J-Fuzz out

Monday 1 June 2015

The End is Here!!

I'm finished! It's done, it's over, it's ended.

I'm talking about college, of course. That's right guys, today I finished my final exam and that concludes my time at Rotherham College. It has been a fantastic year, and I have learnt a lot of things, both about the subjects I've been studying and about myself. If nothing else, it has shown me, after years of doubt, that I am capable of persuing education further. 

I have met some...interesting people in my short time here (I can't believe it's only been 9 months!) and I will stay in contact with some now that we've finished! At the start of the year I was out of my comfort zone as I, generally, try to avoid contact with people. However, as the year has gone on, I have become better at feigning interest and displaying the correct emotion. That's a win in my book!

I have achieved, so far, a near perfect run of top grades, with the final few assignments awaiting grading now. Hopefully, I should find out the results within the next week or so. I have developed a good study habit and feel I am well prepared for the future. Until then though, it's time to relax, do some recreational reading, catch up on some painting and watch some Doctor Who.

What about after the Summer though, I hear you asking with barely contained interest? Well, it's off to uni for me (The University of Sheffield, to be specific) to study history. I'm a little nervous, but am confident that I will continue to grow and improve both as a student and a person.

It's a bit of a bland post, I know, but it's a big deal for me. Today marks the end of this stage in my life. Here's to the future!

Keep it real guys,

J-Fuzz out!