Felicia Completed.

Felicia has been finished.

Back in late April I started a figure called "Felicia" and worked on it through May, adding the finishing touches yesterday.....well, the girl has been finished but I have yet to add final details to the base.

Having now reached the end of this project I thought I'd provide some additional details on the methods I used.
I mentioned undercoating using Vallejo "Air" acrylics and finishing in artists oils, but it was actually more involved than that. In fact, in some locations the final painting was a mix of both.

One of the most difficult things to do successfully in any figure painting is the eyes.
It is so hard to get a true representation of reality and the larger the figure, the more care has to be taken.
On Felicia, her right eye is quite distinctive, whilst her left is partially obscured by her hair. I tried many things to get that eye correct and I think I managed to get it pretty okay and what I did was quite simple, really:

1. The "white" of the eye is actually skin-tone, slightly lightened. It is not a stark white. This was done with acrylic and took several attempts.
2. The iris was done in oil-paint and, when it was dry (several days) I placed a tiny blob of black oil paint on it for the pupil. When it dried it did so with a slight convex effect.
3. I then placed a tiny, tiny blob of white glue on it, which gave a slight shine when dry.
   

The end result was okay in my estimation and definitely worth the effort for such a lovely figure.

As well as paying close attention to the eyes I also tried to simulate the look of leather properly; there is much leather on this figure - her leggings and the corset being the most extensive.
So what I did was to do it all in acrylic and then, when it dried, I gently rubbed over it with my fingers and then applied a final wash using oil-paint. This gives the effect of the leather being slightly worn and textured.

 

Her "power arm" (left arm) was entirely done in metallic acrylics, a mix of aluminium and "rust", which gives a bronze/brass effect and I continued this finish on the holsters and her belt.

For the shoes I wanted to try and get a sort of greenish-black leather look and was quite pleased with the end result, which was done by using a chrome-green oil-paint base and then a finish light coat of black, also in oils. 

In summary, this has been the most satisfying and enjoyable large figure I've ever painted. The casting/moulding is of superb quality and a credit to Tim, the MidniteMaker.

More pics below, and all will enlarge when clicked.

 

For my next project I will be doing a 1/20 figure, from the "Girls In Action" series and will provide details in due course.