Updating Progress
There has indeed been progress on the Chanthara project. The Yadu is now complete. I do need to improve my blogging, as perhaps I am too well-acustomed to the short, sharp posting habits of other social media. However, I have been working on improving my panting style and re-learning all the skills which have faded over time. To this end there has been a bit of trial and error with regards to techniques and colour blending.
As I move down the painting queue I shall try to update progress more often.
Finishing Touches
Higher ratios of Army Painter’s Matt White or a mix of AP’s Oak Brown and P3 Thamar Black were added to the base colours for edge highlighting and shading. The hex pattern on the leggings was given some subtle highlights with Angel Green (AP). I used Coal Black (P3) for highlights on the darker area of the helmet and the gun. Coal Black has quickly become my first choice for highlighting matt blacks, particularly on guns. I feel that sometimes the highlights could be too bright but when taken out from under my fluorescent lamp they do look more natural; perhaps it’s time to invest in a different form of lighting.
With the highlights done it was time to add some of those more characterful details typical of the Chanthara cyborgs. Things like hazard warnings, “caution” markers, etc. I added some characters in bright orange to the wrist unit and back of the helmet plus some orange detail on the satchel, inspired by a Crumpler bag I use for my laptop. I tried to add the “132” logo, which features on many of Chanthara’s works, to the jacket in such a way as to make it look faded, with limited success – ideally I should have added it before some of the highlight layers and then painted over the top of it to push it more into the background and not have it so prominent. The gun also had some assorted markers added with no particular inspiration.
There came a point where the details were starting to feel a bit too intrusive. I chose this as a good time to stop.
Conclusions
I feel that in the end I have deviated somewhat from the original reference image but that is not necessarily a bad thing; Creepy/M was more for inspiration rather than to directly copy. My intent, however, was to have the Yadu look worn and I feel some of the details distract from this.
There is an appropriate quote from the fashion designer, Coco Chanel: “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off”. With this in mind I may remove some of the markers on the gun – they really are surplus to requirements. They are also completely meaningless; it actually looked better without them.
The bright orange of the helmet and satchel could also do with a wash to dull them down. The dirt of the battlefield and even general wear & tear would certainly remove the factory-fresh sheen of such details. I’ll give it a try and post the results later.
I mentioned before that if I paint more Yadu I may have them darker and dirtier. This would be more in keeping with the concept- a trio would project the theme more than a single mini. That could be a project for another day. In the meantime it’s time to return to that Daofei sniper which I intended to paint in the first place!
If you’d like to try some Chanthara Yadu, you can find the unit box here. The Coldfront Yadu, which I’ve used, appears on the Split List. You can find the works of Nivanh Chanthara over on ArtStation – it’s worth a look!