Brent's Strictly Average Painting: Inquisitor

Ah, here it is!  Brent's Strictly Average Painting Guide, gracing the pages of Jawaballs' own venerable blog... proof there is reinforcement in slightly creepy hero worship!

It's only been since February - what the heck was I doing all this time?  Truth is, I attempted another miniature for this series a few months back...

...and that didn't work out so well.  There were a number of problems with this model, my attempt at light sourcing a neon green glow off of a Dark Eldar's red armor.  Based on the feedback, the glow wasn't appropriately diffused nor was it the right color.  Many people also thought I was attempting a second light source from the Soul Trap in his right hand - which I wish I would have thought of but didn't.

Keep in mind, this series is my inducement to attempt a greater degree of difficulty in my painting.  If this helps someone that's awesome, but I'll be equally appreciative of any feedback you brush-jocks out there can offer.

As the model is predominantly brown, I used a reddish-brown base coat.

I start laying down the basic colors in thin layers.  I want the colors underneath to show through the layers a bit.  To that end, I paint the kilt a bright blue, covering the brown...

...before layering grey.  Goatboy taught me that, once sprayed, the under-layers effect the tones above.  For purposes of composition, this area needed to avoid the browns of the rest of the model.

I've been taught that triangles are an important element of model composition, and this dictated some of the color decisions here.  I wanted a 'no nonsense' Inquisitor with workmanlike gear - meaning earth tones.  Anyway, I wanted the weapons to be metal, which appears greyscale, right?  I hoped to balance that with the kilt, making an upside down triangle.

The back.  I was attempting a plastic look for the Carapace armor and wanted well worn metals with sharp highlights.

By this point, the colors are all in place and its simply in need of highlighting up.

By this point, the Inquisitor's face is almost done.

I'm aware these pictures appear dull on the computer screen, but using the flash creates artificial colors.  I did this on the lead-in picture so the face, hidden under the hat, is visible, but the actual color is show in these step by step shots.

The back again.  The inside of the coat is a different shade of brown, but I also painted it in a different style.  It's been pointed out I sometimes use extreme highlights which appear 'cartoony.'  I cleaned it up a bit, but that's probably a true knock on the finished product.

I reached the stage where I had to make a decision about the Power Sword.  After some thought, I determined I'd blend Boltgun to Chainmail to Mithril, from the base to the tip - a classic look with no ostentation.

The model is basically done, but there was some minor cleanups and color corrections here and there.  As I recall, the brim of the hat bothered me some, and I spent time on the Inquisitor symbol on the chest.  I considered changing it, since white didn't exactly jump off the color I chose for the Carapace Armor, but in the end I just defined it a touch.

Here's an extreme closeup of the face.

Here you can see the highlighting on the metals and the final look of the Power Sword.  I did only very subtle highlights of green from the two weapons -  far cry from the Dark Eldar above!

I spent entirely too much time trying to get these pictures right!  Compare this with the first picture up top and you'll see the difference between flash and no flash.

Thanks for taking the time to give this a once over!  I welcome any comments you might have, such as...


Was the color scheme natural or too natural?  Where can I improve my technique?  For beginning painters, was there anything here that helped?