NaMoPaiMo - Days 6-17

Finally done with the dapples!

I'm sorry it's been a bit since my last NaMoPaiMo update. I've been spending most of the last week or so working on my entry's dapples, which, while important, are not the most interesting thing to see a bunch of in-progress pictures of. I ended up doing 1-4 layers of pigments depending on how prominent I wanted the dapples to be in different areas. After sealing with several layers of dulcote and giving him a full day to dry, he was finally ready for phase II of airbrushing!

If you're wondering why this picture looks kind of different, it's because I took it with my phone. My camera battery was dead and I didn't want to wait to move on to the next coat.

I used a warm, orangish mixture to start, since the subsequent pale layers of paint would have a tendency to cool things down. His color at this stage was very interesting in person. It looked sort of like he had run through a cloud of Cheetos dust!



Starting to look more like a smoky cream.

Then I started to lighten him up using several very pale, creamy mixtures applied in very thin coats, blending the dapples and adding shading along the way. 

He's pale enough now, but a little too gray.

I mostly used titanium white and titanium buff in these mixtures, warmed up with the additions of various colors such as red iron oxide, raw sienna, and Naples yellow.

 

Almost ready or detailing!

Then I added a little bit of shading using a pale milk chocolate colored mixture, mostly on his lower legs, to warm things back up. Finally, I went over him with a transparent mixture of interference colors - mostly gold and orange with a little bit of blue - to give him that lovely Akhal Teke sheen.