Outside My Comfort Zone - Part III

Previously on Things of No Interest - Part I and Part II...

Scales done from head to hip

Left side view

Well, as usual, things don't go as planned. My love got a nasty head cold and was laid up for a couple of days and then of course I got it and was out for a couple days and work and stuff... So yesterday I realized that, Holy Crap! I've got like a week to finish this stupid dragon I said I was going to try and enter in the painting competition at the AZ Game Fair. I had barely done anything since the last time - ugh. So last night I set about to try and get caught up a little.

Since last time, I worked on some of the fins on the spine - I wanted to get the area from the head down to at least past the wings so that I wasn't having to try and work around the wings after I attached them. I didn't do the whole shebang since I wasn't quite sure that what I had in mind was going to look the way I wanted it to (and in a lot of cases, I can't quite tell when I'm doing it and things are wet, since I mostly was using washes for this).

Like the wings, I first used Secret Weapon Wash Golden Brown on the fins. This really comes out looking yellowish with flecks of sparkles. Next I used Citadel's Sepia wash, leaving a small area near the top portion of each fin alone. Finally I hit the inside edges with a small amount of Citadel's Agrax Earthshade to darken that area. The result was about what I wanted - still lighter than the wings, but similar in colors. I still need to go back and touch up the blue spines a bit and also finish the fins, but that shouldn't be too bad.

I attached the right wing and then had to spend some time filling in the resulting gap with some green stuff and texturing it and painting it to match the scales on the wing and body. I also "finished" the right wing (meaning I got around to doing the claws on the wing tips). I then varnished the scales and wing on the right side so I wouldn't rub or chip the paint as I was working through the rest of the model.

And then nothing for like a week. Last night, I resumed work on the left wings and took care of the scales, switching back and for the between the wing and the left side of the body as I worked through the layers of blue to get the scale look I've been doing - as noted last time, the scales are a series of layers:

• Base: Citadel The Fang + Secret Weapon Wash Sapphire
• Layer one: The Fang (yes, I highlighted with the original base color)
• Layer two: P3 Gravedigger Denim
• Layer three: Citadel Thunderhawk Blue
• Layer four: Citadel Fenrisian Grey

Both wings attached!

View from above

The left wing did not have the gap issues the right had, so I haven't applied any green stuff. The wing has a small "line" along where the wing sits against the body, but I can't see where adding green stuff will hide that - the scales just match up funny along that segment. I was expecting that area to need green stuff, so I hadn't done the last row of scales (as seen in the picture). That detail and the claws on the left wings need to be done and then I can call the wings completed.

Next up:

• Finish the fins and detail the spines
• Legs and tail
• Chest
• Head
• Basing

Still lots to do and not much time left!

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