Rebel in the Making - Part 16

 

Time for the tweaking stage. I wasn't loving the redness in the dark areas (must have grabbed a paint mix with burnt sienna in it when I was airbrushing!), and there were bits of dark pastel here and there where it shouldn't be. So, I first tried using some 1200 grit lightly to remove any gunk or dark pastel if it was in a top layer of sealer. Then I went over him with acrylics. 

I mixed up lots of shades trying to find the right shades, as you can see on the palettes. I used the same colors in the airbrush mixes, plus Liquitex burnt sienna, burnt umber, and mixing white. Using a combination of washes and dry brush stippling, I got him to a good spot. Then I sealed him with sealer.

I went over him all over with the light gold pastel mix to bring back the metallics over the acrylics.

Next, I wanted to add some more shading on his legs. I started by using Pan Pastel Yellow Ochre Tint 270.8 to lighten the areas. I find Pan Pastels to be the most opaque of any pigment. The above picture shows the first layer over the black before I sealed it. I went through a few layers of adding the yellow to get it lighter, then I added Pan Pastel Burnt Sienna Ex. Dark 740.1 with the yellow ochre to blend the transitions. Then I used the darker golden pastel mix over the lighter areas. If I had planned ahead, I could have avoided this step of trying to lighten had I been more strategic in where I placed the dark pigment the first time. I didn't realize I wanted them shaded until I decided they were too dark...

The picture is terribly dark, so you can't really see but... After the legs were done, I used Pan Pastel Neutral Gray 820.3 on his muzzle and around his eyes (again). This time more carefully! And I added a bit of black to his ear tips. I'll take a second look in the morning to see if I want to do any more tweaking (and really hope I don't find any more stray black pastel - I made sure to check his magnets this time!). Then I really need to get going on his white markings! 3 days left of NaMoPaiMo, 1 of which is a workday, so really only 2 days left to paint in earnest! I am so excited to see him starting to come together!