She's done! In between current projects I've been painting Bailey Silverbell, a Reaper miniature sculpted by Werner Klocke. I painted a version of Bailey back in Spring 2012 and I wanted to see how far I've come since then. Bailey was the second miniature I ever painted (Anwyn was my first) and it was the first time I'd ever painted a cloak. I used mostly Games Workshop paints back then, except for the blue cloak which was a Reaper paint. When I was done painting her, I sealed her with a thick spray gloss (yuck!) and learned that I preferred the matte Reaper paints. When she was done I was so proud. "Look! I painted eyes!" and despite her slight Strabismus (crossed-eyes), she was perfect to me at the time.
As you can see, I've made quite a bit of progress in my painting skills! I'm now trying my hand at techniques like Non Metallic Metals and my levels of contrast and detail are much improved. I remember thinking back in 2012, "How do people paint the stitches? They're too small!" and now I'm able to paint them well. I'll be adding the new Bailey to a more detailed base and I'm thinking of adding some colorful glazing to her dagger, depending on the base colors it would reflect. The positioning of her dagger is also slightly different this time. Her dagger now is held in a defensive position, where the old Bailey's dagger seems kind of droopy and her arm angle is less natural.
I'm very happy with how her cloak turned out-- I painted lighter edges of the hood and shoulders like a soft leather would show wear. I also like how the new color scheme is more realistic in its leather colors. I kept the same "Snow White" theme, complete with fair skin and bold red lips. However, my choice of cloak color makes her look a lot like "Little Red Riding Hood". I'm thinking of putting her on a base with a big, bad wolf. But enough about future plans-- here's the best part with side-by-side comparison pictures with her previous counterpart!
