This project was an experiment in color and in pushing my boundaries. I was inspired as a kid by Frazetta, Boris, Suydam, Corben, who all defined the "fantasy palette" of the 70's and heavily influenced the direction of fantasy painting thereafter, as evidenced by Bisley, Bonner, and numerous others. Their colors were rich and kaleidoscopic and seemed to work together without clashing (usually). I've always been fascinated by their use of color.

Rackham painters steered in this direction in the miniatures world. I don't know, it might be a French or a European thing, but the Rackham painters blew my mind with their color choices. I just couldn't imagine what was going through their heads when they made their choices. Here's an example, and it's relatively tame, compared to some of the extreme examples -- I just can't find any of the extreme ones at the moment... (note: I did not paint this!)





For my Troll miniature, I wanted to push myself in this direction. I started out with this rough 2-hour "sketch", primarily to lay down basic colors and value. For a quick tabletop standard, I probably would have dressed this up for another 30 or 60 minutes and called it done.



My next step was to "loosen my mind" and exaggerate the color palette and its application.








The nose is obviously too bright, but I know I'm going to come back in and soften where I need to. Ironically, one of the best things to come out of this stage was achieving the variation in color in the club's stone and wood. I do like the variation in skin tone, too, and the process is fun. I still think it's a different mindset, though, to follow in the Rackham direction.

Now I come in with some corrections and refinements, but I'm still trying to keep my mind loose.



Let's paint those pussey boils! I started with yellowish bone, followed by a wash of orange, followed by a wash of magenta. I like how they turned out, disgusting as they are.






Finish with some groundwork.






Overall, I'm pleased with the model, and it was a fruitful and instructive exercise. But I still have a ways to find that mental/emotional space that I'm looking to replicate.