Haley3 Commission Part 1: Basing

I have recently dialled back the amount of commissions I accept, for a couple of reasons.  One, I have begun to value my painting at a higher level than what I was charging for, resulting in me feeling like I was not getting a good return on the time investment I was making.  Two, I have been more driven by painting for myself, for artistic and inspirational reasons.  I do still accept things that I feel will still allow me to expand my skills and develop as a painter, a model or unit that inspires me and keeps me motivated to complete it, and when my expectations for how much I should receive are met (or at least close enough).

So I accepted a commission for a Warmachine warcaster unit, the Major Prime Victoria Haley, One of the things I have been enjoying recently is painting faces.  Part of the reason I accepted this latest commission was the models have beautiful faces!  Painting them was also an opportunity to do some nice things with the airbrush, another area I have been trying to focus on improving.


I began cleaning and assembling the models, but after I finished putting together the two older Haleys, I noticed that baby Haley was missing one of her arms.  I sent an email and PP have the part in the mail to me, so ideally it will arrive soon.  As I am planning on using the airbrush extensively on these models, sometimes I mix colours a bit randomly to achieve a specific result. Trying to replicate that on a model a few days or weeks after can be difficult if not downright impossible!


Rather than get amongst it with the models, I shelved them and started working on the bases.  I have been given carte blanche to decide the colour scheme and feel for the models.

Despite taking a step back from the game of Warmachine this year, I have always been inspired by the artwork of Privateer Press, and the slogan "All New War" is pretty fucking sweet.  The first thing that came to mind and the idea I have elected to go with is something of a World War 2 vibe.  The bases are designed to look like a war torn city like Stalingrad or Berlin during the war, rubble, built up layers of accumulated debris from destroyed buildings, etc.

The other thing I have considered is the colour scheme. The traditional method for colour scheme on bases is going for slightly cooler colours. The reason for this is cool colours recede, and warm colours pop forward more. By making a base a cooler scheme the focus tends to be on the model more. I have gone a different method here, although I do plan on have a roughly warm palette for the whole model, I want the bases to have a similar tonality, and force peoples eyes up more from how much the model itself stands out.



I often try to do shit like this and it doesnt work out quite right and I end up making fixes.  So that might happen too.  LOL


Here are the bases after 3 hours of work (including assembling and cleaning the models).

Cheers

Trent!