For NaMoPaiMo 2022, I decided to take on painting this Akhal-Teke to a light metallic buckskin. I want to use this year's NaMoPaiMo as an opportunity to start showing everyone my process and maybe help others pick up some new finishwork and customizing skills!
Before I even begin painting a model, I gather my reference material. I cannot stress how important it is to have reference to follow when going for a realistic finish. I chose this horse as my reference. He is the same breed as my model, which can also help create a more accurate representation, especially if a breed has specific color standards. Akhal-Tekes come in a variety of different colors, but they are known for their metallic sheen. I took this into consideration when looking for a reference, as I figured this would be a fun touch to make this model a little more interesting.
This was my reference photo (I do not take any credit for this image)
Once I have a reference I'm happy with, Its time to pull some colors! This is a trick I'll use to make color mixing easier, instead of eyeballing it directly from the reference. I will run my picture through a photo editing software and isolate color, going from light to dark. I'll create my palette off to the side of my image and begin to assess what paints I'll likely need to mix to create that specific color. Be careful about which colors you choose to isolate. I don't like making too much of a jump between colors and prefer to gradually move from one to the next. However, I don't want my colors to be too similar either. Adding too similar of a color on top of another can muddy the one underneath.
Here's my reference with my chosen palette on the left and my anticipated color recipes on the right. The grey underneath the main palette is my skin color for the muzzle, eyes, and groin.
Now I'm officially ready to begin painting! My model has been prepped to my satisfaction and has had over 24 hours to dry since his last priming session. My medium and method of choice for almost all of my customs are airbrushed acrylics. Here is a complete list of the colors I used for this color. I paint using Golden's Fluid Acrylics.
- Titanium White
- Yellow Ocher
- Raw Sienna
- Iridescent Gold
- Red Oxide
- Burnt Umber Light
- Raw Umber
- Paynes Gray
- Bone Black
I start with the lightest color, a mix of Titanium White, Iridescent Gold, Raw Umber, and Bone Black. I base coat the entire model, keeping this color application as even as possible. Every color builds off of the one underneath it when airbrushing. This is an example of when I'll adjust my original color recipe on my reference if the predicted one does not match as well as I'd like.
My second color is the same color recipe as above, but I added more black to this mix. I start becoming more selective on where I add color after my base. The lighter color will slowly become my lightest highlight as I begin to add more and more layers of shading. I took this color and shaded his muscles, back, neck, lower barrel, and face. I also started adding his first layer of dapples!
Removing my airbrush's nozzle cap, exposing more of the needle for precision, I begin to move across the model using a quick figure eight motion. This allows the dapples to have an more natural shape and be less rounded or uniform. I place the dapples following my reference and blend them in.
The next color is created using Titanium White, Iridescent Gold, Raw Sienna, and Bone Black. I apply it sparingly over the areas with the previous color. Once again, I go in and add another layer of dapples. This helped warm up his overall body color, while still being a paler buckskin. This is also where his dapples really begin to become visible! He really started coming together in this layer.
My final layer of colors are my darkest shades. I use a mix of Iridescent Gold, Burnt Umber Light, Titanium White, and Bone Black. I only add this color to his back and muscles for his final layer of body shading along with the dapples on his shoulder. I Use a mix of Bone Black, Red Oxide, and Zinc White for the black on his legs and mane and a mix of Paynes Gray, Bone Black, and Zinc White for his skin. I don't paint all the way down his leg as I'll be adding white markings later! I added more skin color between his eyes and nostrils, further into his facial muscles, and his facial shading. Akhal-Tekes have a very fine layer of hairs, exposing more of the skin color in areas where the hairs begin to thin.
After a few hours I ended up with this lovely metallic buckskin! My next step will be adding his white markings, but that's another post for later on my NaMoPaiMo journey this year!