How to create a free-hand part 2

Step 1: make a draft of the freehand

As always, the first step was pretty hard. I made a gross draft of the freehand on the finished skin of the bald head. It means that I was messing around on a part of the mini where I already spent hours of work for the skin. The risk of ruining my previous work was there and it was clear that the first draft will not be perfect in term of proportions. At this stage, you need a maximum of self-confidence, patience and optimistic mindset. Remember that everything can be corrected.

Step 2: start to work on the main elements

The general advice for painting miniuatures is to start with the lower parts in the background and finish with the higher parts. For this Freehand, I processed the exact opposite way. The reason is that the proportions of the secondary elements such as the snake depended on the exact form and colours of the skull. I made the first major correction at that stage as the form and the place of the dentition of the skull in the first draft was not satisfying

Step 3: work on the secondary elements, then the background and adjust the proportions

Working on the snake was the funiest part of this freehand. My first Idea was to paint a shield under the skull and the snakes. But finally, I opted for the fire background which I used in order to correct some points where the proportions were not correct.

Step 4: apply the global shadow and make the final corrections

The last step was to correct the skin where mistakes have been made during the drafting or painting process. Once the freehand is finished, it is important to remember that the draw is part of greater paint. Therefore, the global shadows of the miniature must be applied on the free hand.

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