Abyst
by Deane P. Goodwin
Abyst - The Demon Lord
Looking at this massive figure, I decided I wanted to take advantage of the obviously priapic origins of this character. I further decided to use his wings as a frame/backdrop to the figure itself. The flesh I wanted to give a reddish cast to, bespeaking his demonic heritage.
Body
The figure was first primed with clear acrylic sealer rather than any normal metal primer. This would allow me to focus on using the transparent qualities of acrylic paint, without concerning myself with any alteration from the primer beneath. I then washed it entirely in a very dilute black ink followed by a very dilute red ink. This began to define the depth and shadows. The base flesh tones were Howard Hues Suntan and Ruddy. The technique used on this flesh was to apply the color, wash it with a very thin reddish purple ink wash, then drybrush the surface with progressively lighter tones of the base color thinned with water, and a wash coat between each drybrushed layer. The entire process comprised 6 drybrush layers and 5 washes. The drybrush was taken beyond the lightness I wanted for the final tone, allowed to dry thoroughly (48 hours) then drybrushed the final time using the original basecolor again thinned with water.
Wings
I chose the purple for the wings to compliment and offset the reddish cast of the main figure. Again the finish was a series of wash drybush sequences over the original basecolor. The outer surface of the wings was then drybrushed and faded through progressively lighter shades of purple through red ending in a yellow highlight on the hard edge of the wing. The inner surfaces were done the same way, but a lighter drybrush sequence here, with less bright contrasts and definition.
Armor, Sword, and Miscellaneous Trappings
The flaming sword was done in black with a metallic base tint added. The flames were initially painted blue, with drybrushed layers of reds, oranges, and yellows added. The armor was thought to be composed from the bones of Abyst's unfortunate victims and was done in a variety of light brown, tan, and brownish yellow washes and drybrushes. The spinal scepter was done in the same manner and serves as a visual reference for the composition of the armor. The armbands were done in a pale blue with a metallic tint base, followed by a light blue ink wash for depth. The teeth were done with an off white, and their roots stained with a brownish yellow. The eyes are black with gold and green pupils.
Deane P. Goodwin
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