Studio McVey Pan painted

A month ago I mentioned that it was a leap year and that any undertakings started on that day would be successful (if you believe in such tales). I decided that I would try to up my painting to a better level, or at least to paint a few individual models to a higher level that I normally do for gaming.

The first model in this new undertaking is this lovely figure from Studio McVey. It's a resin figure of around 30mm scale, a little bit larger than GW beastmen at any rate. The quality of the sculpting and casting was superb, it was the easiest figure to prepare, though the fairies are tiny and very delicate (he says, pretending he did not snap off one teeny weeny foot and spent 10 minutes searching for it on the floor).

At first glance it's a sweet woodland scene, with Pan playing with a pair of fairies. But take a closer look and you will see that he is reaching to his hip, where a sickle hangs at his belt. The fairy on the ground can see this and is looking concerned, but the one in his hand remains oblivious to the imminent danger. That was my interpretation of the scene and I chose to paint it in a darker palette, with red washes on the hands and muzzle, to hint at the bloodshed to come.

I am reasonably pleased with the end result, there are a few areas that could perhaps be a bit smoother, but I think the overall mood of the piece is what I was aiming for. I discovered a couple of new things while working on it. Firstly, that fine roots from woody plants from the garden make excellent branches. And secondly, that photographing against a black background is not as hard as I had expected and helps to show more detail than a grey background.