A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....
Vader re-visited
I’ve revisited my modified Darth Vader for Imperial Assault. I’ve painted this figure months ago, but I’ve made a lot of progress with how I paint gloss effects, light reflections and OSL since then, so I went back and applied what I learned to Vader.
The challenges here were 1) on an almost entirely black figure to replicate the different materials and how they interact with light – from the very reflective black mask, helmet, shoulder and leg armour over the semi-reflective suit to the almost non-reflective cape – 2) creating plausible-looking reflections of the red-tinted lightsaber blade on the figure in accordance with the reflective properties of the materials in question, and 3) to balance the intensity of the OSL with the imagined white environmental light (like that in an imperial facility or on a starship), so that the OSL does not overpower the figure.
Hey, I’d just like to say that I’m really impressed with your work. Seeing pieces like yours always gets my mind working and helps me improve, so keep up the good stuff!