Thracian Peltast

Step-by-Step Painting Guide

by Eddy Vandersteen

Eddy Vandersteen sent us some Work-in-Progress photos for the boxart version of the El Greco Miniatures Thracian Peltast (EGM-BU12). Eddy uses oils to paint most of his busts. Eddy has done a fantastic job painting it. Well done Eddy! You will find a description of the oil mixes and techniques used for the painting when you click on each photo. Enjoy!

Face – Basemix was applied in two layers, using Humbrol 63 Matt Sand enamel, leaving 24hrs to dry between applications.

After leaving the basemix to dry for 24 hrs, the first coat was applied: Brown Madder Alizarine / English Red 30/70. First highlight is with a little Yellow Ochre. Second highlight is with Naples Yellow. Third highlight is with Naples Yellow added with some White. The cheeks are done with Burnt Sienna and a little touch of Red. The Shadows are done with Brown Madder Alizarine and a little Purple Madder. All is done wet on wet, with any corrections or a few highlights applied the following day when it’s dry.

The Eyes are done with white added with some of the basic skintone to make sure it’s not too white. In the corners of the eyes you can add a tiny bit of red that is worked subtly into the white. The iris was done by painting a circle in Payne Grey in the centre of the white eyeball.

I painted the colour of the iris by adding some Blue French Ultramarine worked subtly in the Payne Grey and then I added some White to make it a bit lighter and a dab of white for the eye sparkle, finished off with a little black dot for the pupil. All was done wet on wet.

The hair is done with Payne Gray with highlights of Warm Gray, subsequently adding Naples Yellow and a dab of White.

Clothing and cape are a mix of Burned Sienna/Yellow Ochre, highlighted with some Ochre and then some Naples Yellow; the shadows are painted with a little Brown Madder Alizarine.

The line of yellow is Cadmium Yellow added a bit of Brown Madder for the shadows and a bit of White for the highlights. These are the colours I used but you can choose any type of earthy colours.

The clothing under the cape is Brown Madder Alizarine / Purple Madder with highlights of White.

The little line on the sleeve was painted using a little Burned Sienna with a dab of Orange, outlined with a thin Brown Madder Alizarine line and the orange highlighted slightly with Naples Yellow.

Finally we come to the pattern of the cape: a number of thin lines in any shape to make the cape look like a blanket (images of Peltasts on the internet can help here), a little patient work that takes some time, but looks nice once finished, and that’s about it!

Adding pattern detail

Good Luck and have fun,
Eddy Vandersteen