Hi guys,
I took some new pictures last night using better lighting. The skintone in these looks more like the model does. And you can see the hair much better. I tried putting in a heavier, darker wash like we talked about and it looked a little to drastic so I removed it. I also reduced the exposure to darked the pictures some.
As always, I appreciate any constructive criticisms and suggestions you have.







Thanks,

Nice, Nice, and Nice.
The lighting is Great and really makes a big difference.
The hair is solid.
The redish under the eyes is well done.
Super job.

Well the hair looks much better now. This is an excellent bust. You have really done an awesome job painting it.

Im going to disrupt the applecart a bit ..........
Hi Mongo. From my memory, the figure in the movie, had white hair.
I liked the previous photos. Now looking at the face from the front it has improved. There is good defination and it can be seen that the hair is white.
From the back it is grey hair, with some white highlights maybe. Maybe too much washing has darkened the white hair to grey hair. I think it needs a touch up again.
Just adding my opinion ...... not saying it is wrong or needs improvement. But I think this is what you want opinions on. Good luck anyway ....... its still a brilliant bust no matter what shade you have!!

Hi guys,
Thanks to you all for taking the time to look and to comment.
Actually, the hair is no different here than is was in the origional post. I tried the dark wash on the bottom of the braid and it looked too dark so I removed it. I think the hair looks grey only because I reduced the exposure(?) to cut down on the glare. In real life is is pretty white in color.
I do appreciate your taking the time to offer your opinion plastic. It is what I hope to get when I post my pictures. I've said before, I take no offense to honest, sincere comments and questions. I've never felt that anyone here at the big A has been anything but. .
I think the next thing I need to work on is my photography skills.
When I take my time with the lighting and such, and then review the pictures on my home computer first, I get much better results. Taking the shots at home and then not looking at them until I get to work and post them doesn't seem to be a good idea

I should be able to finish my WWI Marine figure this weekend too. I had to do some backtracking and repaint the trench coat and gas mask bag this week.
Keep an eye peeled for it and let me know what you think.
Sincerely, thanks again guys.

Wow- goes to show you how much a photo can show two different things. I saw the 1st photos and they were overexposed on the hair and I (IMHO) saw it as to washed out.
This one seems very good to me now and the difference is exposure times.

Either way - I like it!

Hi Craig

Super job. The face, clothes and hair look great.

The problem with sharing online is photography! Most online contests are more of a picture taking contest than an actual model making/painting contest in my opinion. I've had some average figures that photographed really well, and a couple of my better paint jobs look crap in 'digital'.

Nonetheless, it's easy to see you did a great job on that bust because the face and eyes are super in both versions of the photos!!

Cheers
Andy

WOW that looks great!

Looks great, MM. When I look at the straight on, full face picture, it's very reminiscent of Karloff as THE MUMMY .

SSSSsssssshhhhhhhh!!!!! This is how I get my average models to look OK for here! #:-)
Very true though. I have seen models in the flesh and up close, and then on the net and there is differences sometimes. Hues, lighting, exposure, etc all play a part. Even the same model haveing photographs in different location can look very different. I suppose camera time is something we should all invest a little more in!

Ziss looks very very exzeelent, makes me vwant to suk some blood #:-) looks great, cheers

Hi Craig.

Very nice painted bust you have there. May I ask how you did the wrinkles in the face? In my opinion, the face is painted a little to dark, but it could be the exposure, that you explained above.

As I said, I really like your bust, incredible detail!

Craig, may I ask how long have you painted busts?

Regards:

Jamal

hi Craig

that's beautifull work man, how did you do that face so realistic ?

love that poneytail :-)

Hi guys,
Hey, I'm glad that you like the Dracula bust.
Jamal, I've been painting busts ever since I decided to start painting figures seriously. That was in 1994 I think. My second serious attempt at a figure was a bust. Of the 25 figures I've completed, 17 of them are busts. I really like doning them much more than full figures. As far as the wrinkles go, they are cast into the face. I did have to take them down a little bit with steel wool. Then, after the face was painted and dry, I applied several very thin washes of Burnt Sienna in them and blended them out. I didn't want anything on the face to be too intense. In real life, the skintone on the model is paler than it looks in my pictures. The shots in my previous post have a lot of glare in them. That's why I darkened these.

Steffen, It's good to hear from you. It's been a long time since we've chatted. I'm glad that you like the face on the bust. But like most of my work, luck plays a big part in how they turn out . It took me 5 tries to get a face that I liked on him.
Thanks again guys,

hi Craig

indeed long time no see, still i always found your work a true masterpiece

untill later

steffen

How could I have missed posting in here?! I love your work, Mel! Thanks for the url again. I'm a very big fan of horror/fantasy/scifi .. I loved the character as portrayed in the movie version of Stoker's book. You have brought the character back to life! The detail is gorgeous, the effect of the overall bust is melodramatically eerie. I think, and I'm no expert here, not even an amateur, pretty much just a new pup beginner here, perhaps a little lighter on the skin tones, wasn't he a bit paler? Being sort of dead? I don't remember anymore. The blending, dry brushing and touch ups have given this bust a very "real" look. Hats off to you for making this bust a true testament to the poetic art of Bram Stoker's infamous Dracula!

Bloody Marys anyone?

simply fantasic!