Rollin' with the Stolen

Just a quick update on how my competition piece is coming along.

I've been slowly getting my rat swarm compiled. Greenstuff is still looking like my go-to material.

I grew weary of Hamelin and his crew of creepy kids glaring at me while I painted my PIP2k13 pieces. Yes I could have moved them, but if you've ever seen the Puppetmaster series, you'll understand why I chose not to escalate the situation.

I got down as many basecoats as I could. I held off on the little details until I knew I was satisfied with the clothes and flesh.



Before you freak out about the Stolen's skin color, hear me out.

Ready?

Leptospirosis.

In short, Leptospirosis is a nasty little disease that is most often seen in occupations dealing with exposure to animal urine. You know, like rats. Think of the worst flu you've ever had, and then add jaundice, red eyes, and possible renal failure. Taadaa, meet my Stolen!

I will of course wash their skin so they don't look so radioactive, but I'm excited about the added bit of realism. The idea came to me as I was talking to a septic tank inspector. He explained to me how sewer gasses had so much funk that they actually ate away at concrete.

[[Pretend I took a picture of his example, and thank me for not actually showing it to you]]

That got me thinking about my project. I'm pretending Hamelin is exempt from sewer funk because I think he's a mirror image of Robert Knepper and that dude pulls of creepy using a regular skin tone. That just left his little buddies.

My first thought was to do the concrete effect and have them a bit... overripe. But then that gives the idea of zombies, which for once isn't my goal. After looking through my Minitair paints, I saw the "jaundice" color and then monstrously started hoping a sewer could give someone jaundice.

And after spending countless hours pouring through every medical book ever made, I happened upon leptospirosis. After looking up other potential symptoms (hello red eyes!), it was decided that a leptospirosis-ing I would go!

Tomorrow's goal is to finish my colors and get working on highlights and shadows. My son is determined to pass his cold on to me, but I will do my utmost to continue resisting. Until then, remember to wash your hands after handling animals or I'll send Hamelin your way.

See you tomorrow!