In the Studio #2: Seeing Spots

With the Spooky SM Swap done with on Model Horse Blab, the time has come for the Secret Santa! This is my third year doing the Secret Santa, and as usual for any swap or swap-like event, I'm excited. My first year I gave my partner a custom of her mare, which she adored.

Last year, I hunted down a Smoke Western Prancing Horse and made my victim very happy (I think he might have been a sort of mini-grail. Either way, she was thrilled to get him). This year, I'm doing a custom once again.

Because there's a link in my MHB signature to this blog and I share it on Facebook, I'm gonna have to be secretive about this. I won't say much about my partner, but I won't leave you in the dark either. So meet a little pony I've named "Obi-Wan".

Er, well, Obi-wan so far. My partner mentioned liking G1s, so after a hunt, I was able to snag one from another blabber. He came pre-primed, and thank goodness! Here in the backwoods of Pennsylvania, winter's already here (I say as there's snow on the ground outside). If I had to prime him myself I have no idea how long it would have taken to get him outside. 

The horse he's being modeled after is a fleabitten grey. I've never done fleabites before, but I was up for the challenge, as usual. First was a layer of white to cover up that grey.

I used the acrylic that comes with those little Breyer custom kits... in hindsight, a bad idea. I was looking for something thin since this guy was starting to lose detail, so I opted out of my thicker white. The Breyer stuff isn't that great. Oh well, live and learn. He'll be covered up anyway. Then it was onto mane and shading. 

It doesn't look like much in this photo, but he got a couple washes of grey and some pastel work, and his mane and tail were started. The horse Obi-wan is a portrait of has very light, creamish-grey hair... very interesting, really. So it wasn't too much different from the body color. At this point I started getting a little frustrated because in honesty, he doesn't look like he's getting anywhere fast. So, I figured since I'm done with the basic shading, I can start on the fleabites. Easy enough, right? Just whip out the Prismacolors and go to town!

-sigh- Again, I've never done a fleabitten horse before. It's... tedious, to say the least. Dot after tiny dot with colored pencil. That portion of the neck took me around 15 minutes. But I will persevere! 

Although it might end in me becoming cross-eyed. 

Stay tuned!