Princess Merida [WIP - Dress sans freehand patterns]

For Princess Merida's dress, I finally decided to go with a light turquoise/sky blue dress. It was either that or a dark teal dress which is actually the more accurate hue for the dress design as well as being a colour traditionally associated with the character as per in the movie posters. My decision was made with an eye towards making the miniature retain a more vivid colour scheme overall. Moreover, of all Princess Merida's costumes in the movie Brave, the light turquoise/sky blue one is my favourite.  

Princess Merida, latest progress on her dress and weapons

Decision was made to go with a light turquoise/sky blue dress with a yet-to-be designed freehand pattern

Red hair goes well with the light turquoise/sky blue dress

Each miniature has his or her own favourite paint line that complements their painting style. For me, I love how the Vallejo Model Color series enable me to paint smooth colour transitions and that paint line is fast becoming my favourite. That being said, the Reaper Master Series and Citadel paints come a very close second and third respectively. It's only after some time in the hobby I've come to realise there is no such thing as a 'best and only' paint to use but that it's more a case of using a paint line (or combination of a few) that best suits your own unique style of painting miniatures. So don't be influenced when someone says use only this brand. Instead, try it out first to see if it suits you.

Side view reveals a surprisingly dynamic angle of Merida's dress

Folds on Merida's dress made painting shadows a breeze

Back view of my latest progress on the Princess Merida repaint project

Currently, the dress looks empty and is shouting out for some freehand patterns/designs to spruce it up. Although I will be using the dress patterns seen in the movie as reference, the final design will not be a pure replication of the original patterns. They will have to be modified and to a certain extent simplified in order to enable it to be painted freehand on a miniature. However, the texture and colours of the dress patterns will remain the same i.e. something approximating gold embroidery.

After painting Merida's dress, I've come to appreciate the level of dynamism inherent in the sculpture

Shadows lean towards turquoise while highlights approach light sky blue

In addition to Princess Merida's dress, I also painted up her weapons. Depending on how this repaint job progresses, I might feel confident enough to add some freehand designs to the bow. But for now, I will have to see how the dress freehand patterns/design turns out first. And before I can get started on that front, I will need to come up with some easy to paint patterns as well as watch tutorial videos of expert painters doing freehand painting. Thankfully, doing both should be fun activities for me.