Elise the Witch - Better Late Than Never

Fifteen days after Halloween, I finally have my Halloween project finished.  I would like to use my normal excuse of real life stuff getting in the way but unfortunately the delay was mostly due to a very stubborn color - orange.  Oh, and maybe just a bit of that other stuff like, you know, work and such.

 

I finished Elise rather quickly since the color selection was fairly simple.  Hat, shirt, thong, stockings, and boots are all that covers the little witch.  But when it came to the pumpkin, I hit a stumbling block.   I really had not used orange before except to help highlight reds but since I basecoated with a light brown, I didn't think I'd encounter any issues.  Boy was I ever wrong!  I must have repainted that bloody pumpkin seven or eight times without ever getting results I was happy with.  Finally I simply gave up and let it be as is and came to the conclusion that I hate using orange....even more so than reds and yellows.  I think from now on, I will do whatever I can to avoid using that blasted color.

Is it just me and my poor painting skills or does anyone else have issues with orange?

Anyway, other than orange getting the better of me, Elise the Witch (Reaper 65015) was fun to paint.  I was drawn to the sexy seductive bearing of Elise over the more traditional Halloween witch and waited for the months to pass by after buying her so that she could find herself in the painting queue just in time for the spooky month.  I knew she would be a striking miniature when completed due to the simplicity of the sculpt.  And with her so scantily clad, I also knew I would be given the opportunity to work on my flesh tones (an area where I really need to improve).
 

The only problem I had with the miniature itself was that a portion of the right side of her face was degraded and somewhat missing.  I wish I had known before I started painting but the defect was hidden by the shadow of the form and camouflaged by the black primer.  Until I put on the basecoat on her face, I was unaware of the issue.  No worries though.  I now have an excuse to purchase another Elise and maybe conquer the dreaded orange pumpkin.