Table portraits 20.

The table portrait series continues, and we are still in autumn 2021. This time the models in question are a bit unusual, because they are not Breyers. I made the first horse myself somewhere in 2017, and he was and is my first original sculpture who also got finished. The second one is my OSC as well.

His name is Passmore, alias Passi, and he is... not a draft horse. I don't know what he is, because he looks like a large horse but he is meant to be in traditional scale, where he is more comparable to ponies than horses. 

All I can say is that he's recognizable for something made in my personal style, and I do not mean that as complete positive; he is ugly. I can find Passi's face photogenic, but that's it, and he is not the model I could use when I introduce strangers to the model horse hobby. 

The second OSC to be shown is also from 2017. In fact these two were finished at the same time, but Passi is only technically older. This roan mare is officially named Blue Tears, alias Tilda. Her breed, mosteasy, is a fictional one and not meant to be pretty, but my sculpt made it even worse. Way, way worse. I only tolerate her head, really... 

That halter on her is old and outdated, but it being too large to Tilda has some story meanings. I could really change the buckle to a better one and also redo the connector, but I will not remember it the second time I go to the art room. (Plus, it is a trash halter. They usually don't seem to be worth much attention, although can be nice to make since I get to use all the leftover leather strips to them.)

Tilda is small, even smaller than Passi. She could be probably a bit over metre tall on the withers if was real, and... That is really small. It is clear that an A4 paper isn't enough to draw a sketch to which you use to make the armature with. It has to be at least A3, or bigger. I have since started to use the cardboards from Breyer traditional boxes to sketch sculptures on, and I also calculate and mark there the withers height I want.

The next horse to be portrayed is a Breyer.

Table portraits 19.

Table portraits from autumn 2021 continue (while I try to cook up something else to publish than just photo piles...). This time everything is monochromatic, and I have changed the settings a bit at times.

The model is Catch Me on the Cantering Warmblood mold. My individual goes by the stable name Maksi (Maxi). He seems photogenic, but maybe his coloration doesn't make hip "pop" from photos well enough... Maybe I should use a dark background instead. 

If you compare the first photo to the ones that came after it, there are tiny reflections which the other shots don't include. I guess I tried to spread the lamplight with the foil-covered cardboards and it didn't do much, so I continued without. When seeing that now, I think I should have continued to use the spreading tools.

Unlike in Ruska's case, I was able to take closeup photos and it didn't feel weird or useless at all. And in case some (many) of my photos look like they have been taken from a bit too above and not so much on the horse's level, the reason for that is only because the backdrop paper wasn't large enough.

These were also edited very minimally. The joys of monochromatic photos. No need to rip nerves into pieces thanks to stupid lamplights (my arch enemy). Though, I mainly left the editing minimal because otherwise I could have taken the contrast too far (I like to make bright brighter and dark darker), and the smooth atmosphere could have been gone then. 

Seriously, the next time I take photos like that from this horse, I am sure to put a bridle on him.

Table portraits 18.

In this table portrait post I show one holiday model: Minstrel. It is a she, unlike what the mold usually is(?), and mine is stable named Ruska. She got her name from some dream, and it just stuck. What comes to this photography session, I learned that not all molds/models are photogenic in the same way; for example the one in this case is too smooth for the detailed portraits I was focusing on.

I included this photo here just in case some people don't recognize the model otherwise.

That also is why I didn't take as many photos as I thought I would. It just didn't inspire me, plus the yellow lamplight and maybe that dull color setting (I assume I used the portrait mode, which usually desaturates colors noticeably) were a stupid combination. 

This is a bit brighter than the previous one, hence why I included it.

Overly bright horse - but her halter is very visible.

A bit darker. Apparently we are on the shaded side here.

Taking closeup shots did not help. 

Trying to focus on her eye.

Taking the halter off "out of the way" did not help neither. I came to the conclusion that this horse is not suitable for anything with a very melancholic atmosphere. 

I just don't like how yellow these all are. Desaturated colors look better if the colors are overall colder, but these have yellows and oranges...

Ruska is my first and so far only OF silver bay.

I'm never sure if people read these or not, or if my thoughts are interesting or not, but I feel I can give the readers more if I also explain whys and whats which go with my photography. One important aspect is that I also memorize these to myself here. I have forgotten a lot of what I thought during and soon after the photos were taken. This is just as much of a personal hobby documenting as is writing about customizing processes, too.