January 30, 2008
More Gorilla Grodd in A Crayon Haiku #71!

More paint than gorilla.

Yeah, I know I said I wouldn’t, but then — as seen in A Crayon Haiku #71 — I decided to give Grodd one last go with the brush. I didn’t like how the black fur looked dull to the point of almost being grey, so I went out and got some gloss black last night and tried that… but then that was way too shiny, so I mixed it with some of the original black paint and went at it again. I like this level of shine — it’s not too intense, but it’s noticeable enough and definitely looks black. I also decided I wanted more contrast between the grey areas and the black, so I went over them with a lighter grey mix comparable to Ed McGuiness’s depiction of Grodd in the early issues of JLA: Classified.

EL OJO ROJO
Gorilla Grodd, Ed McGuiness style.

In keeping with that version, I also painted the eyes red and went over the teeth in white (mostly because I got some grey on them when I was repainting the face). I’m obviously not very good at painting small areas, so the teeth didn’t turn out all that great, but it’s not terribly noticeable except in closeups and there’s no way I’m risking screwing up the rest of the face (again) so to heck with it. You may also note that I applied a black wash to the grey parts, with multiple washes on the belly (partly because that’s sculpted fur, but mostly because it kept looking all uneven so I kept trying to correct it).

Anyway, I’m pleased on the whole with how he’s turned out — the scar on his face notwithstanding, he now looks a lot more like a unique depiction of Gorilla Grodd rather than an obvious repaint of Peter Jackson’s King Kong. I think the cape is a nice touch and helps quite a bit in that respect, too! Old school TMNT fans may recognize it, as it belonged to the original 1988 Shredder figure. Eventually I plan to get some purple cloth and cut a longer cape for Grodd (and maybe even outfit him with some bracelets, depending upon what I can find), but for now I’m quite satisfied with my first custom painted figure. :mrgreen:

Then again, I’ve already said that at least four times. 😐

-posted by Wes | 7:40 pm | Comments (5)
5 Comments »
  • the Jax says:

    oh man, I lost my Shredder cape somehow. Old tinface is making do with a purple one swiped from a “Battle Troll” (don’t ask).
    Your Grodd looks awesome! Is Toyfare still around? Do they still have a spotlight for reader customs?

  • Jester says:

    That they do, Jax. That they do. I agree Wes. You should submit a pic of Grodd to Toyfare.

  • Holy crap, dude! That’s even better than before! And… wait, this is your FIRST custom? O_O Wow… that’s mighty impressive! I’ve done customs myself, before, but you’ve definitely outdone anything I’ve made. At any rate, nice job, Wes. And I must admit, I also have quite a bit of trouble painting small areas. No matter how small a brush I use, I can never seem to paint small areas without messing up somehow.

  • yo go re says:

    You are a liar!
    This clearly cannot be Grodd:
    Where are his sideburns?

    –yo
    5-7-5

  • Wes says:

    Haha — nice haiku, yo! But honestly, I prefer Grodd without sideburns (frex, his McGuiness and animated portrayals) to the versions with those weird ear locks. Somehow they make even a giant bloodthirsty gorilla seem much less imposing. :\

Reply to Wes!

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