While I love painting gaming miniatures, there is no shortage of non-gaming artistic miniatures and busts that interest me as well. About once a year, I treat myself to undertaking one of these larger, but more meaningful subjects. As 2023 drew to a close, I decided to put my other projects on hold and take a month or two to concentrate on one model that has been on my mind for a long time: Raziel from the Legacy of Kain/Soul Reaver video game series.
For those who are unfamiliar with this franchise, it is named for the vampiric warlord Kain and his centuries-long efforts to restore balance to the land of Nosgoth. This “balance” represented a harmony between the different magical elements of the land, each of which was focused into a physical Pillar and protected by a Guardian. In the first game of the series, Blood Omen, Kain is transformed from a young nobleman into a fledgling vampire, and is quickly wrapped up in the political and spiritual machinations of the Guardians of the Pillars. Through their use and manipulation, Kain unwittingly changes the course of history and dooms not only the physical Pillars of Nosgoth, but the order and prosperity that they generate. Along the way, he discovers the powerful Soul Reaver sword, a blade possessed by a ravenous spirit that consumes the souls of those it kills.
The second game, Soul Reaver, begins hundreds of years into Kain’s reign over the decaying kingdom. Raziel, one of Kain’s lieutenants is sentenced to an eternity of pain and torture for having developed wings, essentially surpassing his master’s evolutionary progress. Begin awoken by a spectral god of the underworld, Raziel is tasked with overthrowing Kain and restoring a form of balance to the world. Disfigured and effectively “zombified” by his punishment, Raziel now straddles the line between the physical realm and the spectral realm (underworld), feeding on souls rather than blood to sustain his form. Early in the game, Kain strikes Raziel with the Soul Reaver, with the sword shattering to the surprise of all. The spirit inhabiting the Reaver binds itself to Raziel, producing a “wraith blade” with the same soul-devouring qualities of the original sword. Armed with this new weapon, Raziel hunts down his former brethren and pursues Kain, only to find that he is also playing a role in the manipulations of higher powers, and not all is as it seems.
This series of games occupies a very sentimental place in my heart. Not only was it one of the first games I played on the Sony Playstation, but the intricate story and political twists and turns were fascinating and enthralling to my young mind. But even more importantly, the gothic atmosphere and visual design of the environments and characters were truly inspiring. Raziel in particular was glorious: exposed muscles and tattered wings that made him seem continuously tortured, the missing lower jaw and gaping throat through which he consumed the souls of his foes, and the use of his cowl to conceal his disfigurement. He is at once noble and powerful, and yet also horrific and pitiful.
The decision to paint this iconic character was solidified (literally) when I stumbled upon a digital sculpture that perfectly captured everything I loved about this character. It was part of a monthly release from the Prey stl Collection Patreon, and came in various sizes. Poised upon one of the ruined Pillars of Nosgoth, Raziel is depicted in a dynamic pose that perfectly captures his agility and posture. The way his wings flare out behind him, the angle of his gaze, the way the Soul Reaver is held ready to strike… it was all perfect. So, having acquired a 12k printer which was capable of the level of detail I desired, I printed him off in 75mm scale, and began to paint.
Everything went relatively smoothly, but there were some minor hiccups that I encountered. First of all, there was the issue of color palette. In the games, Raziel is able to travel between the physical realm and the spectral realm, the latter of which is depicted with a heavy greenish cast to all lighting effects. I chose to paint the figure as though he were in the physical realm, because I find the spectral realm a bit monotone and less interesting overall. This led to a second issue, however, as Raziel’s coloration and level of detail vary greatly across the three Soul Reaver titles. The original game was released for the Playstation, while Soul Reaver 2 and Defiance were released on the Playstation 2. The later titles had much crisper visuals and more intense coloration than the original.
The tone of Raziel’s blue flesh was different in all incarnations as well as in the rendered production art I was able to find. Given this broad range of options, I chose a tone that seemed in keeping with my memory, although it could be considered completely inaccurate depending on with which source it is compared.
As I began painting, other problems began to arise. While the sculpt itself looks amazing, I came to find many inaccuracies and imperfections as I progressed. The musculature of his legs is not anatomically consistent, forcing me to “wing it” in regards to identifying what tissue corresponded to certain features. The game model for Raziel wears a greave on both legs, but the sculpt depicts a cloth wrap on the left leg instead. Similarly, the wraps around his forearms are a single layer on the sculpt, while the game assets have a longer white layer that extends onto the upper arm. And lastly, although the folds in his cowl add to the realism and sense of motion that drew me to this model, this was much simplified in the game art. These folds made it impossible to cleanly render the white glyphs (the symbol of Raziel’s clan) that are integral aspects of his overall appearance, somewhat diminishing the “likeness” that I was able to achieve.
Still, in the end, this turned out to be one of my most satisfying projects to date. I also ended up designing and printing a simple plinth on which to display the finished piece. I am very pleased with the end result, and plan to enter this into a painting contest at some point down the road. While I had hoped to create more dynamic lighting and some OSL effects, this is still my best work. My only real regret is that it took me several months to finish (lots of family events and other commitments made painting time scarce). Definitely looking forward to tackling more subjects like this in the future, although I plan on returning to smaller pieces for the foreseeable future.
“Flesh”:
The areas of exposed muscle and ligaments were all base coated with VPA Periscopes (70.309). Shade was applied in the deepest recesses and downturned areas with a 1:1 mix of Periscopes and VMA Armor Brown (71.041). The major forms were then picked out with a 1:1 mix of Periscopes and VMC Medium Blue (70.963), which served as a base tone for these portions. This was lightened with the addition of VMC Ice Yellow (70.858) in multiple stages, followed by the addition of VMC Ivory (70.918). Areas of extreme highlight and ligamentous focus were painted with VMC Pale Blue (70.906) and Ivory.
The general process for the muscle effect was to sketch the shadows and highlights for each area, but stopping tone short of the brightest or darkest tone intended. Then the fibers were laid down with a slightly brighter tone, then highlighted more intensely than the areas surrounding them. Shade was added to the lower portion of each striation, then everything was blended to completion.
Cloak and Wraps:
The entire area was blocked in with VMC German Camo Black Brown (70.822). A base tone was created with VMC Leather Brown (70.871) and VGC Parasite Brown (72.042) mixed 1:1. A shade tone was created with the addition of German Camo Black Brown, and several highlight tones were created with the addition of incremental portions of VMC Ice Yellow (70.858) and additional Parasite Brown.
Leg Armor:
The leg armor was painted using a standard non-metallic metal application of using the same base tone used for the cloak and wraps, but substituting VMC Green Grey (70.971) for the highlight tones.
Hair:
The hair was base coated with VMC Black (70.950) and highlighted with grey tones created from Black and VMC Pale Grey Blue (70.907).
Claws:
The claws were base coated with a 1:1 mix of VMC Leather Brown (70.871) and VPA Highlight Africa. Tank Crew (70.340). The major forms were lightened with additional Highlight Afrika Tank Crew, then highlighted with the addition of VMC Green Grey (70.971).
The Reaver:
The spectral energy was base coated with Schmincke Titanium White. This was then layered with mixes of Titanium White, VGC Electric Blue (72.023) and VGC Magic Blue (72.021) to create a bit of a flame effect.
Base:
Soil:
The entire area of soil was base coated with VMC US Olive Drab (70.887). Multiple layers were applied with mixes of US Olive Drab and VMC German Camo Beige WWII (70.821) to the upper edges, working up to pure German Camo Beige WWII for the highlights. Point highlights were applied to the sharpest edges with a 1:1 mid of German Camo Beige WWII and VMC Green Grey (70.971). Shade was applied to the deepest shadows with a 1:1 mix of US Olive Drab and VMA Armor Brown (71.041).
Bones:
The bones were base coated with a 2:2:1 mix of VMC Green Grey (70.971), VMC German Camo Beige WWII (70.821), and VMC. US Olive Drab (70.887). This was blended into the base with the addition of more German Camo Beige WWII and US Olive Drab (the midtown of the soil mix above), and highlighted with the addition of more Green Grey.
Pillar:
Stone:
The stone of the pillar was base coated with a 1:1 mix of VMC London Grey (70.836) and VMC Green Brown (70.879). A shade tone was created with the addition of VMC Black (70.950), and highlight tones were created with teh addition of VMC Sand (Ivory) (71.075).
Green Stone:
The green area of stone was base coated with a complex mixture of the base mix of the pillar (VMC London Grey (70.836) and VMC Green Brown (70.879)), VMC Green Sky (70.974), and a touch of VMC Park Green Flat (70.969). This was darkened with VMC Black (70.950) for shade tones, and lightened with VMC Pastel Green (70.885) for highlight tones.
Metal:
The metal trim was base coated with VMC German Camo Black Brown (70.822). A standard non-metallic metal approach was then used with the following colors: German Camo Black Brown, VGC Heavy Sienna (72.154), VMC Japanese Uniform WWII (70.923), and VMA Sand (Ivory) (71.075).
DarthTom's Gaming 
Fantastic! Your best yet Tom! I would buy this. It’s as good as anything I’ve seen on Sideshow Collectibles.
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