The harsh lighting creates shadows independent of the darker painted areas, certainly a consideration with this sort of thing, but the real magic is lost in a two dimensional representation on your screen, with the effect of the closest marine leering out toward the viewer flattened entirely. An angled photo shows this feature better, and the effect is almost 'bas-relief' in nature, something I only came across when researching these terms for the blog. I guess the usual problems photographing a three-dimensional war gaming models are magnified when the depth is reduced further.
Painting wise, a dark and sinister painting led to a rather drab paint job, with lots of darker glazes and washes, but the colour certainly draws the eyes to the key figures and away from the negative space and oddly sculptured contours in these areas! I also snapped a black and white picture to see what that would have looked like, and was pleasantly surprised at how it came out.
So all done it was a great way to dabble with sculpting, mixing products and actually following through and finishing a (small) project. This has given me a lot of confidence with Sculpey and I can't wait to start on some armatures for three-dimensional sculpts. I have no idea what I will use this particular piece for, maybe a badge on the side of my army bag or an interesting wall feature? I've already dropped it twice without harm so it's tougher than it looks!