Thats, interesting. As I was thinking to give it a try on a test piece, using the 'Humbrol-spray-metalcote'.. with an acrylic steel base... When the spray arrive's!... thats another outstanding purchase I have got to chase up.
However!... another question!... Win-Gel, to reduce drying times of oils, have you ever used it? and to what effect?......... actually, this might be 'Acrylic', based stuff just having a browse!

Looks like its Liquin??..

Mark

Win Gel no. But Liquin I use for many things such as glazing eyes, horses hooves, polished wood etc. I don't think it makes oils dry faster but it does aid flow. With my technique the oils dry quicker than normal anyway, so I don't worry too much about drying times. Many people here on PF use heat as a way of speeding the drying but, again, I do not employ any force drying methods.

Ron

Have got down to finalising shield design now. I used a very low tack masking tape and sketched out the upper design and, once in place, cut it with a new blade to avoid having to use too much pressure. Then I stippled the colour to avoid going under the edges of the mask. Once the mask was off, I added an edge colour to the design and then hi-lited certain areas for effect.
For the lower design I did not use any masking as I wanted a hand painted look. Once again I hi-lited areas for effect. When I was happy with the basic layout and colour I re-touched the centre wooden post and the boss/edging. I will do the weathering on the face and finish the back tomorrow.



Ron

Ron!... Which brand of mask did you use?...... This piece is looking better and better!.. Love the design!

Mark

It comes from Chlas Olson in Kingston so don't know if you have a branch near you. If not, I think they are on-line. Failing that, let me know and I will pick one up and post it to you mate. You can even stick it on a piece of paper and put it thru an inkjet printer to get your pre-cut mask. Then let it dry, apply and cut. It is better than any I have ever used and you can leave on for days, even on paper.

Ron

Ron, the only thing the web is coming up with is 'Clas Ohlson',... is this the fella? and what brand of tape?.. Stockvis, Tesa-Eco, masking film,

Mark

That is the way I want my metals to look "tops"

Ron T

Ok with the makeup brushes and nail polish but I ain't buying tights

Ron T

That's the fella Mark but, as to name , I took the wrapper off so don't know. What I can tell ya is it is a deep purple colour and, as far as I know, it is the only one that is that colour. It is a tape. Hope this helps.

Ron

Ron T, LOL. Glad you like the metals. Nail polish! What ya bin drinking.

Ron

Cheers Ron,.. that will be the 'Stokvis' low stick. about 3.50 a roll!

Mark

Ron,... Ron T,.. Has got 'Make-up', brushes, nail varnish!... and was enquiring about a piece called, 'A fairey wear's boots'... Hmm!

Ron T.... the game is up!

Mark

Hmmmmmm..........................Faeries in boots. Must be an over the border thing Mark. Just don't start him and Del off about the water up there.

Ron

Of course!.. we have to keep cross border relations civil!... As the last thing I would wish to meet, is a 'Burley', Scotsman, with painted nails, wearing stockings, and Dr Martins! coming at me with a Make-up brush!..

Mark

Ok, got the shield pretty much where I want it. Went for well used rather than 'after the battle'. Added a dirty staining by stippling to get a smoother fading. On the back I re-touched some of the grain and in between the boards. Once it is mounted on the torso I will look at it again and adjust if needed.


continues in next post

With the head and shield about done I turned to the torso. Seems that Purple was a colour favoured by some Gauls so thought it would make a change from the often used red and blue. This was more of a challenge than I had anticipated! Started with a scrub coat of Phthalo Blue + Payne's Grey which was thinned back with the make-up brush as usual. I made sure to get as much off the tops of the folds as possible to allow for later hi-lites. Next came Magenta over the blue which means I was able to 'mix' the colour as I worked. This is something I often do, as it allows me better control of the colour. Again, when thinning back, I made sure to leave only a hint of colour on the tops of the folds. For the hi-lites on the folds I used a pale stone coloured grey as opposed to white. I felt it would look too 'feminine' using white.
Next up was the leather. I decided to separate the straps from the body by making them a slightly different colour. Easily done by adding a change of the brown used in the base mix. At this stage it pays to have a small make-up brush for tight areas when thinning back. Again I used a pale warm grey for basic wear on the leather areas. The cloak and leather are about half done at this stage.
All of this will be left to dry before the final hi-lites and wear are added and the metals can then be worked.


Ron

Nice colors. Bought today the makeup brushes, and I gonna try your technique.
i'm curious about how i gonna feel with it.

Marc

Hi Marc, try to keep an open mind and not pre-judge how you think it will turn out. Just let it happen. When you apply the scrub coat just make sure you get into every detail and undercut but don't be fussy about how you put it on. It's worth using an old brush for this as it really is wearing on brushes. Remember to mix your colours darker than normal to allow for thinning back. If it doesn't work first time, just clean it off and do it again. Another thing you can do with scrub coats, is to apply a second one of a different colour. This is what I do with horses in particular but it applies equally to figures and busts. If you need any advice please ask

Cheers

Ron

The purple looks great Ron nice one

Steve