 (this page's content courtesy of R. Korol) as I said on the previous page, there's a learning curve for painting customs. i don't recommend trying it out the first time on a paid commission. make one for yourself, or a friend, and do that a couple times until you have the hang of it. otherwise you'll be making a serious mess with paint remover, soap, scrubbing, etc., if you need to reclaim a piece of bait. i do not recommend, at all, using model paints to paint bodies, even acrylic (never use oil-based paints - they never dry). the paints come out very glossy, contain more bubbles, and brush strokes never really seem to disappear. thinning them down never really seems to make a difference. materials you will need for painting: - a 1/2-inch flat paint brush (acrylic works well)
to prepare your paint, mix 1 parts water to 2 parts paint, until it is approximately the consistency of heavy cream. it should be wet enough to spread thinly, but not so wet as to drip. keeping the head separated from the body, begin applying a thin coat of paint to the entire pony. even though you'll be applying many coats of paint, try to keep each coat as smooth as possible, with no 'globs' of paint, and no air bubbles (you can blow gently on them to remove the tiniest ones). working with a clean surface prevents dust and lint from getting into the paint and then onto the pony. hold your pony as illustrated in the photographs, so that your fingerprints don't end up in the paint job (we don't paint the bottoms of the hooves). sit back and let the coat of paint dry for at least ten minutes (the paint should not be tacky to the touch).
if you will be stepping away from your work area for a long time, cover your palette with celophane to keep the paint from drying out. you may even want to move your mixed paint into a sealable container if you will be painting over a period of days. many art supply stores carry paint cups with lids, but you can use a 35mm film container (just remember to label what color is inside). apply as many coats as necessary to obtain a nice smooth painted body that is completely opaque. white paint will require more coats than black, with many variations in between. nefermoon required approximately 15 coats to cover the stain on her side.
if you aren't able to handle painting fine lines, you may want to be careful to paint around already existing hasbro eyes on your pony. some customizers recommend using a toothpick to put paint between eyelashes. i'm not personally hesitant to paint eyes, so i just go ahead and remove the eyes during the initial prepping stage. next step - the devil's in the details... :home: :ponies: :purchasing guidelines: :FAQ: :order: :links: :commissions: |
