In parts 1 and 2, I used Celluclay to put a face on a Bucky skull, and let it sit for a while to let it dry. The other day, I noticed some greenish spots on the Celluclay. I had read people's reports about their paper mache projects getting mildew, so I decided I should go ahead and get the face painted in order to help protect it.
Before I go any farther, I want to make sure it's clear. I have no artistic talent whatsoever, as you can probably tell by the picture of the face I put on the skull. I have done only one or two projects with an airbrush, so I am a complete novice with that, too. Do not take anything I say on the topic as advice. It is not my area of expertise.
I was originally going to buy my airbrush paint from Pearl Paint, until I saw their shipping rates. I was only going to be buying a few bottles, so I was in the under $20 shipping category, which meant that the shipping charge was going to be $7.95. That would have put the cost at well over $4 per bottle, so I instead decided to look locally. There is a Hobby Lobby near where I work, so I stopped in on my way home one night. They had the exact same kind of paint. Most of the bottles were $3.99, so after factoring in the shipping costs, it was cheaper to go with Hobby Lobby than Pearl. I picked up 3 "transparent" colors: brite yellow, brite blue, and white. I already had deep red and black. I chose transparent colors to help make the blending easier.
That evening, I used this chart to help me produce flesh tones. Since the colors I was mixing where not identical to the ones the chart uses, the proportions were not identical. My first attempt end up being more red than I wanted. Just for fun, I also added an eyeball, eye patch, and hat to see what he'd look like. That definitely helped.
I wasn't able to get back to working on the skull for a couple days. When I went back to it, I noticed some thin cracks in a few places. So, now that it has some paint on it to help protect it, I think I'm going to let it sit for another week or two to see if more cracks appear. I figure it is better to wait on repainting the skull until I see if I'll need to deal with more cracks.
Airbrushing the skull part 2
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Page last modified 07/05/2009