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Amstaff, I posted a bunch of progression shots in my PYO thread of a keeper I did. I’m nowhere near the skill level of others here, but maybe it can give you a little idea.
I’ve used both drybrushing and antiquing- they have a very different feel/effect to me. Not one is better than the other, just different. Depends on what ends up working for you. (the wolf in my thread is drybrushed, the others antiqued).
I don’t use the GAC; I do love to use retarder as I don’t work so fast and one thing you DON’T want to do is mix a color and then run out or have it dry and need to mix more. It seems you can never get it mixed just the same. I’m using the Golden fluid acrylics and find no issue for me with the pigment depth. I like the ‘soft’ feel of them too. I’ve used some of the craft (Decoart etc.) acrylics but they feel flat and dead to me next to the Golden.
I developed my technique from the guide by Jennifer/Nambroth and from one KoishiiKitty had on the old forum when PYOs first started coming out. I don’t know if it could be found now.From your pictures, I think you’ve got a fine start going. On my nebula unicorn I used a LOT of thin layers. And as Melody said, Muses can’t be ruined. They’re for practice and experimentation. As has been said in previous comments, build up your color layers until you’re satisfied and you should do well. Good luck and looking forward to seeing your muse when it’s done!
You can check out my work on dA & Redbubble!
https://prezaurian.deviantart.com/
https://www.redbubble.com/people/prezaurian?ref=artist_title_nameYou are definitely not ruining your muse! They are there to practice on and have fun with. =) You’ve gotten a lot of advice and techniques to practice, so I don’t want to inundate you with further options. However, looking at your comments and photos, I think it’s possible you are using too much GAC. Adding it will increase the translucency of your paint, and too much will make your paint act as a glaze. Great when you intentionally want that effect, but I don’t think that is what you want at the moment.
It looks to me like maybe using both the GAC and retarder is making the paint too thin and translucent. I would try painting only using one or the other and see what it does to the paint or try it on paper and see what it looks like first mixing different amounts. I don’t use tubes of paint but just regular craft acrylic paint in the little bottles you get at Michaels and I find they work well for covering. I haven’t used a base coat yet and found I only needed to do 2 layers for my colour to be what I wanted. I usally do 1-2 layers more though after the the first two coats to blend the colours and do the details I want so I have never had more than 3-4 layers on mine. Maybe my paints are thicker or more opaque but I find that to be enough layers. If you still don’t like the look, try painting a layer or two of paint over what you already have with no GAC or retarder and see if that fixes it. If you decide to start again though you can always strip the paint you have done and try again once you find what works. With my pieces if I don’t like a colour or something I have done or if I have painted outside a line or detail, I either try to take a bit of the paint off with a Q-tip and water if it hasn’t dried for too long or I just paint over it with a darker or different colour. Just experiment to get the thickness of the paint you want until you see what works.
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So the issue you’re having on your muse right now is the paint is diluted down to a point of being very translucent, more layers will help, or just not worry at all about diluting the paint down…
Mine are painted with Liquitex Heavy Body and Liquitex Basics, and the only time I ever put retarder in my paint is to extend dry time on my paint, which I only ever need when getting a really smooth blend, otherwise I actually like the short dry time… The way I handle my pieces while I’m painting, fast dry time keeps me from landing my hand in it and fingerprinting the snot out of my Windstones, lol! – The only time I put Liquitex medium/extender in my paints is if the paint is super pigmented (I rarely find this, though I have a Heavy Body orange that is extreme on pigment) or if I’m adding in a bunch of Pearl Ex powder in it and it needs a lil extender to keep it from being a dry texture (That’s hard to explain but makes sense the first time you do it, lol)
Otherwise Heavy Body and Basics will not clog up the details on a dragon if you apply small amounts of paint with the brush at a time and spread it finely and evenly.. Details get clogged when you lather on the paint without spreading it out nicely.
………………………….And most of all, don’t over-think these guys! They’re meant to be fun! 🙂 and they really are fun! I have 7 pieces with paint on them right now (work in progress pieces), and another 5 waiting for paint 😀 lol
Thank you so much for all the tips KaytanaPhoenix and everyone else who contributed !! I have so much info at my fingertips now, and so many cool threads to browse through and study 😛 I have more ideas to work with now, and can’t wait to jump back into it and try some other techniques. I just wish I didnt have to go to work today…… (and I was out all last night visiting… so didnt have time to absorb all the info )…..
I have to work the next 5 days, but am then on vacation for a WEEK !!! I am going away for a few days, but am hoping the rest of my time will be well spent hunched over my table paiting ! I cant wait !! And Im already thinking about ordering more PYO’s, and I have hardly started these ones yet ! LMAO!! I do want the FooDog family, and a unicorn…. hrrmmm… LOL !!
Oh, was going to ask what do you all use to clean your brushes with, just water? I have seen solutions at the craft stores for cleaning brushes.. but was thinking thats a waste of money? And are there any particular brands of brushes I should aim for?
Thanks again for all your help, you guys all ROCK !! 😀
Oh, was going to ask what do you all use to clean your brushes with, just water? I have seen solutions at the craft stores for cleaning brushes.. but was thinking thats a waste of money? And are there any particular brands of brushes I should aim for?
I just use good ole soap and water 🙂 I have a cup of water with me to wash my brushes as I am painting, but as far as the end of the day cleanup, I just take mine to the sink and gently wash them with a little bit of soap and water. Works for me!
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Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!I just use good ole soap and water 🙂 I have a cup of water with me to wash my brushes as I am painting, but as far as the end of the day cleanup, I just take mine to the sink and gently wash them with a little bit of soap and water. Works for me!
Thank you 🙂
Oh, was going to ask what do you all use to clean your brushes with, just water? I have seen solutions at the craft stores for cleaning brushes.. but was thinking thats a waste of money? And are there any particular brands of brushes I should aim for?
I just use good ole soap and water 🙂 I have a cup of water with me to wash my brushes as I am painting, but as far as the end of the day cleanup, I just take mine to the sink and gently wash them with a little bit of soap and water. Works for me!
XD Ditto on the soap and water! I think the brush cleaner solutions are just if you happen to forget to wash your brushes after you’re done with them for the day. But if your brushes weren’t expensive, it’s cheaper just to get a new brush in that case. Paint stiffened brushes never seem to go back to the way they were…no matter how much you try to get the dried paint out.
You can check out my work on dA & Redbubble!
https://prezaurian.deviantart.com/
https://www.redbubble.com/people/prezaurian?ref=artist_title_nameYep! What Melody said.
If you want a thin paint with a heavy pigment load… go with Golden Fluids. They are expensive because they have such rich, concentrated pigments!!
If you don’t mind a thin paint with a lighter pigment load… it’s just fine to thin down thicker paints such as those that come in tubes. These are generally less spendy and can get the same results for those on a budget, it just takes more time and layers.You’re not hurting anything the way you are doing it. Not at all! It is just a slightly different approach. For what it’s worth, I usually do anywhere from 3-10 glazes with thin paints, even when using Golden Fluids + GAC medium when doing my official pieces. The glazed layers creates a complex and rich color as light passes through each layer and is reflected back to the eye. It’s why the pieces I paint look much nicer in person than in a photo. 🙂
Happy painting!!
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My art: featherdust.comThank you for the tips 🙂 I hope to someday have a set of fluid acrylics to work with, and may just buy myself one now and then to add to my supplies. For now I will work with the paint I have in tubes, and will thin it down somewhat.
I have added another coat of each color on the muse a few days ago, with paint that I hardly thinned at all, and it really wasnt that big a difference in the way it acted as I painted it on, just a little darker color. I will continue to experiment and learn what works best for me. Im just glad to know that using many thin layers is normal, and that Im still heading in the right direction.
🙂
Hey Amstaff – just an FYI… Michael’s does care a basic set of the Golden Fluid primary acrylic paints that are not too costly if you use one of Michael’s 40%, or sometimes they have a 50%, off one item coupon. That may work for you. I got a set but haven’t had a chance to use them yet.
IN SEARCH OF MY NEXT GRAILS:
Black Peacock & Butternut Adult Poads
Kickstarter 'Rainbow Tiger' Bantam Dragon*~*~*~* Ela_Hara: The DragonKeeper *~*~*~*
*** Come visit me on deviantArt at http://ela-hara.deviantart.comThanks Ela_Hara, I had seen them there, but was unsure on them as I would have to mix my own colors, and I dont think Im ready for that just yet. Someday maybe 😉 I also seen a really nice set of Fluid Golden Acrylics at DeSerres (had more colors than the set I had seen at Michaels)…..that may be on my Christmas Wish list, lol 🙂
Thanks Ela_Hara, I had seen them there, but was unsure on them as I would have to mix my own colors, and I dont think Im ready for that just yet. Someday maybe 😉 I also seen a really nice set of Fluid Golden Acrylics at DeSerres (had more colors than the set I had seen at Michaels)…..that may be on my Christmas Wish list, lol 🙂
LOL! That’s one of the reasons I haven’t tried them yet, I need to think harder about a color scheme to do since I’d have to mix my colors. I may use them for the Fancy Ki-Rin PYO I got, and I’m thinking about a Koi style design in non-traditional colors you wouldn’t probably see on the fish. But he’s in line behind my Dragon, Muse, Keeper, and Kitty Griffin PYO’s, so I don’t know when I’ll get to him. My problem: too many ideas/PYO’s; not enough leisure time to paint! They’ll get done…eventually. 😉
IN SEARCH OF MY NEXT GRAILS:
Black Peacock & Butternut Adult Poads
Kickstarter 'Rainbow Tiger' Bantam Dragon*~*~*~* Ela_Hara: The DragonKeeper *~*~*~*
*** Come visit me on deviantArt at http://ela-hara.deviantart.comThanks Ela_Hara, I had seen them there, but was unsure on them as I would have to mix my own colors, and I dont think Im ready for that just yet. Someday maybe 😉 I also seen a really nice set of Fluid Golden Acrylics at DeSerres (had more colors than the set I had seen at Michaels)…..that may be on my Christmas Wish list, lol 🙂
LOL! That’s one of the reasons I haven’t tried them yet, I need to think harder about a color scheme to do since I’d have to mix my colors. I may use them for the Fancy Ki-Rin PYO I got, and I’m thinking about a Koi style design in non-traditional colors you wouldn’t probably see on the fish. But he’s in line behind my Dragon, Muse, Keeper, and Kitty Griffin PYO’s, so I don’t know when I’ll get to him. My problem: too many ideas/PYO’s; not enough leisure time to paint! They’ll get done…eventually. 😉
LOL! I feel exactly the same way ! I only have the muse, a normal ki-rin and a keeper dragon… but I have so many ideas for color schemes that I want to order more PYO’s already! 🙂 Its so addictive ! I love it ! !
Actually….. those are just the ones already prepped with base coats, well not the Kitty Griffin – but I’ve got an idea that I CAN’T get out of my head for it, so that one will be in line next out of the un-primed PYO’s after I do the others (or maybe before the Keeper?).
The PYO’s still in boxes all ready for me to start when I can are: entire FooDog Family, Griffin, Unicorn, regular Ki-Rin, the Fancy Ki-Rin I mentioned, and I already plan on getting two of the Kitsunes when they come out, and the PYO Oriental Dragons, in the future.
I’m also waiting on my friend to tell me when she wants me to paint one of the Flap Cats for her…. oh and of course the next PYO Swap if I can swing it…
And I already have color scheme ideas for them all …. now if I could just get some dedicated TIME! :bigsmile:
IN SEARCH OF MY NEXT GRAILS:
Black Peacock & Butternut Adult Poads
Kickstarter 'Rainbow Tiger' Bantam Dragon*~*~*~* Ela_Hara: The DragonKeeper *~*~*~*
*** Come visit me on deviantArt at http://ela-hara.deviantart.com
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