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ARGH… I went to Michael’s tonight… knowing that my PYO Gryphon would arrive tonight (and she did!! WOOT!)… looking for Masking fluid…
Imagine my ETERNAL frustration when I couldn’t find it at Michael’s! They had some for Watercolors… but NOTHING for use with acrylics… 👿
Add to that the fact that I couldn’t find a bloody employee in the entire store that could help me… I left… very perturbed… and without anything. 😛
Does anyone know if clear acrylic medium would work?
Or does anyone know of any place better than Michael’s to find the stuff?
My last resort is a more expensive art store. ::sighs:: I guess I’ll hit that on the way home tomorrow. 😛 At least I can get my acrylic basecoat on the gryphon tonight… before attacking her with pastels. 😀
Honestly, if you’re at all a steady hand with a brush, you don’t need masking fluid. I hate the stuff, having battled with it mightily and lost on my very first PYO.
Now I just paint around the eyes, and if I get any paint on them, it comes off very easily when scraped with a fingernail or a toothpick.
SPark wrote:Honestly, if you’re at all a steady hand with a brush, you don’t need masking fluid. I hate the stuff, having battled with it mightily and lost on my very first PYO.
Now I just paint around the eyes, and if I get any paint on them, it comes off very easily when scraped with a fingernail or a toothpick.
same here…..and I’ve found that most of the things at michaels are old and not very good anymore….bought some golden paints there….and they ended up being old and half dried….making clumps on my current PYO kirin….making me have a bad attitude trying to get it all off and start over…so now the scales are not absolutely smooth…. 😡
as for masking….I don’t use it at all it’s too expensive……and the eyes are actually pretty easy just to clean up….
I use the one for watercolor. I use it just for masking off the eyes (or the Kirin’s horn) and I apply it thick (mine has thickened over time so it is chunker than the new watery form)and the acrylic hasn’t penetrated it.
I use the masking fluid because I spray prime and then spray seal the final piece and the eyes NEED to be covered in this process.
I have used masking tape as well. I actually find this pretty useful and inexpensive. Also, I haven’t tried the masking fluid when it is in it’s watery form, so that might be a pain to work with.
Well… I’m not too worried about getting the acrylic on there…
It’s the multiple layers of sealer…
You see I paint my model horses in pastel dust…
So the gryphon will soon be a basic base color, painted in acrylics.,.. then I’ll go over her in multiple layers of pastel dust… shading… removing it… etc to build up her color.
I’m just worried about buildup on the glass eyes… I’m pretty sure I could scrape the sealer off if I need to… but it should go on ok…
I’d still like to find the stuff… I can see masking areas in the feathers that I need to remain white… then when I’m done pasteling… remove the masking fluid and BANG… I have white feathers. 😀
I remember someone saying something about masking fluid specifically for glass eyes at a taxidermy shop…
The stuff for watercolors is just fine. I’ve used it on all my griffins. Mine is newish, so it’s still very watery – I just apply it rather thickly. Too thin and it’s very difficult to get it all out of the eye socket. If you do it more thickly, it tends to hang on to itself and comes out all together when you grab it with a toothpick.
To the best of my knowledge, there is no stuff specifically for acrylics…
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom."
-J R R TolkienHi! This is covered in the PYO FAQ sticky at the top of this forum, but I’ll copy-paste. Oh, also, the watercolor masking fluid is what you will want to use, just try to put it on thick. Thin layers = hard to remove! I don’t think they make a kind just for acrylic. It’s all latex anyway.
Okay, copypaste:
– What is ‘masking fluid’? Where can I find it / do I really need it / etc?
Masking fluid is usually a latex-based fluid that you can brush onto artwork (it is often used in watercolor painting techniques) to prevent paint from adhering to that area. It can then later be removed. It’s great to protect the glass eyes (or whatever part) of a PYO from stray paint. It sounds simple! I wish!
I know a few of you have had problems with removing the masking fluid from the eyes after painting. That’s no good. I’m not sure what brands have been problematic (please feel free to share sentiments). The brand I use (discussed below) works like a charm, but I digress.So. Do you really need it at all? Yes and no.
Acrylic paint is polymer based (that is, it’s like plastic when it dries) and therefore is pretty easy to scrape or remove from the eye if you accidentally get some on there. I use the side of a toothpick for this so I don’t scratch up the eye. If you squirm at that idea, you can use little bits of masking tape, torn into small sections… and kinda mosaic them over the eye so that it is covered. The only problem that can happen is if the masking tape gets too wet it can ‘slide’ around on the eye and could move out of place.
So, if you are careful, it’s not even really needed.
The problem is if you choose to clear-coat your PYO. Most clear coats that you will find come in a spray paint style can and are sprayed onto the statue. This does not bode well for unprotected eyes- even though clear coats dry… well, clear… they can create a matte or weird film over the glass eye that does not look right.
So what works?
The masking tape method… or a masking fluid.
I use a brand of masking fluid that is made specifically for protecting glass or acrylic eyes. It’s actually a taxidermy supply and I’ve only ever been able to find it online. It’s called “Gary Bowen’s EYE PROTECT” and does a beautiful job.
http://www.vandykestaxidermy.com/product/01334905/Volunteer mod- I'm here to help! Email me for the best response: nambroth at gmail.com
My art: featherdust.com
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