Nervous, Nervous Newbie!

[ChristinaV]

I am about to embark on my first PYO adventure… and I am more nervous about it than I had ever thought I would be. I paint at my local art center, and have been working with ceramic glazes with some degree of success for several years. Nothing professional by any means, but enough to make me happy and do a set of odd little gerbil figurines for a gerbil breeding club I was involved in.

I decided to make the leap to Windstone because I’m in love with the flap cats, and the closest I could get to those was the wolf with wings. I am now quaking at the detail! I’m afraid to handle the eyes! I SO don’t want to muck this up… my prior attempts at acrylics have been of mixed results, and more than once I’ve flung up my hands and swore to never touch the things again (though I inevitably do). And this was with relatively detail-light gerbils!

Taking a deep breath. I can get through this. Slowly. My art center staff are VERY supportive and stock good quality materials… I can buy better, but I think that what they have will work, and I’ll try the thinners and work slowly, in layers. I’ve read over the tutorial a few times. I’m deliberating between a flame-point Siamese wolf (but I didn’t get blue eyes – bah), a cheetah-style wolf, or a blackphase wolf with a flame-point mask and paws.

Will post the results when they are good enough to be called done… hope this turns out well enough to spur me to try another! 🙂

~Chris

While no one is expected to leap tall buildings in a single
bound, our aspiring heroes will be tested on their courage,
integrity, self-sacrifice, compassion and resourcefulness -
the stuff of all true superheroes.
- Stan Lee

[Kiya]

If you ask nicely, Susie might swap out the eyes for you. 🙂

I was terrified of my first PYO (and only finished one!) It will be fine and lovely I’m sure. At least you have some prior painting experience!

Everyone is rooting for you! Good luck and welcome!

[Susie]

If you find that you need a different color eyes we can send you another set & you can mail us back the ones you don’t use. 🙂

I haven’t painted one either… really want to do a Muse someday (when I have time)

[ChristinaV]

Thank you for the supportive words! I think I’ll keep the eyes – I do rather like them, and will try the blue another time. These will work well if I try the cheetah pattern, which might be a good start for me, as it would make the body much easier – one fairly even color. And even if I do go with a Meezer wolf, having non-blue eyes would accentuate the wolfness of her. 🙂

Will cross my fingers and hope – I think working slowly, layering with thin coats, will be the way to get the effect I want. I do hope the art center has thinner, though – I’ve never heard of it being used before, but then, with ceramics, perhaps it’s not as usual.

Maybe I’ll do a photo of each stage – I’ve a feeling that this will be a multi-Friday project! 🙂

While no one is expected to leap tall buildings in a single
bound, our aspiring heroes will be tested on their courage,
integrity, self-sacrifice, compassion and resourcefulness -
the stuff of all true superheroes.
- Stan Lee

[twindragonsmum]

I’ll cross my fingers for you! But you’ll do just fine 🙂 I think we all were just a tad jumpy about that very first brush stroke on that pristine white background. We made it through and so will you! Congrats on your first pyo and welcome to the forums!

twindragonsmum 😀

tdm

[Misty]

Rather than using thinners, you can thin down your acrylics with just plain old water (so long as you don’t go overboard anyway!) I am sure it will turn out grand whatever you do. :bigsmile:

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