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I really want to try a PYO Windstone, BUT I first want to make sure I am actually capable of this, LOL ! So before going an ordering a PYO Windstone, I was going to try and get some ready to paint ceramics locally, and give those a shot first. I know they wont be half as nice or detailed as Melody’s sculpts, but I have to start somewhere 🙂
I have been doing some reading in the PYO Info sections, and some in this forum. I also glanced at a few videos on youtube. I am a very fussy person, and am particular about my dragons… LOL ! I dont want one that looks like a cartoony dragon that a child may like, and I need to learn to paint so I can have layers of color, and color grades, blending, with intricate details. Is this asking too much ?? LMAO !!
Anywho, I am becoming obsessed with the thought of getting into this hobby, and will be doing a lot more research 🙂
One simple question- why do some ceramics require ‘firing’ after being painted, yet the PYO Windstones dont, rather they are sprayed with a sealant?
Hi there!
If you’d like something of Windstone quality to practice on before you start a dragon, you could try a small PYO like the Foo Pup or a Muse. The Muse has everything (scales, feathers, fur) so you can try your hand at all different textures on one little critter.I don’t know a lot about ceramics, but I remember when my mom made them when I was a kid. Certain glazes would have a glass like finish when they were fired, and some turned pearly and iridescent after they were fired. I still have a bunch of the awesome pearly vases she made, they’re pretty neat! Makes me miss the ceramics studio we used to live by!
Windstones aren’t ceramic, they’re gypsum (plaster). Alas, while some are dragons, they’re not Targaryens and wouldn’t withstand the flames!
You paint them with water-based paints, which don’t need to be fired (quite the opposite, in fact). Hence the top coat/seal, usually acrylic too.
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http://www.sarahjestin.com/feedbacklists.htmMy mother was actually a ceramics teacher at one point so I had early exposure to those and painted them all through childhood and my young adult life. Although you can learn the basics of painting by practicing on them, painting Windstones is very different then painting ceramics. Windstones aren’t nearly as porous as ceramic and though you paint them with similar water based acrylics Windstones are quite a bit more challenging.
I reccomend maybe grabbing a Muse as suggested above. You can practice with all the different textures offered across the PYO line.
Got a busted Windstone?
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Dreamscape, Orion, Poison Dart, Fireberry, Spangler + Tigerberry DragonsWindstones aren’t ceramic, they’re gypsum (plaster). Alas, while some are dragons, they’re not Targaryens and wouldn’t withstand the flames!
You paint them with water-based paints, which don’t need to be fired (quite the opposite, in fact). Hence the top coat/seal, usually acrylic too.
Ahhhh… a fellow Game of Thrones fan! Love the reference 😉
Thanks for all the advice so far, it is very much appreciated. I have painted ceramics in my pre-teen days, with my Mom, many many moons ago, lol ! I really enjoyed this, and have always wanted to do something similar again. Now that I know that painting ceramics is a lot different than gypsum products, I may have to rethink my game-plan. I was considering a Muse.. hrrmmm.
But trying ceramics would be fun all the same, and would let me experience working with paint brushes and paints, mixing colors etc… even though I do realize it will be different than a Windstone. There are a few interesting looking pieces here :
http://bjceramics.gjbell.ca/gallery3/Bisque-Greenware/BJC_Bisque_20131214_061A few dragons wrapped around castles, and a few nice unicorns…. and if I can use acrylic paints on these then it would start my collection of supplies I need also. Its something I have to think about, money is another issue, so I do have to go slow and watch my spending…. and Im not sure how much it is to get an PYO shipped to me in Nova Scotia. Hrmmmm…. much to ponder 😛
If it helps at all, I generally spend about $20 on shipping PYOs to British Columbia. I would think at most it would only be $10 more expensive to Nova Scotia, being on the other side of the continent from Oregon (though we’d hope not!)
PYOs are really fun. 😀 I hope you like them when you get around to painting one!! 🙂
Check out my finished artwork at http://falcolf.deviantart.com/ and my sketch/studio blog at http://rosannapbrost.tumblr.com/
Excellent!
When I was a kid, the local craft shop would sell plaster and ceramics that we could and did paint. I don’t know how plaster compares to gypsum, if at all, and definitely none of these seem to be anywhere near the same quality as windstone statues, but still maybe this resource would help?:
Personally, I’ve never done gypsum statues either and I’m a little nervous, I just received my order earlier this week and although I was just ACHING to try earlier now that I have them I’m nervous. BUT I ordered foo pups for experimentation purposes. If I mess up, I mess up; shit happens, life is one big experiment, you learn from your mistakes, etc etc. 🙂 If I were you, I’d try a foo pup or the muse and see how you like it! What can it hurt?
I hear you and felt the same way. I was nervous about starting on real sculpts and toyed with getting ceramic or plaster to practice on. The only problem was – the other sculpts aren’t all that cheap and I didn’t like any of what I saw. I know that ceramic and porcelain act differently from gypsum, too. So, I thought – what the heck? Just go for it. No one ever got good at running a marathon by walking around the block. I jumped in.
I read all the PYO posts on the forum, printed the PYO instructions from the FAQ section here on the site, and consulted an expert (thanks again, Dragonmedley).
I’m still a relatively new painter and my colour schemes aren’t complicated, but I’m having fun.
I bought some sculpts that I liked, a set of good brushes for acrylic paints, and a whole rainbow of Golden Acrylic paints. I know they are more expensive, but my thought was – start with the best paint to get the best result and never have to re-learn how to work with that paint once I “got good at painting”. I know there are lots of painters here on the forum who use other paints, but that was my choice and reason behing it.
For what scuplts to start with – pick one, two, or more (more is better) sculpts you like. After all, they’ll be in your home for a long time, so you might as well like them. I’d go with the Kitty Griffin, Flap Kitty, KiRin (either one), Small Dragon, and Unicorn as starting points.
I’m not enough of a fan of the Muse to get one, but it is a good starting project if you are really unsure. I love the small dragon, but the nooks and crannies drove me nuts the first time I painted one. We’re friends now. 😉
I’m in Toronto and shipping on two Kitty Griffins was under $20. You can put items in your cart and play around with the shipping options. There’s always a tipping point of getting one more and it not affecting the shipping price dramatically. 😉
I think the bottom line is to be like the Nike ad and – Just do it! It’s an exploration and a fun extension of your collection.
Life is beautiful.
Hi again, and thanks so much to everyone for all your advice ! This is such a friendly welcoming forum, you guys are just making it that much more easy for me to become addicted !!
So I WENT AND DID IT !! I ordered not one, not 2, but THREE PYO pieces !! I figured I might as well take advantage since Im paying a bit for shipping anyways, and it was only a few bucks more when I added another piece to the order.. so I did !
One Keeper Dragon, One Ki-Rin and a silly Muse ! LOL !! Im so freaking excited !! Its all I could think about for the last 2 days !
Now I have to leave for work shortly… and so wish I didnt have to go ! I have so many more questions to ask ! LOL !! (Can you tell Im excited !??)
I was in Michael’s yesterday looking at the paints.. and Im really not sure on what to get. Artists Loft has a good deal on, a big variety box for like $35 I think it was. Then there is another product called Reeves, which has variety packs of small tubes for cheap.. like $20. And Liquitex Basics…are they any good ? All the other liquitex there is thick body…. THEN there is Winsor and Newton (I read on here that some people use this and like it a lot)… this is more pricey, but they only have kits of like 6 or 8 colors in it. The same goes for Golden. With these packages of just base colors, will I therefor have to learn how to mix them and make my own colors? So much to learn…
Decisions decisions… Im kinda leaning towards the Artists Loft.. since it was such a nice big variety pack and in my price range. But I dont want to buy something that is going to eventually flake or peel, or that wont show its colors as much. What would you guys recommend? Am I safe with Artists Loft ?
And then I have to decide which brushes to buy… lol ! …. and I have to make a better list of all the essentials Im going to need…. I wonder how long before my order comes in ? LOL !
Hrrmm, does this come via Canada Post (once it crosses the border) or will it come FedEx ?
*so excited* !!!!!!
Windstone ships internationally via the post office, so Canada Post on our side of the border.
Avoid using UPS, as the charge brokerage fees, and sometimes, so does FedEx, whereas the post office will only charge HST/provincial tax depending on custom’s mood 🙂
Read my books! Volume 1 and 2 of A Dragon Medley are available now.
http://www.sarahjestin.com/mybooks.htm
I host the feedback lists, which are maintained by drag0nfeathers.
http://www.sarahjestin.com/feedbacklists.htmOK, good to know! And yeah, I always try to go via Canada Post, at least the item is easier to get if Im not at home when it arrives.
Lets just hope it gets handled gently in the mail… I hope it gets well well packaged…. I know how some of the parcels get handled (I happen to work there, and see how some of the parcels can get into mishaps when other larger items get placed on top of not-so sturdy boxes by some brainless people 🙁 ) Is there any insurance if an item does arrive busted ?
And lets hope customs doesnt charge me additional fees…. *crosses fingers*
Thanks again for all the tips ! Scathach, how did you ever figure out which paints to buy etc? I been looking since last night online, trying to decide what to purchase to start off with.
The only craft place I have for supplies local to me (that I know of atm) is Michaels. They have one 8pc set of Golden acrylics that I see online. In liquitex they offer more variety, but all the sets say heavy body ?? And I read in the PYO pdf info sheet, that soft body is preferred. BUT I did just now find a 48pc set of Liquitex Basics 22ml tubes, for around $60. Would this work ? But do I need such a large set…
The 48pc Liquitex BASICS set is what I got and I like them for the value – I also used one of the Michaels 40% Off one item coupon when I got mine. So it was only around $39 – a great deal I thought! 😀
They’ve worked well for me so far…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.comOK, good to know! And yeah, I always try to go via Canada Post, at least the item is easier to get if Im not at home when it arrives.
Lets just hope it gets handled gently in the mail… I hope it gets well well packaged…. I know how some of the parcels get handled (I happen to work there, and see how some of the parcels can get into mishaps when other larger items get placed on top of not-so sturdy boxes by some brainless people 🙁 ) Is there any insurance if an item does arrive busted ?
And lets hope customs doesnt charge me additional fees…. *crosses fingers*
Hey there! So, just a few things to say. I’ve never used Windsor’s acrylics, but they also make oil paints and those I have used at the recommendation of a teacher. I think they’re pretty good quality, it just depends on what your budget can manage. (I couldn’t get any shipped to me; for some reason in Japan certain Liquitex products and all the Windsor line are a no-go.)
As for your items arriving, not to worry. 🙂 I ordered a big box of PYOs just earlier this month and was actually kind of worried when I read that the foo pups (I’d ordered two) are not boxed. However, when my box arrived I found that all of the other statues had been double boxed and the foo pups themselves were wrapped very carefully first in a styrofoam envelope and then a bubblecushion container; there were also lots of packing peanuts. Inside the second box for the individual statue, the statue should be very carefully wrapped with layers of cushioning butcher paper. I haven’t opened up all of mine to be sure that none of them broke (perhaps I should have) because i was concerned about getting them back into the box, but both foo pups and the small dragon I ordered arrived in perfect condition, so I think that bodes well for the others too.
Hope that helps!
Thanks again everyone 😉 Im making a list up and plan on hitting Michaels later tonight, with a 40% off coupon, and maybe a friend with another coupon so I can get her to buy me another item at 40% off 😉
Shopping is FUN 😀
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