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Sorry for disappearing for a bit there, gang, things went a little sideways here for a few days. Hopefully we’re back on track.
I get a matte finish on glossy stuff by dry-brushing the clearcoat on.
Pam, I love this idea, and I’m going to have to experiment a bit with it. I really don’t feel like I’ve mastered dry-brushing yet, and this piece has been such a bear to work with, I just didn’t want to run the risk of somehow making him even glossier. LOL
I went the easiest (and cheapest) route–fresh can of Krylon Matte finish. It was an utterly amazingly nice weekend in the Northwest, unheard of in this area in May, so I taped his eyes and hauled his shiny butt outside. It took two coats (because yeah, haven’t mastered spray cans either!), and there are still a few spots that to me are notably glossier than others. This is probably user failure. I probably didn’t get an even coat in my fear that I’d get too much on it and end up with the dreaded milky finish that matte coats are prone to when you do too many of them.
Did it dull him down? Yes. Completely flat? No. He’s closer to a satin finish now, and that’s good enough. When he’s glaring at me on my desk, there are no longer spots on him where the glare hid the details of Melody’s sculpting or my paint job, and at this point on this particular piece, I’m completely fine with that.
This is basically what he looks like in his usual position, save that he’s a bit darker overall. One warm halogen to the left of the image and indirectly window lighting from the right:
Some of the gloss in that pic is actually less shiny than it appears here–the phone by nature boosts contrast past what it should, so the highlights are boosted. The white hotspot on his front haunch is one of the spots that I think *IS* still too glossy due to my uneven spraying, and I’ll eventually dull that down a little with something else. It’s larger than it appears here. But hey, without turning him in any direction, I can see his major stars, most of the minor ones, and the texture of his fur all over, without glare blocking any of it. Most of that wasn’t possible during his shiniest stages.
The Krylon matte I bought was NOT the low odor version. Just an FYI, and your experience may be different, but that version was strongly not recommended on a number of modeller’s forums as being way too prone to milky issues. The regular Krylon wasn’t too bad as far as odor, better than some of their other products I’ve had.
Thank you all for both help and encouragement! This one really was a devil of a critter to work with…but I suppose I’ve learned a lot from him. 😉
I have had to remove the auction for the Blue Ice Hatching Emperor. This morning, I noticed green stains and streaks coming through his paint. The colored water that he was dipped in prior to painting has begun to bleed through his paint and turn green. His sister, the Hatching Empress, has also been badly effected. 🙁
Now that’s a shame. Most of the blue ice pieces haven’t done it for me, but he looked gorgeous. Would have loved to see his sister.
I might be the only one here but I LOVE THAT COLOR!!!! I’d love to see all the dragons in that color and in the store as an LP??????
I think it is pretty too, but probably not flamboyant enough to do a big batch of them. All the Orientals would look really good in that color though, because they take antique so evenly. The Western dragons all have crannies that are difficult to wipe perfectly clean, so they look dirty when you paint them like that.Maybe this would be less of a problem if we used a lighter antique, with more of a tan color.
Curlies! KiRins! Mama Griffins! Small Flap Cats!
LOL–yes, in fact, I do adore this color. How did you ever guess?
If it takes a slightly lighter antique to do the Western crew, still, I know I’d love one–perhaps a Mama. Or, oooh….a hatching empress! (not as much work as painting the whole separate egg/baby routine)
The fawns are all so much cuter than I expected them to be!
*Starts looking around the house for things to sell to amass a bigger herd of safari corns–anyone need a standard schnauzer or two? They’re only a little psychotic…* LOL
Cute mixture! I wonder if she was an “end of day” unicorn? (Like “end of day” glass, where they mix remnants of colored glass and produce pieces with colors swirled through them). Melody must have had animal patterns swirling in her brain when she painted that one!
Could be–but those patterns work together surprisingly well!
*hugs*
No, sweetie, I’m not going to blame you guys. Technical issues happen, and that’s all I (or anyone else) needed to know. I think any of us can agree we’d rather you get it right–even if it takes longer–than have you put out inferior product that could damage Windstone’s reputation. I’ll pounce on what I can, when I can, and I just won’t make promises for anything I don’t already have in hand.
Thanks for letting us know!
Both of those are lovely, Kaytana, but that Tigerloosa is very striking! I like that his “horse” end isn’t done in base white, the way the others have been. The difference between the halves is a little less stark that way.
My trade for the cuscus and the one from my friend are both due to arrive today, so I’ll finally get to see them both in person (they’ve both been seen in the thread already). I keep checking the USPS site, even though we all know the Post Office doesn’t update much. LOL
5/3/12 – we restocked this with only 9 pieces today. They sold out quickly. We will be restocking this item with small batches as soon as each small batch is ready. I apologize if you receive a back in stock email and then have to press the “notify” button again. The demand for these is larger than the quantities we can provide at this time, please be patient while we work on getting caught up.
Susie, it it going to continue to be like this for months, where the 5 most popular PYOs are only stocked a few at a time, with a wait of weeks in between? I needed this one, but wasn’t even around for such an early in the day restock.
I do understand that there are constraints, and I promise I’m not demanding exact times or even estimates. But when you have someone asking “will you be able to do this commission by July for a birthday?” I feel like an idiot having to answer “I have no idea.” It would be very helpful to know if the artists here need to plan around this issue for the long term, say, several more months.
In January, the only thing out of stock were the unicorns, for the obvious reason. But since then, inventory of both dragons, plus the griffin, wolf & phoenix, has been basically non existent. When they only come in such tiny batches spaced weeks apart, odds currently are very high that it could take months to catch the right one of the kind you need. And I can be patient with that–if I know that this IS going to be the way it is going forward through the summer (or longer). If that’s likely the case, I can set expectations (my own and a customer’s) accordingly.
Anything you can see in your crystal ball (or heck, Magic 8 ball!) around this would be very appreciated. THANK YOU!!!
*begins planning cross country move to live with Hannah’s poads & baby unis* LOL
I do think that out of all the ones we’ve seen up close so far, that cheetah might be my favorite. I’m a stripes girl, but that is just an incredible paint job!
Thanks, Sasha–but not a humidity issue in this particular room. If anything, it’s the driest room in the house, because there’s almost always a space heater on. It’s currently about 80 in here–versus 65 in the rest of the house. LOL
Latest update: Extremely well shaken DuraClear matte has zero effect on shiny wolf. To test it further and make sure it really was a matte finish, I did try it on a bit of black canvas I had nearby, which was triple gessoed in black at the factory, so it’s a REALLY flat black. One coat of the Matte DuraClear left it with a reasonably matte finish, just a bare hint of satin. I think if this had been the first coat put on the wolf, it probably would have worked, but it’s not enough to even start to dull the current shine on there now.
Next I tested something else on the non-display side, taking some of the original base black and using it as an antique. This *does* dull things down more than anything else. Unfortunately, no amount of wiping brings back up the interference and metallics that were dry brushed on originally. It dulls them down to near non existence too. So I can do that, but then I’ll have to spend a fair amount of time redoing the dry brush work (which probably wouldn’t work due to the multiple layers of clear coat at this point–he’s losing texture with those)–and I can’t really antique the wings, due to the design on them, which would leave them shiny.
So that’s not really an option either.
I think I’ll start the hunt for the Liquitex ultra matte next, or a true mattifying spray–I’ll just have to hope for decent weather soon with the latter, and have my husband do the spraying.
And well, I guess this is a learning experience!
I got some Krylon matte finish and it did wonders on my griffon =) now I need to take new pics for my PYO gallery for her. Thanks for the tips and advice!
Oh, fabulous news! I’m so glad to hear it. Did it end up as a really flat finish, or more of a satin? And how many coats did you use?
Thanks, Sasha–but not a humidity issue in this particular room. If anything, it’s the driest room in the house, because there’s almost always a space heater on. It’s currently about 80 in here–versus 65 in the rest of the house. LOL
Latest update: Extremely well shaken DuraClear matte has zero effect on shiny wolf. To test it further and make sure it really was a matte finish, I did try it on a bit of black canvas I had nearby, which was triple gessoed in black at the factory, so it’s a REALLY flat black. One coat of the Matte DuraClear left it with a reasonably matte finish, just a bare hint of satin. I think if this had been the first coat put on the wolf, it probably would have worked, but it’s not enough to even start to dull the current shine on there now.
Next I tested something else on the non-display side, taking some of the original base black and using it as an antique. This *does* dull things down more than anything else. Unfortunately, no amount of wiping brings back up the interference and metallics that were dry brushed on originally. It dulls them down to near non existence too. So I can do that, but then I’ll have to spend a fair amount of time redoing the dry brush work (which probably wouldn’t work due to the multiple layers of clear coat at this point–he’s losing texture with those)–and I can’t really antique the wings, due to the design on them, which would leave them shiny.
So that’s not really an option either.
I think I’ll start the hunt for the Liquitex ultra matte next, or a true mattifying spray–I’ll just have to hope for decent weather soon with the latter, and have my husband do the spraying.
And well, I guess this is a learning experience!
Diamond dust!Now THAT’S an idea!! :bigsmile:
Don’t hide it away.I am sure if you don’t like it,someone else will,rehome it,do another.Just a thought.You should have heard me threatening to paint a red glitter thong on him yesterday–complete with tiny dollar bills sticking out of it. “You want to sparkle? I’ll make you freaking sparkle!” I haven’t seen my husband laugh that hard in a long time. J)
Problem with rehoming him is that this boyo is going nowhere. He’s based on a character of mine that I love very much (who is also, BTW, a stubborn, recalcitrant SOB sometimes. I should have predicted this…). I’ve had plenty of offers to take him, and a couple people who’ve asked if I’ll do another one–possibly, but not an identical one, because this one is too important to me. No…I really do have to get this right. And besides, I refuse to be outsmarted by fake rock!
FlamingDragon–thanks for all the help. I didn’t know that Liquitex makes an ultra matte finish; it might be something for me to keep on hand for certain projects. Michaels does *usually* carry a fair amount of their product. Unfortunately, when I went yesterday, they were out of a LOT of stuff, including the regular matte, and nearly all of the Golden’s mediums and finishes too. Amazon also carries a fair amount of the Liquitex line, usually with Prime shipping (or their order $25, get free ground shipping deal).
Also very good to know you find the Liquitex paints to be more “sticky” than the finishes. I’ve heard complaints both ways, and people who like both, so perhaps this is a situation where I need to try it for myself. I’m brand neutral–paints are W&N Galeria, mediums & retarder are a mix of Liquitex & Golden, so I’m certainly willing to give the Liquitex finish a shot if this next coat of DuraClear doesn’t cut it. I haven’t yet applied that next layer as I’ve been a bit sick this morning, but some time this afternoon, I’ll stir up the DuraClear matte and give it another shot.
LOL–*hides shiny wolf in dark drawer*
Hubby’s comment: “Get used to it.” (I stuck my tongue out at him.) Then he suggested the dusty area idea, so at least I wasn’t the only one to come up with that!
And of course, the more I look at the thing, the shinier it gets. Shortly, I’ll be convinced he’s actually covered in diamond dust. Or is being lit by some sort of super secret laser beams I can’t see. *covers wolf’s head with tin foil, dull side out, of course!*
Sigh. FWIW: There seems to be a fair amount of dispute on the intarwebs about how many layers of varnish you can put over acrylic–most seem to recommend just two (of course, this typically refers to paintings, not sculptures), but others suggest more, and of course, I know we have people here who do multiple coats. It does seem that there shouldn’t be an issue using matte over satin (or gloss); it’s recommended in several places to dull down a gloss finish, so it supposedly works for other people. I think for tonight, I’m going to sit on my hands to keep from messing with him, and try another thin coat of the brush on matte tomorrow. I thought I stirred it well enough, but that seems to be a common issue with matte brush on finishes, so I’ll mix it extremely thoroughly first, and then just have to be very careful about bubbles/foaming.
If that doesn’t work, maybe he WILL go in a drawer until the weather warms up, then I’ll take him outside and layer 20 coats of Krylon matte spray onto him. That oughta teach him! 😀
Hannah, you know I love you. And it’s a good thing, because I wanted Ziggy in THE WORST WAY. 😀 He’s absolutely my favorite out of that whole GB. I knew my husband would utterly freaking kill me if I bought him–that’s the only reason I didn’t go after him. Well, that, and Mignonne would be jealous, and who knows what a jealous Poad is capable of? LOL
And as Sasha said, you earned them all one way or another. Anyone who doesn’t like it has bigger issues. I get being jealous–because believe me, I am, regularly!…but plenty of people around here have multiples of the GBB’s from January, or of ebay stuff in colors the rest of us can only dream of, or whatever. With all the Safari babies already available for sale and trade, I can pretty much guarantee someone’s going to end up with a lot of those too. And no one should have to feel guilty for that! We can’t all have everything we want, that’s just life.
I do just love how they’re all storming the castle! And you know, they really do look best in a clutter. I’ll have to figure out how to convince hubby “No really, they’re not Poads. They’re rocks from the yard, I just painted them to look like Poads…”
