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Thanks guys! 🙂 Betrluk, your magenta and black one is my favorite hoppy so far! If you want to trade for my hoppy let me know 😉
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Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!Here’s the guy that got a ride with my new tadpoads! I really like him. In fact, I really like both of the guys I got recently! However they will be up for sale or trade because I’ve been telling myself I will only keep one and you never know what might catch your fancy 🙂
He’s quite lovely! Reminds me of a Siamese cat.
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Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!Here are my guys! Sorry for the low lighting, I was working all day and I’m pooped. I have a long day tomorrow too, and I am going out of town for Sunday so I don’t know when I’ll be able to get better pics of these guys ><
Anyway, I really like them all! I am as usual open to trades for other Tadpoads, but I'm pretty impressed with these three right out of the box so it would have to be something pretty compelling for me to trade – in other words, please feel free to offer but don't be surprised if I say no! 🙂
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Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!Here we go, try #3! This guy is really quite lovely, and I’m tempted to keep him, but there are still others that I like more. I will be putting him up for trade for a fox with more spots, or for possible sale.
He is seriously gorgeous though! His speckling is lovely 🙂
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Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!Here’s my second one from the store (third coming soon.. >< I just don't have luck with these!)
He is definitely up for trade or sale.
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Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!Oooh.. I wish the details on the Hyppocampus could stay! I love them.
Melody, do you know (approximately) how long we will likely be waiting for PYO Orientals to come out? I’m sweating I want to paint one of those so bad ><
Well, no I don’t know. The sculpture is nearly finished, but I am waiting for horns to be figured out. We were going to change the pewter horn-tangs and sockets so the horns can be glued in easily. Right now we do a lot of fiddling around with them to get em straight.
“Horn-tang” … sounds dirty.LOL!
Fair enough 🙂 Thanks for the update!Commission spots are currently closed! Please message me for details.
Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!Oooh.. I wish the details on the Hyppocampus could stay! I love them.
Melody, do you know (approximately) how long we will likely be waiting for PYO Orientals to come out? I’m sweating I want to paint one of those so bad ><
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Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!Here’s my guy!
I love the ones with spots and he will be up for trade for one of those (like Rylorian’s – LOVE that one!), or for sale if I can’t get a trade.
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Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!As for –further questions–
I was wondering about metallic sheens?
I have a color scheme in mind for a piece, and it requires certain parts of the beastie having a golden glimmer over the parts. Should the gold be mixed into the base color, or is that something that needs to be applied in layers over the top? Or is mixing in the metallic just going to disrupt the main color too much? Silly question, I know, but I’m kind of a silly person.It depends entirely on the effect you are going for, but you can introduce metallic paints into an otherwise non-metallic color and still have the desired base color. If I were to mix metallic gold in with brown, it *will* lighten the brown a bit, but I can combat that by mixing the brown beforehand as a bit darker so that when the gold is added, it doesn’t lighten it too much. It will definitely change the color a little bit though. I have also used this technique with interference in my paints – I only recommend doing it if you are adding interference to a darker paint, otherwise it gets lost! Using interference will still lighten the color of the paint if you add it in, just not generally as much as metallics.
If it seems too complicated or becomes too difficult to get the right shade, I would definitely recommend using interference over the top of your base paint to get a metallic sheen (one tube usually costs about $15 but lasts me over a year of regular use). I would experiment beforehand on how thinned you want the interference though, since it can be MUCH brighter than you might expect, especially over darker colors. Sometimes thinning it a bit is the way to go. I would recommend painting your base coat on a piece of paper, letting it dry, and then experimenting with the interference over the top of that.
The final alternative is to use “gold leaf” paint – this is if you want the gold to be SOLID and look like metal (Windstone uses paint pens with paint like this to give the gold detailing you see on lots of their pieces). This stuff will NOT come off easily though, so be sure to apply it exactly where you want it – if you need to make corrections to it, you’ll likely need to paint over it.
I use “Liquid Leaf” – it comes in a few different golds, bronzes and silvers.
Also, if I try my hand at antiquing and am using two different colors to antique different areas, should I apply a clear coat between the layers to protect the different antiques? Or is letting one antique dry enough of a barrier?
I definitely recommend clear coating before and between antiquing! Let the clear coat dry for at least a day before attempting it, and be sure that when you are wiping off your antiquing medium to be very gentle. I use slightly damp paper towel or sponge, and sometimes antique an area more than once to get the desired effect.
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Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!Warning: I am long winded! XD
I started painting PYOs almost 5 years ago (yeesh, it doesn’t seem like that long!), and I’ve learned a lot in that time. First thing first – do not be nervous about it! Once you get to painting these beauties you will learn they are a lot less intimidating than they appear.
Secondly – everyone has their own style in painting. Some people like to give their PYOs a primer, or have very specific types of paints that they use or think look best, or do not use paints at all (I have seen some gorgeous pieces done using only Pearlex powders!). Your strategy in painting a piece will also depend very much on what you want for the final outcome. If I am using mainly darker metallic paints, I always paint the piece black before applying them because it makes them pop and I am able to use less paint to achieve something beautiful. Likewise if I am painting it in a lighter tone, or not using metallic paints at all, I do not prime my pieces with anything at all. I prefer to paint directly onto the “naked” gypsum. Some people do not like this because the first layer of paint tends to get sucked into the gypsum.
I tend to layer lots and lots of thin coats of paint on my pieces – a finished piece may have up to 10 or more layers of paint on it by the time it is done, but since it is thinly layered, there are little to no brush marks and no details on the piece are lost (which can happen when paint is layered on too thickly). I find that this technique gives the piece more richness.
I also tend to add metallic paint to my opaque paints because I find that it gives the paint a dynamic look, and once a topcoat is applied it adds a very faint and lovely shimmer to the piece (think about car paint – it’s vivid, but you don’t really notice that it’s got flecks of sparkle until it’s right in the sun and you’re looking very close)!
I like to hand mix my paints – unless I know I need a very specific pre-mixed color, I use red, blue, and yellow and mix them together to get the color that I want. It took me quite a while to get used to this, but I much prefer it now over using pre-mixed paints, as I find it makes every piece just that much more unique when I know I’ve “created” that color specifically for the piece. If you do it this way, I would HIGHLY recommend painting swatches and saving them later for each of your color schemes, because it is MUCH easier to replicate a color scheme when you have a sample of the colors directly in front of you. I’ve sold many pieces and had to recreate a scheme going by computer images – I can get them close, but never exact unless I have a swatch!
I generally use just 3 brushes for any given piece. I’m used to their size and shape, and I work best with them. This may vary widely from person to person! I tend to do a lot of detail work on my pieces. Bristles also play a factor in your brush choice – I like to go with the softer bristles on PYO pieces as I can minimize the number of brushstrokes seen on a piece. My preferred brushes are:
Golden Taklon Filbert 6
Golden Taklon Filbert 4
Golden Taklon Round 1 (or sometimes smaller, depending on the piece!)Golden Taklon refers to the type of material the bristles are made of. It’s a soft, synthetic fiber that is used in a lot of artists brushes. Your best bet if you’ve never purchased a paint brush before is to go to your local craft store and feel them for yourself – these tend to be relatively cheap (I found them on Amazon for $4 each, and I think at my Michaels store they run about $6 each depending on the brand), but they’ve worked well for me for years.
The “Filbert” or “Round” parts are describing the shape of the brush. This webpage on Dickblick.com explains each of the different shapes really well – Filbert is good for blending (which I do lots of), and rounds are good for lines and detail work.
Brush shapesAs far as paints go, I prefer using Liquitex brand. I’ve been using them for years and they have always been good quality and decent priced. You can get the Basics fairly cheap – about $4 per bottle, and they last quite a while.
Folk Art metallic paint, my preferred metallic paint, which usually is around $3/bottle:
Topcoat! You’ll want one of these once you are done with your piece and you want the paint to last a long while. You’ll need a place to spray this – I generally do it outside on a nice day. Wear a mask to keep from breathing in the fumes. Do NOT spray this type of stuff indoors unless you have proper ventilation! It’s toxic! However, once you spray it on it will harden on your piece (to the touch in about 15 minutes, and it will cure, or become the hardest it can in about 24 hours) and give it a beautiful glossy shine. There are matte sprays as well if you want the lasting effect of a topcoat but no shine at all. You can get these at a local craft store for about $8 per can. My personal preference is Design Master for a glossy topcoat, and Krylon’s Matte topcoat for a matte finish.
The last thing I would highly recommend would be the use of retarder in your paints. Using a few drops of retarder when you are mixing paints thins them out very slightly, but more importantly it makes them last longer! Even if you are planning on painting your PYO all in one sitting over the course of a few hours, having retarder in the paint will keep them nice and viscous for several hours. Even using retarder, I recommend covering your paints with lids or with plastic when you are not actively using them, and definitely covering them very well if you want to keep them for several days.
The only retarder I’ve ever used is Golden, and costs about $8 per four ounces. This one bottle should last you quite a while.
I looked up each of these recommended items online and created a little “shopping list” for you. Of course they are all just recommendations, and you don’t necessarily need them all. If I were to buy myself a starter kit for painting PYOs, this would be it. Of course these prices might get better if you shop at a local craft store 🙂
Liquitex Basic paints (6 pack, 4oz per tube) ~ $25
(OR) Liquitex Basic paints (6 pack, 22ml per tube) ~ $11
Folkart Metallic paints ~ $3/bottle
Golden Retarder (4oz bottle) ~ $8
Golden Taklon Filburt 6 ~ $6
Golden Taklon Filburt 4 ~ $6
Golden Taklon Round 1 ~ $4
Design Master Clear Finish Gloss Spray ~ $8
Krylon Matte Topcoat ~ $9Assuming that you already have a PYO on hand to paint, the total cost if you were to get the smaller pack of Basics paint would be $42. If you got the larger box of paints, closer to $60. And this of course changes depending on if you want all the brushes, or just one – or decide on another one entirely, or if you get more than one bottle of metallic paint, etc! I just wanted to give you a list of what I would want if I was starting out so you can get an idea of price on several different things.
In any case, its always wonderful to see a new painter in the bunch and to see someone’s ideas take shape on a PYO – I hope you do end up getting supplies to start on one, and I look forward to seeing what you do! 🙂
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Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!I figured maybe this photo should actually be in this thread.
Ughhhh I’m going to paint so many of these. XD I LOVE him!
Does this mean he’s nearing completion?? *prays*Commission spots are currently closed! Please message me for details.
Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!Meowmix, I am so stinkin’ late saying this, but your Kitsune is gorgeous!
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Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!Rachelled, I am in awe that this is your first PYO! Your lines are so clean and lovely. I am a big fan of his face and the blending on the top of his head especially!
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Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!Fun story time!
I started using Tohickon’s glass eyes several years ago because I wanted an alternative place to get glass eyes for the PYOs. I’m just not a fan of the Dreaming Tree eyes because they have a lower profile than glass-made eyes, likely because the back is completely flat rather than mostly flat like glass eyes.
ANYWAY – I noticed that Tohickon had an option to inquire about custom colored eyes, so I asked them if they could make metallic eyes in different colors (at the time they had only gold and silver available). They asked me for swatches of colors that I was looking for and told me they’d see what they could do. At the time, I asked for Emerald green, Teal, and Purple, because I thought those would look great as metallics and I’m a huge fan of Metallic Teal eyes.
In the end, they were able to make the two other blue metallic eyes that they have available now – one is slightly more blue, and the other a bit more teal – and also a metallic green color. I was so excited! They even added them to their permanent inventory, which was fantastic. However, when I inquired about the purple they told me for over a year that they were still working on it (I’d check back every few months) and eventually just stopped getting back to me about them altogether.
I hesitate to say this because I can’t say that I know it’s true, but I have a feeling that since I am a relatively low-volume buyer of theirs, that they kind of lost the time to work on a new eye color for me. I have purchased LOTS of eye colors from them in the past, but I just get a feeling that them putting their time and effort into developing a new color wasn’t really “worth” it to them. And I totally understand that, I do! I get how business works, and I have no hard feelings about it and I continue to purchase from them. They actually did end up filling a second request that I had – Zombie eyes! They came out beautiful, and I still have a few pairs of them because I bought a bunch of them when I requested them XD
Anyway – after all that, I just wanted to say that it MAY be worth your while to contact Tohickon about having them do some custom metallic eyes in other colors. For all I know it was just a bad year for me to be asking about the colors that I did, and if I bugged them about it again I may get results. In any case, it might be worth it to send them a message to see if it’s something they could experiment with again 🙂 If they CAN do it, it’s something that they can almost always repeat the process of, and their products are beautiful and great quality!
Sorry for the ramble! XD
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Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!Happy Birthday, lady! Although I may be a day late.. XD
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Please visit My Webpage to see my art and PYO's that I've done in the past!
