# Painting recommendations



## Shift (Oct 19, 2013)

I just made my first witch/goblin out of a wig head. Do your guys have any tips for improvement or making it look more realistic?


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## Archermoon (Oct 13, 2013)

Wow...looks awesome to me


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## Headless (Sep 4, 2011)

I agree - great job!


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## Shift (Oct 19, 2013)

Thank ya. I'm debating making a culdren storing witch or biking a foam body and making it a goblin


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## Mill_Pond_Fright_Night (Sep 21, 2013)

Wow, it turned out great. I love the red in the eyes. I can't think of a single thing that would make it better.


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## Drago (Sep 5, 2011)

loving it! looks great the way it is.


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## Shift (Oct 19, 2013)

Thanks guys. 

Should I make a cauldron creep or build a body and make it a standalone goblin with a body (prob made from pcs and great stuff foam) .


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

This close to Halloween, go for the static prop. Next year, go for the creep


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

For the painting issues/question, I'd probably work at knocking the shine back a bit/dulling it down, and maybe go with a lighter shade of green. If this is going to be lit up, then the existing shine will make it look more like it's made of plastic rather than flesh. Remember, if this is going to be seen at night, the darkness itself will make it harder and harder for the viewer's eyes to discern the color, so it may very well look almost black. I'd also be tempted to use an airbrush or a long bristled fan/blending brush to 'hollow" out the cheeks and throat.
This is a great start though.


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## Shift (Oct 19, 2013)

Is threw any good ways to kill the shine? It's prob the acrylic paint I used. Is there any dulling coats or something I can do at Thai stage? An airbrush will be next on my list


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

You can try a matte finish clear acrylic spray, or maybe knock it down with some fine steelwool or abrasive.
I'd look at the piece you have now in the same conditions you would see it in your haunt (lighting, level of darkness, etc.) to make sure the color is okay before I added any more paint or labor to it. If and how you light it can make a huge difference in how it looks.


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## ryanlamprecht (Nov 2, 2013)

*Dulling a shiny finish*

A great way to dull down a shiny finish is with dry brushing. For example, the green paint you used has a shine to it. You can use that same green paint over the top, by applying it using the dry brushing technique, the shine will disappear. I have done a couple of corps crops using gel stain for the color, which tends to be pretty shinny after it dries, but after dry brushing on my accent colors, the shine disappears by around 90%. Another good way to eliminate shine on a prop like this is to just do a very watered down color wash over it. It will add an gaining effect while eliminating a lot of the shine. Simply fill a container with about six cups of water, then dip just the tip of your brush in the green paint, or any other color you'd like to add as a slight hue, then wash the brush out in the water. The water is now dirtied with the paint color. Now just brush the entire prop with the dirty water. This is a technique a lot of us use on tombstones to add a weathered, dirty, and aged effect. The more watered down the color, the more subtle it will appear, but when it dries the original paint color will still be visible, but a lot of the shine will be gone. Do a layer of the color wash, then let it dry. Do another, then let it dry, and so on, until you have the desired look. If I were you, I'd do those layers in different colors; a brown, a darker green, a lighter green, and possibly a dirty yellow. the layers of different color washes will had to the texture, especially if you do some dry brushing for highlights as the final step in the process. One thing I've learned is experimenting helps to really hone your painting techniques. Even some unintended results turn out better than what you set out to accomplish in the first place. Don't be afraid to mess it up. You won't ruin it because the prop will still be in tact and can always be repainted. I've experimented on props just to discover I didn't like the results. No problem, just a quick repaint, and I'm off and running again. Best of luck.


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## Giovanni LiCalsi (Nov 6, 2013)

Good technique explained.


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## Mattimus (Oct 23, 2013)

I won't quote the whole thing but very helpful tip Ryan. Thank you.


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## [email protected] (Aug 25, 2012)

Never considered that technique Ryan. I'm glad that you mentioned using different colors in the various layers. I really think that is where the realism will come from. If skin color can be described in one word, it probably doesn't look like real skin! 

I'm looking forward to seeing the finished prop!


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## sassafrass-spook (Nov 11, 2013)

Think it looks awesome--still new at making one myself so some steps on how you did it would help newbies.


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