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Scenery
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People
More People for Less Money - Part 2
Jan 26, 2011
By Barbara Nichols |
Author
Bio
Your little people are all baked and a lot sturdier now. They can be broken by rough handling, but at this stage they are weather proof. Learn what to do next.
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Your little people are all baked and a lot sturdier now. They can be broken by rough handling, but at this stage they are weather proof. Hold one of your little guys up and take a look at him. Are his pant legs a little clumpy looking? If so, use the X-acto knife and ever so gently pare off a little bit.
Try not to thin the ankles out because this is a weak spot no matter what I do to them. Big feet may just be a part of their charm.
Sculpey makes a solution called Sculpey Diluent. The directions call for it to be used on unbaked dried out Sculpey. I have successfully put feet hands and heads back on unpainted baked bodies by putting a few drops on the bodies and an unbaked piece of Sculpey and worked the two together and made a new part. The baked stuff doesn't become soft again but the new piece attaches to it. I baked them again for about 15 minutes.
Everything gets a coat of white gesso, artists primer. It is usually sold at art supply stores and arts and crafts stores or departments. Be sure to work it in to all the little cracks like the fingers and neck and where any parts come together. Wipe the brush on a rag and lightly brush off excess.
Painting
I use artists acrylics in the tube. They have the best record as far as bright colors, adhering to the gesso on the people and can be mixed into any color you want. You can also pick up some good inexpensive acrylics in the craft stores and department stores. If you don't already have some around, get some basic colors, the primary colors plus white, black and brown. A tube or small bottle of flesh color is a necessity. Make sure you mix enough of your colors and cover it with a little plastic wrap so it won't dry out. Inexpensive starter acrylic paint sets have a little of everything. Take a shallow plastic food container with a tight lid. Place one or two folded and slightly dampened paper towels on the bottom. You can keep some gobs of mixed paint on the paper towel, pop the lid on and they will keep for a while. Dampen the paper towel as needed. The dampness keeps in the humidity so the paint won't dry up. This way you will have your mixed colors for touch ups.
Don't use too much water to thin the paint out. It will peel and roll off. There are products out there made for thinning acrylic paints for artists or for airbrush use. Look around the craft and hobby shops. I use Winsor and Newton acrylic flow improver. $6-$8 for a bottle lasts a long time. Mix one part to twenty parts of water. It is great stuff. You get a thinner paint but it sticks as well as the thick tube stuff. You can use it on models and wherever you need to thin acrylic paint. (ordered thru Rex-Art.com)
The paint brushes I use are made by Plaid. I get them in the craft department. They are about $5 to $8 for an assortment of small sizes. They wash well and last a long time. But they are cheap enough to replace when necessary. If the hairs on the brush get kind of fuzzy over time it is impossible to make the details come out well.
I have ordered things from Rex-art, Mister Art and Dick Blick art suppliers with good results.
Never use oil paint on Sculpey.
Read on!
You can mix little bits of colors so you don't have any predominant color. When you look at the people spread out over the layout you don't want to see that the town all bought from the same rack! Even if you just add a little tiny bit of a stripe or collar or number, you will break up the look.
Different shades of blue jeans can vary the look too. Flesh color paint is sometimes a little too dark or too rosy. Adjust as needed.
Be sure to vary your flesh tones on all of your people, unless you want the clone look!
You may choose to paint the heads and hands first. I like to paint the pants first and let them dry. That way you have something to hold while you do the rest. Paint the shirts after the pants so that you can overlap the pants for a shirt over the waistband look. Short sleeves can be done on people you make with thinner arms. Sculpting thinner people will come with practice.
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Blue jeans are made by first painting the pants basic blue jean blue. Take a clean brush and dip into a light faded blue, almost white. Dab most of the paint onto a rag. Make light strokes horizontally then vertically, up and down the legs. This dry brush method gives a worn out weave look that blue jeans have.
 
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Paint the shirt color and style of your choice. If you are careful you can give the clothes a layered look by painting in a v-neck of a different color. It will look like a shirt underneath.
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After painting the details on the shirt, touch up the hands. You need to be careful not to get the flesh color on the shirt or pants. If you do, just touch it up with the colors you saved in your covered container. Believe me. I touch up a lot!
The heads and faces come last. Take a look at your people. You might see how you want to do the face right off. If you left indentations for the eyes when sculpting you will see it. If you left the head just sort of shaped like a head you need to refer to the Head and Face section for the placement of the eyes. Don't get too technical. Dab a toothpick or pencil point into black or blue or brown. One chance to dot on one eye. Don't try to correct. Put some eyebrows in for expression. If you really don't like it use a clean damp rag to wipe it off quickly before it dries. Try again. Now brush on a little smile. Smaller the better looking, big grins look wrong.
Hair and Beards
On a margarine lid or the like, take about a tablespoon of fine sawdust. If it has little curls of sawdust all the better.
Mix a half teaspoon of paint mixed into a hair color. Mash the paint and sawdust. It may turn a little pasty, that's ok. Spread out on the lid or on a piece of foil or a non porous surface. Let it dry, probably 15 -20 minutes. When dry it can be broken up again into sandy pieces.
Cover the area you want hair with Gem-Tac glue. If you don't have that brand, use a glue made for gluing rhinestones onto fabric. Household white glue won't hold up outside. Push the grains of sawdust hair onto the glue. When the sawdust hair soaks up the glue it will be somewhat moldable into a "hairdo". Places that were missed can be touched up with matching paint. Grey hair can have speckles of white or black.
The same method is used for the beards. It is great to have beards on the figures that have faces that didn't come out so great! Mustaches hide mouths that didn't paint quite right.
 
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Finishing
Have a non porous clean surface ready. A second plastic container as deep as the height of the figures is best. Have a clean soft flat paintbrush ready. It should be dry.
Hold one of the figures by the feet and hold over the container of sealer. Don't dip him in there as tempting as it may be. It will be too heavily coated. Brush from the feet down to the top of the head. Make sure it is not too heavy but at the same time be completely coated. Stand the figure right side up at an angle inside the plastic container. Try not to touch the paint too much or it will make the paint roll or bubble. Remove any drips from the top of the head that may have formed when first applying the sealer.
Do not disturb them until they are at least tack free. You should change the position they are leaning on in the container so they won't stick to the container. Don't lean them on their face because you can't repair the face as easily as the hair or back. Give them time to harden as per the sealant manufacturer's directions.
Now they are ready. If you want to glue them into position outdoors, pare off a tiny bit of the paint and sealer where the glue will be. Use the Gem-Tac or the glue you prefer on your layout. Set the people in groups or where they will look busy. Paint the shoes after the feet are glued into place. Put a bit of sealant over any glued places or newly painted. Sometimes it will be easier to glue them in the back up against something.
Now I will show you some of the other people you can make, now that you know the basic method of making inexpensive figures!
If you have a set of chairs or a vehicle that needs sitters, you can make the upper body as you would like and mold the Sculpey bottom half to the seat. You can peel it off and bake it. If it isn't seen you can get away with not baking it or painting it. Once you take it out of the seat it will change its shape somewhat. Glue the upper to the baked lower body with Gem-Tac glue.
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