Painting faces question

[jessica]

Prior to painting a face/head, how do you prep the surface? And what are the best paints to use for these Mego heads? I was planning on painting my soldier ape's face to try to make a General out of him. This is hat try #3 he is wearing. The other two were too tall or big.

[Bo8a_Fett]

I usually wash in warm soapy water..then when completely dry prime it with any primer and off you go once that's dry( you could always apply a coat of johnsons clear).

[YANOULI]

I always wash the head in warm soapy water, dry thoroughly then use a wash of white acrylic paint as a primer.

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

I use a very thin coat of primer...it stops the paint rubbing off later and makes a huge difference.

[Overkill]

Oh and I also have a question for painting (didn't think it necessary to make a whole new thread). What type of tools do you use to paint with? I'm really clumsy with my hands let alone a paintbrush. How do you guys paint the finer details? Like eyes and stuff?

[Overkill]

Hm I guess that would make sense, using finer paint brushes for finer details xP I'll have to pick a few of those up and try my hand at using them.

But is there anything else customizers use? Like I was thinking something thin, sturdy and solid. For example like dipping a fine tipped pencil into paint and using it? I'm much better with solid objects that don't bend when pressed against a surface, like the hairs of a paintbrush. I always seem to smudge with paintbrushes...

[Overkill]

Maybe I'll get a few practice heads and attempt different tools on them to try and find out if there's a good solid painting tool. As for the non-practice heads, I'll use your suggestion of the finer paintbrushes (after much practice!) Thanks.

[bagmonster]

I thought that Dave Mc suggested using a toothpick. Never tried it though.

[Overkill]

Oh I'll keep a toothpick in mind when I attempt to paint!

[jessica]

Painting this is getting me really nervous! Guess I'll just have to just go for it and attempt it, and stop over-thinking the process.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

"Stop overthinking" eh? Well, maybe I can make it worse....

There are two completely different proceedures to use when painting heads; one for original vynil heads, and one for resin/putty custom ones.

-Vynil is flexible AND subject to expansion and contraction due to temperature fluxuations. So you should NEVER use an enamel paint on it. Ever. Enamel forms a hard shell when it cures, and it'll crack if used on a flexible surface. Vynil is tough to paint 'cos it tends to resist most colouring agents. On original heads I use automotive interior vynil paint. It actually absorbs into the plastic, and bonds better than the paint Mego originally used. There are two problems with it: it doesn't come in very many colours, and it's tough to mix new colours. (You end up with a lot of chemical reactive colours instead of chromatic ones. That is; yellow and blue don't always make green.) AND it's EXTREMELY POISONOUS. Use it outside. (It comes in a spray can, I spray a bit into the lid and brush it on. I clean the brushes with testors paint thinner.)

A lot of folks use acrylics on original heads. These work pretty good; and a cured acrylic still maintains pliability, so it doesn't usually crack. Acrylics tend to be fragile though. So you'll need to varnish it. Testors varnish is pretty good. I usually spray a thin gloss coat first (gloss protects better) and once dry cover it with a mat coat to take the sheen off. Sometimes you can get away with spray urethane; which protects REALLY well but yellows over time. (So you can't use it on light colours.) Even varnished, the paint can still be fragile; so you might not want to handle them so much.

-Painting resin or putty heads is a lot easier. Use a primer, slap on whatever paint you got. Varnish. The hard plastic doesn't bend or expand so much, so the paint job is much safer. I almost always use a primer; since it gives a uniform colour to work over, and the colour of primer will affect the final effect of the head. You can use a lot more technique on a resin head too.

For a mixed head like the one you're doing I'd probably make the helmet separate, paint both separately and then superglue the helmet onto the ape head. (Actually I'd probably snag a resin ape head and build directly onto it. But that's me.)

The actual nuts and bolts of painting are a whole other story. Over a resin head I'd use a buildup of washes for the fur, with a light drybrushing over the whole thing to balance out the apely skin tones. Buffed up uniform colours for the helmet, with a thin wash over the glyphs. Stuff like that....

Don C.

[Dave Mc]

I thought that Dave Mc suggested using a toothpick. Never tried it though.

You can try a toothpick for things like the little white dot in the eyes. It's not something I do personally. I just use, as Anthony said, really fine brushes.

A lot of it is in the brushes. Don't go dollar store for brushes. Get some decent stuff, it makes a big difference.

I did a session on this at Megocon a few years back and the powerpoint pages with pics of the paints and brushes I use are posted in the tutorial section at CustoMego if it helps.

Painting for the artistically challenged…

[Overkill]

I'll be sure to buy quality brushes. At a cheap store, I've seen brushes with the bristles bent and out of place. Very bad for painting.

And thanks for posting that "Painting for the Artistically Challenged" link. Just the title shows that's definitely for me.

[Bizarro Amy]

...What Dave said about the toothpicks. They work great for the dots in eyes, or if the character has a beaty mark on his/her cheek, but they're not good for a lot of detail. You can sometimes find very thin brushes that have stiffer bristles and pointed tips. Those have helped me a lot, because as long as you don't push too hard and take good care of them, they behave a little more like a marker. Another thing - Practice practice practice. Buy some generic dolls at the dollar store and paint details on them before you apply paint to an original head or a good resin cast.

[fallensaviour]

Warm soap and water, as mentioned. I allow parts to air dry. Then apply thin layers of acrylic paint. I dont use primer because it can dull the fine details. After the paint is dry, use a matte finish lacquer to cover the painted surface. This protects the paint from rubbing off.

Same here.Exactly the same method.

For finer detail I use finer brushes and or Toothpicks/straight pins.