Airbrush/Dying Question

[ToasterBoy]

Working on a puppet now for a TV Project and this is the bad guy and we want him to have sort of a creepy undead, but comical look about him.

I was going to dye the foam a "bone white" then airbrush some veins in certain areas.

But then I was thinking that the foam may not dye white. Will Scott Foam dye white?

If not and I cover it with fleece, I actually do have white fleece, can you airbrush fleece to get the veins look?

Or can someone think of a better idea?

Thanks!

Grant
doctorfloyd.com

 

[puppetsmith]

Hey ToasterBoy!

I don't think you can dye Scott foam white, at least I haven't heard of a way. You might just consider leaving it its natural color. The off-white, yellowish hue still says "death". Or you could airbrush the foam white with airbrush paint used for t-shirts (such as Createx). That should keep the foam more flexible than if you were to use a can of regular spray paint. Then go back with an airbrush and darken around the eyes, cheekbones, etc. and add veins.

I have airbrushed fleece...mainly faded tones like rosy cheeks, dark under eyes, etc. Airbrushing veins on the fleece would probably result in a softer look...like the veins were showing through the skin and not bulging out from it. Seems like you would want to add something on top of the fleece for real defined veins...but I can't think what at the moment.

later...

 

[Jinx]

Depending upon performance conditions, you actually may want to steer clear of white. Under stage lighting it tends to wash out badly. An example is if you've ever seen any pictures of the stage productions of The Phantom of the Opera. The Phantom's mask looks white onstage, but they're actually gray.

Something you might consider using for a "bony" Gray Seal puppets recommends a product called "Scupt-or-Coat" which can be brished on and gives a hard-finished appearance, but it still remaims slightly pliable. I image a quick google search would get you in touch with a supplier.

 

[ToasterBoy]

How interesting you would reply! It's a Puppet Project Puppet I'm working on! Just cut out the head today! Actually I have a few Q's

When you trace the template onto the foam, what do you use? I used a fabric pen, but it took forever to get it dark enough to see.

Any recommendations on relatively inexpensive airbrushes?

As far as the character I'm building. I may go with a tinted light green color to give him a sickly look.


Thanks!

Grant

 

[puppetsmith]

Airbrushing

A fabric pen is probably the safest. I use a fine-point Sharpie. It goes on real quick, and once you are familiar with the pattern, there's only a couple spots to avoid marking around the mouth. You would assemble the head with the marks on the inside. If you need more on this explanation, shoot me an email and I send you a sketch of the trouble spots.

As far as inexpensive airbrushes, I would say Aztek is the best choice to start. They are inexpensive, designed to be user-friendly, and will get the job done. Here is a link with some airbrushes. I would recommend the Aztek A270 on all three points.

http://hobbylinc.com/airbrush/airbrushes-2.htm

I think the light green will be great! Seems like that would send the character over the top.

 

[Limb]

Couple things- yep, white will wash-out under stage lights. Elvis' white jumpsuits were actually a light beige color. On stage they looked white, so a natural foam color would work nice.

If you want realistic looking veins, a neat trick is to paint them on (with a brush, pen, marker, airbrush, whatever) and then mist over them lightly with your flesh color. It makes them now look like they are under the skin. Learned that from David Fisher and Amazing Figure Modeler Magazine. I've caught some of his model kit painting demonstrations at Wonderfest in Louisville, KY. It really looks great, but takes a bit of practice. Use a scrap piece first.

I like Paasche' airbrushes- VL3 is a workhorse, and can be used for just about anything. Badgers are cheaper. If you're wanting to get a lot of detail and use it for a lot of different uses, get a double action. May take a little to get the hang of. You won't learn it overnight-- so don't give up too quickly.

Get a compressor with a holding tank, and one that can go to at least 100psi. You won't want to paint that high (about 50-80psi) but you don't want the compressor running constantly either. If the paint spits and sputters it could be too thick, the pressure too low, or the brush is dirty. I like Createx paints because they come pre-mixed and ready to use. If you use acrylics like Liquitex you'll want to strain them thru some panty hose. (Now you know what to do with those pantyhose samples you get in the mail.)

If you have any other technical questions feel free to pm me.

Lin

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I concur with Limb's airbrushing advice, you might also want to consider building your puppet out of L200 foam which often comes in white (myself I have never been a fan of dying foam, but that is just me). I personally have not found Scupt-or-Coat ideal for film/television use, the results of finish did not look very good when I tried it. I would be interested to hear about anyone who has had better results.