Post by tauster on Oct 7, 2013 13:59:02 GMT -5
I already shared some pics in the Crackle Glaze thread (posting quoted below), but I don't want to clutter that thread up with beholder stuff that hasn't to do with the original topic.
After the above post, I had the critter sitting at my craft desk for a few days without doing anything to it, because several other craft projects were screaming 'me first!' louder. Now the Eye Tyrant is again making progress, which means that I am making errors and learn new stuff. Like experimenting with new techniques before actually applying them to the piece you want to craft.
Some shots in chronological order (some pics from above included):
1) Fresh crackle glaze applied. I applied rather large amounts of the stuff, which resulted in thicker 'scales' after trying.
i.imgur.com/P7LcDnW.jpg
2) Crackle glaze dried and cracked:
i.imgur.com/13kcZNG.jpg
3) Dark brown wash that has run between the cracks; the scales were more or less clean after the application. Then, a dark purple basepaint on the scales:
i.imgur.com/KScw3G4.jpg
4) First drybrush with a lighter shade of purple:
i.imgur.com/etZJ5oo.jpg
5) 2nd & 3rd drybrush shade, all slightly different shades of lighter purples. Don't know whether that makes the difference in the end - even I can hardly discern between the different shades anymore... I am not sure what to do with the eyestalks: Paint the eyes directly on them or glue some pupils on. As you can see, I have painted them directly on AND prepared 3D pupils (painted hotglue dribbles - my gluegun always rests on parchment, so the dribbles don't adhere to the paper and can be collected easily and cleanly). The yellow dribbles are my practice pieces for the central eye, since I don't want to ruin my beholder with my first shot of doing a complex eye.
i.imgur.com/HeQ5JQL.jpg
(sorry for the blurry picture!)
Next steps:
- The maw: Still trying to figure out the color scheme (although doing the fleshy tentacles and the purple worm maw gave me some ideas). Applying the teeth gives me some headaches. Most pictures on the web show beholders with pointy stick-like teeth (toothpicks!), but I don't really like this version. I think I'll try small elongated stones.
Btw: The tongue is a chip of wood, if anyone hasn't figured that out.
- Glueing the stalks on: Fortunately, after cvering it with hotglue, the thread in the stalks is still very flexible, to the point that I could bend it in a battle where I want the beholder to shot at. Great! However I start to think that I should have made the stalks thicker... I might go back and apply more glue, even if this means that I have to repaint them all... Also, I forgot to give them some texture, so they look rather boring now. *sight*
- Painting the central eye: *gulp* I hope I'll find some easy technique that still gives good results (Yes, I am rather spoiled by the techniques of DM Scotty and DMG Info: Easy stuff with great results...). At the moment I am quite intimidated by the central eye. But that is how a beholder should work, right?
Sept 30, 2013 8:35:50 GMT 2 tauster said:
Some months ago I purchased a pot of crackle glaze, just because I loved the effect. I was in a crafting stage where almost everything I did was somehow related to flames, fire and lava (it all started with Scottie's fire spellmarker). I intended to use the crackle glaze as some kind of 'hardening lava' effect, but never got the time to actually experiment with it, so the pot remained closed until yesterday.
I figured it could make a nice rough & scaly hide of a beholder, so without any directions of use, I...
... took a hard cotton ball (3 cm diameter),
... punched some holes in there the eyestalks will ge glued on later,
... fixated them with toothpicks and
... liberally put a large-ish amount of crackle galze on it, while trying to keep the paint as smooth as possible (which was kind of hard because it draws whisps)
I also painted a small (3,8 cm diameter) cardboard disc, so I could later on experiment on it without ruining the beholder. That's how it looks right after applying the paint: i.imgur.com/iKp72c4.jpg
This morning, I found it already dried (despite the label saying 24 hrs), and that's how it looks:
Disc: i.imgur.com/qjqctSf.jpg
Beholder: i.imgur.com/13kcZNG.jpg
I am rather happy with the structure - the effect is as I expected it to be. No comes the question: How to continue?
I realized that this glaze is available in different color shades, so maybe before applying it, I should have mixed some color in. And before that, basepainted the sphere with the color I wanted to show through the cracks...?
As an alternative, maybe I can use watered-down paint and wash it, hoping that the color goes (mainly) into the cracks, wiping the excess collor off the scales?
Any experience / advice?
The label says that this stuff works only on absorent materials like paper and cardboard, and you can see that the cardboard disc is quite bent. That's already something to remember for the next time...
Some months ago I purchased a pot of crackle glaze, just because I loved the effect. I was in a crafting stage where almost everything I did was somehow related to flames, fire and lava (it all started with Scottie's fire spellmarker). I intended to use the crackle glaze as some kind of 'hardening lava' effect, but never got the time to actually experiment with it, so the pot remained closed until yesterday.
I figured it could make a nice rough & scaly hide of a beholder, so without any directions of use, I...
... took a hard cotton ball (3 cm diameter),
... punched some holes in there the eyestalks will ge glued on later,
... fixated them with toothpicks and
... liberally put a large-ish amount of crackle galze on it, while trying to keep the paint as smooth as possible (which was kind of hard because it draws whisps)
I also painted a small (3,8 cm diameter) cardboard disc, so I could later on experiment on it without ruining the beholder. That's how it looks right after applying the paint: i.imgur.com/iKp72c4.jpg
This morning, I found it already dried (despite the label saying 24 hrs), and that's how it looks:
Disc: i.imgur.com/qjqctSf.jpg
Beholder: i.imgur.com/13kcZNG.jpg
I am rather happy with the structure - the effect is as I expected it to be. No comes the question: How to continue?
I realized that this glaze is available in different color shades, so maybe before applying it, I should have mixed some color in. And before that, basepainted the sphere with the color I wanted to show through the cracks...?
As an alternative, maybe I can use watered-down paint and wash it, hoping that the color goes (mainly) into the cracks, wiping the excess collor off the scales?
Any experience / advice?
The label says that this stuff works only on absorent materials like paper and cardboard, and you can see that the cardboard disc is quite bent. That's already something to remember for the next time...
After the above post, I had the critter sitting at my craft desk for a few days without doing anything to it, because several other craft projects were screaming 'me first!' louder. Now the Eye Tyrant is again making progress, which means that I am making errors and learn new stuff. Like experimenting with new techniques before actually applying them to the piece you want to craft.
Some shots in chronological order (some pics from above included):
1) Fresh crackle glaze applied. I applied rather large amounts of the stuff, which resulted in thicker 'scales' after trying.
i.imgur.com/P7LcDnW.jpg
2) Crackle glaze dried and cracked:
i.imgur.com/13kcZNG.jpg
3) Dark brown wash that has run between the cracks; the scales were more or less clean after the application. Then, a dark purple basepaint on the scales:
i.imgur.com/KScw3G4.jpg
4) First drybrush with a lighter shade of purple:
i.imgur.com/etZJ5oo.jpg
5) 2nd & 3rd drybrush shade, all slightly different shades of lighter purples. Don't know whether that makes the difference in the end - even I can hardly discern between the different shades anymore... I am not sure what to do with the eyestalks: Paint the eyes directly on them or glue some pupils on. As you can see, I have painted them directly on AND prepared 3D pupils (painted hotglue dribbles - my gluegun always rests on parchment, so the dribbles don't adhere to the paper and can be collected easily and cleanly). The yellow dribbles are my practice pieces for the central eye, since I don't want to ruin my beholder with my first shot of doing a complex eye.
i.imgur.com/HeQ5JQL.jpg
(sorry for the blurry picture!)
Next steps:
- The maw: Still trying to figure out the color scheme (although doing the fleshy tentacles and the purple worm maw gave me some ideas). Applying the teeth gives me some headaches. Most pictures on the web show beholders with pointy stick-like teeth (toothpicks!), but I don't really like this version. I think I'll try small elongated stones.
Btw: The tongue is a chip of wood, if anyone hasn't figured that out.
- Glueing the stalks on: Fortunately, after cvering it with hotglue, the thread in the stalks is still very flexible, to the point that I could bend it in a battle where I want the beholder to shot at. Great! However I start to think that I should have made the stalks thicker... I might go back and apply more glue, even if this means that I have to repaint them all... Also, I forgot to give them some texture, so they look rather boring now. *sight*
- Painting the central eye: *gulp* I hope I'll find some easy technique that still gives good results (Yes, I am rather spoiled by the techniques of DM Scotty and DMG Info: Easy stuff with great results...). At the moment I am quite intimidated by the central eye. But that is how a beholder should work, right?
