white paint

determining silhouette and basic shapes and placement.

Finished and ready for Cannibal flower!

Started with the white paint to develop some sort of shape.

2: white paint

Once I had a good idea of the shape of the decor within the gun, I went on and put a thin application of white paint over the whole section I was working on to maintain the other colors to follow.

20: "smoke"

As the absolute last layer, smoke is added. The idea of smoke is made with white acrylic paint on top of the clear coat. I found it most difficult to paint when using too much water. I also found that achieving levels of transparency was used kind of like you would use watercolor with the deepness of the color. The more of it you add, the richer the color.... the more solid the color.

White Paint

While the white paint was drying on the left side, I attacked some of the other areas with the white paint. Here, I'm starting on the balloon heads. It's a very "back and forth" process.

Everyone After About an Hour

This is a pan out of where everyone was after about an hour. By the time I was getting to my bubble background with the white paint, everyone else was just about to finish up their backgrounds. I wish I would have video taped this just to see the difference in everyone's process. It's so amazing to see.

Jumping Around

While the white was still drying I was jumping around from section to section to add something new. At this point, I'm working on the celebrity balloon heads.

The Magician

After the blue in the bubble background finally dried, I was able to play with the white in the magician. I am constantly looking at my reference.

Step 5: Color and shading

On this hand, after the darkest parts have been painted, I went back and created gradients with lighter colors. There's a lot of "back and forth" in the painting process (with acrylics).

Step 6: Color and shading

On this hand, after the darkest parts have been painted, I went back and created gradients with lighter colors. There's a lot of "back and forth" in the painting process (with acrylics).

Step 7: Shading and details

I'm going by color. the darker I get, the closer to final details I get. After the darks get figured out, it's easier to see where your finishing highlights will go.

Step 8: the sconce

I didn't have any reference for the sconce. This was a situation to where you know where the light is coming from and depending on the shape of the object, you use what you know as to how it will be shaded and highlighted.

Step 10: finished hands

After the flame on the candle has been done, we can call the hands done (for now). I'll add that the way to achieve a glow for the flame is use of a gradient using only white paint.

Step 12: the zombie

At this point, the white has been set for the image. I've gone ahead and started preparing for where the darker, shaded parts will go.

Step 13: creating the zombie

So, quite a bit has been done. The main thing to walk away with is that I had to refer back to canvas which is why I had to paint a white layer underneath her. White was also used as the finishing touches for this session.

Step 4: Drawing

A smaller round brush was used to make out the proportions and dimensions of the head. Painting and drawing go hand in hand.

Step 5: White

So, now we are reverting back to canvas, creating a "new" canvas. Anytime white is applied, it's considered reverting back to canvas. This is another time as well where drawing comes into play. It takes a good, keen eye to capture form and shape. The type of brush you use also plays a role in the shape of the strokes. I usually like to use square tips for filling in and round for everything else, like drawing.

Step 9: The Hands, part 1

The hands are done in white, first. Here, we get the proportion and the basic shape.

Step 3: Sculpting

the white paint is applied with one thin layer at a time. Where the lightest parts of the skin are will be where more layers of paint are applied. the image will start to build as you go.

Step 1

Grabbed an old skateboard and sanded it down a little, preparing it to be painted on.