Hello everyone!
Now you will see a big, and I hopefully, interesting video, but for a first I would like to say a few words
We've spent a lot of time and energy to make this video,
We don't make money off this channel, and all that you see we do only because we like it.
If you like content like this, then just let us know in the comments, it will be our pleasure
And of course, huge thanks to our Patreon supporters, it would be really hard for us without your help
During all of my practice time, I received a lot of questions about crafting and always tried to answer them in the comments or on the streams
but there are always people who don't read comments or don't watch streams.
For such guys and for everyone else we decided to shoot this video, where you will see the complete process of working on the figure, from A to Z.
And now let's get started!
Usually, the first step is searching for some art, I open the gallery and look for the pictures I like.
Pretty often I consult with my friends, and if we think that it will make a nice figure, then I go to the artist and try to ask for permission to use their art.
if the artist agrees, then I proceed to sculpting
I usually sculpt with Super Sculpey because I just like its texture quality.
But you have to keep in mind that it is pretty breakable, and if you need tougher parts, then you should use Fimo, for example
In almost every video you can see how I sculpt certain things, so this time we will show only some moments.
About a year ago, I already sculpted Princess Luna and noted for myself that the worst thing you can do is make her mane flat.
To prevent this, I make the base layer and mark the areas on which it is necessary to add volume
I usually do the main work with my fingers, because if the polymer clay is fresh, then it will be easy to smooth it out.
Then, when the main form is ready, I take my favorite sculpting tool and keep working with it.
Remember, that choosing a tool is an extremely important thing, try to work only with the one that is comfortable specifically for you.
You can even make your own tools if you haven’t found anything suitable in the store, and they will be absolutely no worse than the purchased ones
When the work is completed, the polymer clay must be baked.
You can calm down your parents, cause the polymer clay is not toxic, just don’t burn it down in the oven
(I forgot to clean the oven door lol)
After baking, one of the most important, boring, and dreary parts begins - sanding.
But there is nothing complicated — just take some sandpaper and start generating tons of dust
After the surface is prepared, I start to primer the figure.
This is a very important step because the primer helps the paint stick to the surface better,
and also brings out small scratches and chips that need to be spackled.
For these purposes, I use a typical car primer.
(Gray primer is the best. Just believe me)
Here you can see the consequences of my mistake.
The polymer clay wasn’t completely baked, and a crack appeared on the tail.
Actually, this is not as scary as it may seem, because you can always fix everything that was broken
In my opinion, the best way to fix such damage is epoxy adhesive.
Mix it properly and pour into the cracks as deep as possible
But if you’re fixing such damage, then you have to use spackling paste to hide the traces of repair
After priming, I always use Scotch-Brite and water to make the primer layer even smoother.
Almost done! All parts are prepared for painting, If it was a custom figure, I would get straight to painting,
but since this Luna will be in several copies, we're gonna have a lot more fun!
Before we start to create a mold, my colleague Pavel and I analyze the figure and think about how to make one or another silicone mold.
This is one of the most important and decisive moments because with just one mistake you can ruin the mold and you’ll have to do it all over again
The first step of making silicone molds is to separate all details in two using modeling clay
All gaps must be carefully patched up so the mold will not be ruined.
You can mark the places for air outlets right on the modeling clay so you'll not have to bother about that in the future
Next we make a formwork
To do this we use the ancient method of building formwork from Lego. For now I can't think of an easier way to do that.
It’s also important to carefully seal all gaps so that the silicone doesn't leak out
After everything is ready, we need to make the so-called keys on the modeling clay, so that silicone mold could be properly connected later.
The next step is to fill formwork with silicone.
In my work, I try to use the highest quality materials, as it is the least troubles with them.
This is Mold Max silicone, and it's great for making molds for figures.
But it has only one disadvantage - it has a very pungent smell, so it’s important to work in a ventilated room
It took me a lot of energy and experience to make my castings satisfying quality.
Besides, if you want to get a really good result, you also need good equipment
I always devolatilize silicone in a vacuum chamber, because this greatly improves the quality of the mold by removing most of the air bubbles from the silicone
After devolatilization, silicone is poured into formworks.
It is almost impossible to do something wrong here since this silicone hardens in a few hours,
so you don’t need to rush, and you can just enjoy the process
(Yummy :3 )
After the silicone has finally hardened, you need to remove all of the modeling clay.
The most important thing is to prevent the detail from falling out of its place in the mold.
This will ruin the mold, and you will have to start all over again
After the modeling clay was removed, it is super necessary to apply a release agent to silicone, I use vaseline.
After that, you can fill in the second part of the formwork
We wait a day until the silicone becomes completely solidified, then we disassemble the formwork,
and now the mold can be finally opened so we could find out whether everything turned out as it should, or something should be redone.
If the molds have come turned out without defects, consider that a success!
Now we can proceed to the final stage of mold making.
It is necessary to remove all sticking out pieces of silicone and cut through the filler holes.
Also, you should take care of cutting the air vents so that the plastic can be poured into the mold properly.
Now that the molds are ready, we can start casting.
Our main enemy at this stage is time.
You have only about 10 minutes to mix the required amount of plastic and pour it into all molds, so be quick!
Then the molds are placed in a pressure chamber under at least two atmospheres.
This will help to get rid of the air bubbles in plastic, which will improve its quality.
Next, the copy is sanded the same way as the original figure.
If you are engaged in sanding in large quantities, then a nail dust collector will come in handy,
otherwise, you will have mountains of dust that can lead to similar situations.
- We finished cleaning the rooms from dust, and now it's clean. Is it clean there, right, Vadim?
- Yes, Pavel, everything is clean
- What are we gonna do now?
- Do?
- We're going to sanding, that's what we're gonna do.
- We're gonna eat that plastic for breakfast!
- Make this Woona!
- Pavel, take it easy
- Okay, Vadim, let's go, we need a vacuum cleaner
Before I started to sculpt this Luna, I’ve planned ahead to make her body from two parts,
since I still don’t know how to make such complex molds.
Because of this, her body needs to be glued and then we'll have to remove the seam
This thing is great for that.
After sanding, figure must be primed again.
At this stage, it is very important not to overdo it and not to make drips
And next step is already familiar to you procedure of a primer polishing with Scotch-Brite
And now, after all this torment, Princess Luna is ready for painting
So what next?
Next will be what you have asked for so long.
Now when I’ve got a cameraman, I can finally show you the painting process
In order to not to be mistaken with the choice of color, make sure that you have opened the image on a display with good color reproduction.
Next, I choose the most similar in tone colors and mix them
I must to say that I don’t use any tricks and secrets, and most likely I will disappoint many of you.
If you really want to learn how to paint well, then you have obviously asked the wrong person
However, I will try to show you the basics
If you paint with an airbrush like I do, then make sure that your paint is not too liquid or too thick,
as this greatly affects the quality of the surface
If you are interested in what paints I use, the Vallejo paints are the best ones I've ever tried.
Yes, they aren’t cheap, but their quality is excellent.
In fact, the choice of paint should be approached individually.
It happens that some colors are much better from one manufacturer are better than from another and vice-versa
The first step is to apply the base layer.
It must be the darkest shade, and perhaps some of you thought that this one is darker than necessary, and this is true
because in the future it will be highlighted with lighter tones
The most important thing is to cover the figure with an even coat of paint
After the base coat is applied, I mix the brighter paint and begin to apply highlights.
Perhaps this is my favorite stage in painting, because I just hate flat, solid colors
It's pretty cool to see how the figure changes, only because of one shade of paint.
The second coat should not overlap the base one, it is applied only to the outer surfaces to create shadow
You can see how two-coated surfaces are different from one-coated ones.
All other parts are painted on the same way
Before applying new colors and shades of paint, you should clean the airbrush, otherwise, you may expect unpleasant consequences
The third coat should be even brighter, so we add white to our paint, and repeat the previous steps.
Usually, when I paint my figures, I use 3-4 shades of each color, but if this is not enough, their number can be increased.
You may ask how to paint figures if you only have a regular brushes.
Is it impossible without an airbrush?
In fact, even if you don’t have an airbrush, it’s too early to get upset
I use the airbrush only because it saves my time,
in addition, this is my job, so I strive for high quality.
If you want to create a couple of figures for yourself or your friends, they can be painted pretty good with a brush as well.
For example, look at these figures, an airbrush was not used for them
But still, not a single paintwork is complete without a brush.
Such small elements as eyes, cutie marks or eyelashes still have to be painted with a brush
In fact, many people can use the airbrush correctly and paint such elements with it,
but I'm not one of these guys so I use a brush
A couple of words about brushes.
You should have several brushes, you shouldn't paint the entire figure with a small brush,
it will take much more time and leave too many traces on the surface.
Always have a wide brush for large areas and a thin brush for small elements
I want to note that I am one of those people who believe that Luna’s cutie mark is a crescent,
and the black spot is part of her coat print.
I don't say what you should to do only this way, but I prefer to paint the whole flank black
After the body of the figure is painted, I apply several coats of matte varnish.
Remember, that varnish would not protect the paint from serious damage, scratches and chips.
It rather serves to ensure that the paint won’t be accidentally worn away, or just won’t be sticky.
Give proper care to the crafted figures, this is not a toy from the store
In the end, I start painting the metal.
As I said before, I don’t like flat colors, and this relates to metallic surfaces too.
I prefer more threadbare, embossed surfaces, and that's the reason why I not to paint metal in one shade.
Although, I must admit that in the case of precious metals this does not always make sense
After the metal paint is applied, you can coat it with diluted glossy varnish to make it shinier
after that, work on the body will be completed
Now we are moving on to the mane and tail.
Everything here is absolutely the same as in the case of body painting.
I want to note that I use a slightly non-canonical palette, but that’s because I like it more that way
The final touch to add stars.
This is the easiest way to do them, just try not to use too much of paint
And now we just have to draw larger stars and cover the entire figure with a coat of matte varnish
But the work isn’t completed yet.
Next, Pavel picks up the camera and proceeds to the shooting process,
further photo processing and video editing to show you the results of our labors
And a little afterword.
Guys, it was very hard for us to make this video,
we can say it was our first serious experience, unlike what you saw on this channel before.
It is very difficult to write a scenario when you have never done it, it is very hard to talk on camera,
so I look a little unnatural, sorry about that. That’s the kind of person I am
Thank you so much for staying to the end,
and if you really liked it, then maybe in the future we will make something like this, or maybe even something new
Anyway, leave your comments, we read everything, and I personally answer all of them.
Maybe not immediately, but I will definitely read your comment.
If you have any criticism, and I think you have it, don’t be shy, criticize,
we will try to fix everything in the future.
Thank you a lot again, it was super hard, and...
we will appreciate if you share this video and leave some comment.
Thanks again to everyone, see you soon!