3. Pearlescent spray paint + high gloss finish
2. Primed and painted
1. Super Sculpy and Gesso Spray
What a roller coaster of emotion this project was. Never having worked with any of these vinyl toys before, I blindly went into it not really knowing what to expect. Honestly, I thought it was going to be easy....but I was very wrong!
After so much trial and error, I started talking with some other artists who have encountered the same problems. They gave me some great advice, so I thought I'd share it with who ever is out there facing the same obstacles!
Alright, so first and foremost:
• Prime you vinyl toy. They have spray gesso out there which makes things really easy.
• If you're sculpting, use Super Sculpy or Resin (Resin is harder to work with, so I've heard, because it hardens quickly, but the final product is strong and lightweight) - Super Sculpy is what I used and I liked it very much. Just sculpt and bake for 15 minutes, 275 degrees.
• Paints are up to you. Some people have used ink and then rubbed it around, I used acrylic paint and spray paint. The best spray paint I've found is called Montana. It has a matte finish and it dries in seconds! They have an amazing array of colors to choose from too. Anything with a high gloss finish is going to take a lot longer to dry. Don't layer glossy spray paint until it's completely dry, otherwise you'll get unsightly drips and you'll feel inclined to drop kick your vinyl out the window out of sheer frustration/blind rage.
• If/when you do get a stray drip here and there, you'll need some super fine sand paper... talking about nail file/nail buffer fine. Anything harder will tear large sections of your paint off...which is what happened to me...siiigh. So I bought some gel medium and lightly spread a thin layer over the holes to make it smooth again.
• When gluing, use a hot glue gun....the glue I bought was good, but when it got hot in my car, the flowers started shifting which means that the glue was melting...not good. (my glue was called Elmer's Craft Bond - Ultra Stix All, and it SUCKED! MLAH, Patooey!!)
• A dremel comes in handy too if you're adding resin or clay.
• To achieve a really tight/clean line, most artists sketch their design out with pencil and then tape off the lines to ensure the paint is crisp.
• And finally, buy a matte finish or a high gloss varnish to seal and give your model an all around unified, finished look.
For some mind bottling, earth shattering examples of some super baller vinyls, please check out these links below, and good luck everyone!!
• Eric Tan's Tiki Stitch •
Camilla D'Errico •
Mind Style •
Project VinylSpecial thanks to Eric Tan, Eric Hutchison and Craig Mackay for all your advice and positive reinforcement, even though looking at your finished pieces made me want to set my Stitch aflame! Ahahah Thanks so much you guys.
And thanks mom for the sand paper advice! Worked like a charm ;)