Masking sculpted ponies for painting?

[Maniah]

I remember, vaguely, in high school art class.. When doing watercolors, we used to mask the main focus of the canvas, then paint the background. After it was dry, we would remove the masking and paint the main focus. We cheaped out and used scotch tape.. But I THINK I remember that we could use rubber cement, and then just gently rub it off.. I have it in my art kit for some reason. Well, had, anyway. That bottle is long dead.

So I'm wondering.. Would this work on ponies? Do you have some way of masking your pony before painting the sculpted bits? Im hesitant to go out and buy new rubber cement just to test it, and have it not work. But I would love some way to get a cleaner paint job. I always get paint on the pony and then cleaning it up is a huge hassle that can destroy my paint job.

[NoDivision]

I've used painters tape in the past, but I know rubber cement can work too. We used rubber cement for photography in high school to mask off areas - it's perfect for that, and it's pony safe.

[KiwiSquirtBottle]

I've used rubber cement on ponies -- specifically when I'd already done the eye and realised that the pony needed some eye shadow. The only tricky part was getting the rubber cement to behave and go where I told it to. I know you can use painter's tape and such. I just haven't figured out a good way to cut out just the shape I want / need.

[Colorscapesart]

Great suggestions!  I've used tape, but you really have to make sure you get those edges down smooth against the pony or little paint pockets will seep underneath.  In art school they has us apply the tape, then paint against the edge of the paint with clear sealant (modge podge, etc).  Once that dried, we painted our colors and let the colors dry.  Once everything was dry, we used an exacto knife to score along the tape edge and cut any dried paint/sealant evenly.  They you peel the paint off and wha-la!  It's a little more work, but you can really get some clean work, which is hard on 3-d shapes!

[Maniah]

I just tried using some masking tape (That brownish yellow papery tape) and it worked ok. Not perfect, but ok. The pony was soft so I was able to tuck the edges of the tape under the sculpting by gently pressing down with my fingernail. I got a few ink spots, but the cleanup from this was 100% easier than it was just trying to paint carefully.

My corset pony is hard as a rock so that wont work. I'm going to try the rubber cement on her, I think. I just really need to come up with a design for her. The more I look at her, the more I want to do the ruffles, but do do that, I'll need to change her cutie mark somehow, so Im fussing.

[Em_L._Pea_Customs]

I have always used a product called Masking Fluid.  It is found in Art Stores (have never seen it in a craft store though) and is made to be used on canvas.  It is very expensive ($14 for a small bottle), but is much easier to use than rubber cement.  It is very thin and is easy to paint on with a fine brush.  I also use masking tape specifically used for making models.  It is only millimeters wide, so it is easy to put in tight spaces.  These are two of my "secrets" and hopefully they will be helpful to you.  Good luck!


P.S.  Another trick for removing acrylic paint bleed is to just gently and carefully scrape it off with an x-acto knife.  You can get a clean, sharp edge this way. 

[JoshsPonyPrincess]

I too use masking fluid or frisket. But love the tips on using rubber cement as I love that stuff!

[NoDivision]

Yeah, we used rubber cement in place of masking fluid in photograhpy. Trying to get enough masking fluid for like 150 kids to use is sort of insane

[lovelauraland]

I use masking tape and rip little bits off to get to tight corners and double layer for protection

Post Merge: March 16, 2012, 04:18:16 PM

Where do you get rubber cement?

[KiwiSquirtBottle]

I got my rubber cement in a crafts store (Hobby Lobby) but have seen it at other places too (JoAnn's, Hancock, WalMart, etc.) I'm not sure where to suggest in England, though.

[sd_dreamcrystal]

I've not used rubber cement... but I do know that using other glues over already painted areas may remove the paint you had placed it on D:

[SasukeRoxMySox2]

I've tried masking fluid with acrylics before and it just went tits up..strange how everyone gets different results isnt it?

[Ellis1342]

Masking tape, stickers, all sorts of things work well. I used masking tape on my Spring Bling pony. I use it on the eyes too sometimes. Stick a piece of tape over the eye and use your blade to gently cut the shape out around it