Painting a custom without brush strokes showing?

[Shenanigans]

Is there a way to paint a pony without having the streaky looks from the brush strokes? Or is airbrushing the only way? I want a flawless paint that doesn't even look like paint Like the pony came that way Also, what kind of paint would you recommend? I have acrylics, is that ok?

[Alipes]

All of my customs are hand painted, even for full body repaints, and I feel like you can't see the brush strokes on my stuff (you can check out my dA if you want to double check me  ).  There are definitely tricks though!

1) The paint itself -- I tend to mix my colors, using Acrylics, and it's usually the craft store variety like Apple Barrel, Ceramcoat, or Anita's.  Some of these are obviously better than others, but I like Ceramcoat the best if you have it available.  If you mix colors, I find it tends to be a little friendlier about brush strokes.  And the MOST IMPORTANT part -- thin down your paint with water!  I can't stress enough how important this is!

2) The paintbrush -- it's helpful to invest in a good quality paintbrush or two, but not essential.  I've done some pretty good work with lower quality paintbrushes, but having more expensive, artist quality paintbrushes is a good helper!

3) Applying paint -- you want to water down the paint and do thiiiiiiin coats.  I usually try to aim for about 3-4 coats of paint on a pony for the best results.  Don't glop paint on, apply a thin coat of paint and let it dry.  It's going to look absolutely terrible at first and you will think you screwed up but keep at it, continue to apply those layers and it will look much better.  Its also helps if you don't paint in the same direction every layer.  So do a layer with horizontal strokes, a layer vertically, etc. etc.

4) Sealing the pony -- after you've gotten those nice layers on, you may still find it looks a little brush strokey in places, and that's where sealant comes in handy!  Dull cote especially is my absolutely favorite because it has a very lovely matte, "professional" appearance, but it also helps minimize the look of brush strokes!

5) Practice! -- this is a lot of steps, so don't feel bad if it takes you a couple of tries to get it right!  Practice on a sheet of paper, or on a soda can or plastic bottle, something like that, if you don't want to practice on a pony.  But practice!

[DancingPhoenix]

You need to really water down the paint until it's like 2/3 water. Then use a lot of layers. Water down the sealant too (especially if you use mod podge). If it's not perfect you can wipe it off and try again, or just kind of accept that it probably won't be perfect and everything takes practice. Best of luck!

[Sarahlacewing]

I'm no expert but I want to add let that puppy dry really well before you put another coat on.  If you put another coat on wet paint it will streak and yield those paint lines. 

I've also heard sometimes people will use a dry brush to go over the first few coats to remove any extra paint that might pool in different areas of the pony.

Some people use makeup sponges but it gives the paint a textured look sometimes and I find a brush to be more effective.

[Shenanigans]

Wow, great tips! Thanks a lot *writes it down* I don't have the money to invest in an air brush machine so this is really helpful

I did a custom blind bag not too long ago and I think my main problem was that I didn't thin out the paint well and it wasn't completely dry when I added another coat!

[kaoskat]

Yes, thin the paint and lots of coats. Someone once told me to thin the paint then get a small amount on the brush and paint until the brush isn't painting anymore and repeat. That always worked well for me.

[elish2]

Love the replies I am glad to read these too! I agree about making sure the paint dries between coats, nothing stink more when it is still slightly wet and all the paint moves into bunches when you try to paint another layer!

[Sarahlacewing]

Yes, thin the paint and lots of coats. Someone once told me to thin the paint then get a small amount on the brush and paint until the brush isn't painting anymore and repeat. That always worked well for me.

^truth

The best things take forever and are mildly infuriating.

I just wanted to jump back in to say some colors are notoriously difficult to get even. (yellow, red, white in particular) so I sometimes add a light primer coat before I move on to the actual painting.

[Sawkinator]

Yes, thin coats are the way to go. Although if you do end up with some strokes showing, sanding the paint once it's dry with progressively fine grit works pretty well to eliminate them. You can get things like 400, 600, even 1200 grit at hardware stores (even finer if you go on the net, but it's really not necessary).

I've done this with a couple customs, and in the end the paint was very smooth and shiny. I almost didn't want to use my matte sealer because it just looked so smoooooth. 

[Shenanigans]

Ooh, thanks so much for the tips! This has been SO helpful

Post Merge: June 27, 2013, 07:11:15 AM

Oh and I'm also wondering if I mix colors, how do I keep the paint from drying out while the paint on the pony is drying? Cover it with a towel or something?

[Alipes]

I usually have smallish screw-top paint storage containers that I use just for that.  The important thing is that it seals well and the paint will stay wet for a couple of days.

I prefer that over simply trying to cover it with towel or saran wrap, because there's always the odd chance you might not get back to it in a day or two and it's an enormous pain trying to mix the super exact shade again! 

[elish2]

I usually have smallish screw-top paint storage containers that I use just for that.  The important thing is that it seals well and the paint will stay wet for a couple of days.

I prefer that over simply trying to cover it with towel or saran wrap, because there's always the odd chance you might not get back to it in a day or two and it's an enormous pain trying to mix the super exact shade again! 

ohh great idea!

[LadySiha]

These are really helpful comments, as I have been wondering some of the same!

I was wondering though, everyone says to wait between coats.  What's a good guideline for waiting?  I know working with acrylics, the recommendation is usually 12-24 hours.  Is this a safe time range, or does having the paint thinned change how long you should wait?

[Alipes]

Personally I tend to play it by ear a bit more on how long I wait between coats.  I will usually only wait about 15-30 minutes, but checking to make sure it is visibly dry.  I live in a rather dry climate though, so the length of time can vary pretty wildly if you are in a more humid area.  I've never found it necessary to wait a full 12-24 hours between hand painted coats though!

[cleverLC]

I use fluid acrylics (they're more expensive, but they're a LOT thinner and easier to work with) and for painting large areas or a FBR I use makeup sponges.  It's not foolproof, but Zena hardly has any sponge marks at all, and she's the one FBR I've completed.