Painting & finishing a freeze-dried turkey head
1. Use a soft bristled brush and brush off any debris or dust.
2. Fill in any shot holes or damage using 2-part Apoxie sculpt. Don't forget to retexture your apoxie work so it blends seamlessly with the skin.
3. Tape beak with masking tape.
4. Apply eye protect to the glass eyes, just up to the skin edges but not on the skin.
2. Fill in any shot holes or damage using 2-part Apoxie sculpt. Don't forget to retexture your apoxie work so it blends seamlessly with the skin.
3. Tape beak with masking tape.
4. Apply eye protect to the glass eyes, just up to the skin edges but not on the skin.
Andrea's paint schedule
I use water-based paints and a Badger Krome. My favorite paints are Woods & Water, Lifetone, and Wildlife Colors. My paint schedule uses antiquing as a way to create depth.
I like to hold the head at an angle the entire time I paint. I typically don't spray "straight on." I want to create as much depth as possible, so I will angle the head and my airbrush to only pick up the areas that I need to paint.
1. Spray entire head with dark brown/black. I use warm black by Woods & Water. Any deep color will work, even Paynes gray. The idea is to cover the entire head. You don't need to go super heavy, but make sure the paint is inbetween all the cracks and ridges. Let dry.
2. Using fine or extra fine steel wool, sand off the paint. You will see a lot of detail will suddenly pop. You may have to work the steel wool to get into some of the crevices.
3. Using a semi transparent white or off white, hold the head at an angle and spray at an angle to just pick up the ridges with your white. We want to make the ridges and texture pop again. Don't go too overboard on the white, the skin texture should still be showing at this point. Change your angle often.
4. Still using the white, go heavier on the crown area.
5. Using a light semi transparent turkey blue (I like Woods & Water turkey blue mixed with Woods & Water Turquoise) lightly coat the cheek area and sweep down, blending as you go. Spray the snood and the middle of the crown area lightly.
6. Using a bright true red (I like LifeTone Gill Red) and spraying at an intense angle, get your red on the wattles and ridges. I change angles a lot during this step, but am careful to not overspray on any other areas. Less is more! I don't try to get every area with the red, as I typically will hand paint finish some of the ridges. Go lighter on some areas closer to the crown, as this will look more natural to have those lighter pink tones rather than one solid shade of red.
7. With the airbrush pointed down the snood, spray lightly with red, picking up ridges.
8. Finish the crown with a solid white. You can use this to lighten up any areas or try to correct any mistakes you may have made in previous steps.
10. Hand paint wherever necessary (eye rings, back of neck ridges, etc.).
11. OPTIONAL: Sweep powdered interference blue on cheeks and blend down.
12. With a mascara wand dipped in dark brown or black, lightly sweep any hairs around the crown, snood, feathers on the back, and hair around ears.
13. Seal with a matte coat. I like Woods & Water Matte sealer.
14. Remove tape. Check any areas that may need attention. If the head has an open mouth, paint the tongue and interior of beak with flesh tones.
15. Clean up eye area. Cotton swab with 409 or other cleaner to soften the eye protect, then remove with a wooden toothpick. Remove all excess paint, clean the glass eye, and polish.
16. You can choose to lightly paint the beak to enhance the color, or leave it natural. I do recommend sealing the beak with a semi gloss sealer or a matte sealer.
I like to hold the head at an angle the entire time I paint. I typically don't spray "straight on." I want to create as much depth as possible, so I will angle the head and my airbrush to only pick up the areas that I need to paint.
1. Spray entire head with dark brown/black. I use warm black by Woods & Water. Any deep color will work, even Paynes gray. The idea is to cover the entire head. You don't need to go super heavy, but make sure the paint is inbetween all the cracks and ridges. Let dry.
2. Using fine or extra fine steel wool, sand off the paint. You will see a lot of detail will suddenly pop. You may have to work the steel wool to get into some of the crevices.
3. Using a semi transparent white or off white, hold the head at an angle and spray at an angle to just pick up the ridges with your white. We want to make the ridges and texture pop again. Don't go too overboard on the white, the skin texture should still be showing at this point. Change your angle often.
4. Still using the white, go heavier on the crown area.
5. Using a light semi transparent turkey blue (I like Woods & Water turkey blue mixed with Woods & Water Turquoise) lightly coat the cheek area and sweep down, blending as you go. Spray the snood and the middle of the crown area lightly.
6. Using a bright true red (I like LifeTone Gill Red) and spraying at an intense angle, get your red on the wattles and ridges. I change angles a lot during this step, but am careful to not overspray on any other areas. Less is more! I don't try to get every area with the red, as I typically will hand paint finish some of the ridges. Go lighter on some areas closer to the crown, as this will look more natural to have those lighter pink tones rather than one solid shade of red.
7. With the airbrush pointed down the snood, spray lightly with red, picking up ridges.
8. Finish the crown with a solid white. You can use this to lighten up any areas or try to correct any mistakes you may have made in previous steps.
10. Hand paint wherever necessary (eye rings, back of neck ridges, etc.).
11. OPTIONAL: Sweep powdered interference blue on cheeks and blend down.
12. With a mascara wand dipped in dark brown or black, lightly sweep any hairs around the crown, snood, feathers on the back, and hair around ears.
13. Seal with a matte coat. I like Woods & Water Matte sealer.
14. Remove tape. Check any areas that may need attention. If the head has an open mouth, paint the tongue and interior of beak with flesh tones.
15. Clean up eye area. Cotton swab with 409 or other cleaner to soften the eye protect, then remove with a wooden toothpick. Remove all excess paint, clean the glass eye, and polish.
16. You can choose to lightly paint the beak to enhance the color, or leave it natural. I do recommend sealing the beak with a semi gloss sealer or a matte sealer.
