Scene Painting Drama 3315 Gilliam

PROJECT #1

INSTRUCTIONS for BASE COATING TECHNIQUES

Your text provides a step-by-step process for the completion of Project #1. FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT, you will use Trinity paint. Divide your door in half. Scrumble (Step 1) one side and execute a graded wash (Step 2) the other side. After these base coats have dried, Sponge and Dry Brush the Scrumbled side as explained in Steps 3 and 4. Make certain you TEST you layers first before application on your door. Keep your overlayers transparent. On the Graded Wash side, you will execute a transparent roller technique (Step 6). Do not do Step 5.

To practice your Spattering techniques (Step 7-9), you will be assigned a designated area of the Stieren stage floor.

The following should supplement and underscore your text.

There are numerous methods to base coat a surface. Project #1 explores several methods. Often, it is desirable to create a flat, even covering that is void of streaks and brush strokes. There is a technique to accomplishing this without leaving “holidays”. (A “holiday” is a scenic term referring to an area on a surface, which in not fully covered showing the bottom layer, or streaking.) When painting new scenic muslin, generally, I recommend brushing on the paint using a cross-hatching stroke. When painting a floor or large hard covered surface, I attach a roller to a stick. If the hard covered surface has 3-D surfaces (texture); you may need to supplement the roller with a brush. However, there are manufactured rollers that are used for painting blown-on textured ceilings, which might be useful in painting textured surfaces with a roller.

CROSSHATCHING

Hold the brush like you would hold a hamburger with your fingers on the metal portion and the handle pointed to you. Fully load your brush (you want as much paint on the brush as you can carry without dripping). Lock your wrist. Movement through the elbow and shoulder accomplishes cross-hatching. Keep your brush perpendicular to the painting surface. The brush is designed for the paint to flow through the tip of the brush, not the sides. Make a diagonal stroke and then at a perpendicular angle to that stroke, make another diagonal. Rapidly repeat these strokes making certain you work the paint down into the weaver of the muslin. As you increase your speed, the movement will be a figure 8 action. Watch for holidays.

ROLLER PAINTING

What can I say about rolling on paint? The only advice I might have is to watch the spin spray of the roller. It might get on an area you do not want … such as your shoes, etc.

WET BLEND / SCRUBBLING

Wet blending, also referred to as scrubbling, is the process of combining two or more colors of paint to a surface to achieve a desired result while the paints are still wet. When two wet surfaces meet, they blend together creating a third color. If you blend red and blue, the common edge will be purple. You can, over a large space, gradually blend one color into another without notice of where one starts and the other begins, like a sunrise.

Scrubbling is a means to break up flat color by adding variations within the base. A plaster wall may show age usually darkening into the corners.

SPATTERING

Spattering is a quick method of breaking up a flat surface by adding contrasting color and in the process shade or tone your unit.

• The spatter paint must be transparent. Test it on your sample before attacking your unit.
• Load your 4” brush with a LITTLE paint. Gently shake off the excess.
• Hold your brush upright and pat it gently again your other hand.
• Hitting the brush in this manner will launch drops of color from the tips of the bristles.
• Start off lightly as the brush has a heavier load of paint at first. Gradually increase the impact against your hand as the paint load decreases.
• You control the direction of your spatter by moving and tilting the “hit” hand.
• Size of spatter is controlled by the amount of load and the amount of water you put into the paint. Thicker paint creates larger spots. Thinner paint creates more subtle tones and is better for shading.

SPONGING

Sponging is another method to break up a flat surface by adding contrasting color and in the process shade or tone your unit. I use spatter whenever possible as it is quick and you can cover a large area with less effort. However, spatter depends a gravity and if you get too much on a vertical surface, the spattering may “run” down the surface creating lines instead of random break-up spots. So, if your unit is up or difficult to spatter, use a nature sponge. It is more controlled but also more time consuming and labor intensive.

• Prepare your paint as you would a spatter color.
• Submerge the sponge into the paint and squeeze out the excess.
• Gently pat the sponge on your surface to create the desired tone and shading. The harder you pat, the more paint you will leave on the surface.
• Unless you want to create a pattern, vary the direction of your patting and move the sponge so that you are not creating a stamp like repetition. Nature is random. We will to always work to make our painting appear random.