Applying Texture

Many tools and objects can be used on wet coatings. Combs can mimic the heavily grooved surface of old, weathered wood. Brushes, sponges, and rolled-up rags will give you other textures. A putty knife or a screed (a flat board used to smooth concrete) used without completely smoothing all the wet material can add some depth and texture. Screens and various fabrics, lumpy fruits and nuts, balls, ridged objects, and many other hard items can be used like stamps to create impressions with a random or repetitive texture.

Roping is a term for dragging a loop of hemp rope through a texture coating that is still wet. The result is a surface that looks like it has been painted over many times, as you would see in an old building.

Plaster stenciling can be used with many texturing compounds. It requires a thicker stencil than the kind used for inks and paints; tape or attach the stencil on top of the smooth surface. Trowel the plaster or other material into the stencil, and scrape it flat with your trowel, or a screed. The thickness of your stencil determines the thickness of your raised design. Keep in mind that many textural materials dry more slowly the thicker they are applied. If you want a thicker design, you can stencil it in layers; for an especially thick design, you may want to reconsider using plaster or dope and think about sculpting or carving it out of a rigid material and applying it to the surface.

Textured Particles

Particulates and powders can be mixed in with some coatings and paint to give them more body and texture. Things to try include sawdust, sand, dirt, marble dust, powdered clay, and silicate aggregates.

Figure 16-13: This topographical map was painted with PVA glue. We sprinkled on model railroad grass, which is a fine, green flock. Here, Jay Duckworth uses the same technique in spots to add individual “trees.” King Lear, the Public Theater, 2011.

You can also coat your surface and sprinkle the particulates on while wet. When the coating dries, you can brush or blow the excess particulates off.

This is a great way to apply glitter. Use a slightly thinned PVA glue, découpage glue, or a clear polyurethane or acrylic sealer. While still wet, sprinkle the glitter on from a container with holes in the top (like an oversized salt shaker), or grab a handful and gently blow it onto the wet surface.

Small fiber particles, known as “flock,” can be blown or dusted onto a surface coated with adhesive. This process, known as flocking, is done by model builders to simulate grass, dirt, or carpet, but prop builders can find it useful to add texture or tactile effects to numerous types of props, such as adding a faux velvet liner to the inside of a fancy carrying case.

Color Theory

Color has three basic characteristics: hue, saturation, and value.

Hue is the name of the color. Red, green, and blue are hues. Primary colors are the three hues that cannot be mixed from other colors, and from which all other colors can be mixed. Artists have traditionally considered red, blue, and yellow to be the primary colors, while modern printers use cyan, magenta, and yellow.

Secondary colors are made by mixing two primary colors together. Using red, yellow, and blue (known as the RYB color model) as our primaries gives us secondary colors of violet, orange, and green. If you mix yellow and blue, you will get green.

Tertiary colors are made by mixing a primary color with its adjacent secondary color. These can have simple hyphenated names, such as red-orange or green-blue, though they also have more traditional names defined by artists.

• red + orange = vermilion

• orange + yellow = amber

• yellow + green = chartreuse

• green + blue = aquamarine

• blue + violet = indigo

• violet + red = violet red

With these three primaries, three secondaries, and six tertiaries, we have twelve hues arranged around our color wheel.

Saturation, the second basic characteristic of color, can also be referred to as intensity or chroma. The saturation is the vividness of the hue. Pure red is very saturated. A grayish red or a pink is less saturated and has a lower chroma. The colors directly across from each other on the color wheel are complementary colors. Blue and orange are complementary colors. If you mix complementary colors together in equal amounts, you get a neutral gray.

Figure 16-15: One example of a color wheel. The outside has three primary colors, three secondary colors, and six tertiary colors. As the colors approach the center, they lose saturation.

To decrease the saturation of a particular paint, you mix a bit of its complementary color in. You can't really add saturation to a color. Keep a stock of highly saturated colors for your needs.

The final characteristic of color is value, also called brightness. It is the relative lightness or darkness of a color. When you mix white with a color, you raise its value; this is often referred to in scenic painting as a tint. If you add black to darken a color, it is called a shade.

If we add different values to the color wheel, we can make a color sphere. The pure hues run around the equator, and neutral gray is in the center. White is the north pole, and black is the south pole. As you fly around the equator, the hue changes. If you dig toward the center, the saturation decreases. If you travel north, the brightness increases, and if you travel south, the darkness increases.

When mixing your own paint colors, take the most direct route to a color. If you run out in the middle of painting, if you need to repaint your prop, or if you later need the same color for another prop, you want to be able to mix the same color again; if your color involved using a whole lot of paint colors in tiny quantities, it can be impossible to mix the exact same color a second time. It is more expensive to buy separate tubes and cans of every possible color you may use, but it can be worth it. Likewise, you can add translucent glazes over the top of dried paint to tone your color rather than trying to mix a specific color.

The reality of mixing actual paint does not correspond exactly to the theory of the color sphere. You have a whole lot of chemicals working together, and when you mix them, they may react in strange ways. If you mix two different kinds of paints together, even more unexpected results may occur. A blue oil paint and a yellow acrylic paint, for instance, will not mix together at all.

Figure 16-16: This strip shows the hue cyan at different values, with pure white at the top and pure black at the bottom.

Figure 16-17: The exterior of a color sphere.

Figure 16-18: An interior section of the color sphere cut in half between cyan and orange. You can see the range of colors possible by moving around the full range of saturation and values.

A color swatch or paint swatch is a small sample given by the designer showing what the final color of a prop should be. It is most helpful to get a physical swatch from the designer. A digital image will appear differently on your monitor than it does on the designer's monitor, and if you print it, you will introduce even more differences. The worst is if a designer wants to take a photograph of a certain color and email it to you; the color you will receive will be completely different than the one they see. Always have your designers give you a physical swatch; you can use swatch books from paint companies to make sure you are both referring to the same color.

Colorant

A colorant is a material that contains a color, including pigments, dyes, and other substances. All colorants in use today are listed in a database known as the Colour Index International, which currently lists over 13,000 generic color names used in over 27,000 products.

Good artist paints will identify the pigments used in their paint with a pigment code and/or constitution number. Both the code and the number point to the entry in the Colour Index International that includes information about the ingredients, origins, and suppliers of that exact pigment. The colorants used in dyes will also be assigned names and numbers in this database. You can use the codes to see how many pigments a paint contains, to compare whether two different brands of paint or dye use the same colorant, and to check their toxicity.

Most house paint is mixed from as few as twelve to sixteen colorants. Pure pigments will give you much more saturated colors than mixed pigments. Also, when you thin paint that contains more than one pigment, the pigments often separate. Black paint you buy at a hardware store can contain twelve different colors that become visible when you thin it down. A black paint containing only one pigment, such as carbon black, will remain black no matter how much you water it down. This is also true when you mix two or more paints; a large number of cheap pigments will result in a muddy mess, where two or three pure pigments will give you the color you were expecting.

Paintbrushes

A paintbrush has three main parts: the handle, the ferrule, and the bristles. The variations in size, shape, and materials of these three parts lead to an almost endless selection of paintbrushes. With props, you may deal with painting objects that hide in the palm of your hand all the way to items larger than an automobile. A prop shop needs a lot of different brushes.

The bristles are made of either animal hair or from synthetic fibers. Natural hair bristles are good for oil-based paints and finishes, while synthetic bristles work with both water- and oil-based paints.

Figure 16-19: Lay-in brush (left). Sash brush (middle). Fitch (right).

The ferrule is the piece of metal that holds the bristles to the handle. A flat-ferrule brush is one of the most common shapes and is especially popular in house painting and scenic art. Lay-in brushes and priming brushes are types of flat-ferrule brushes, ideal for quickly applying a lot of paint to a surface.

Oval-ferrule brushes have elliptically shaped ferrules. A fitch is one type used by scenic artists for painting organic shapes such as foliage (they are sometimes called “foliage brushes” for this reason). The ferrules are usually tapered so that the bristles fan out a bit.

A scenic liner is a type of fitch in which the ferrule is flattened and the bristles are cut in a rounded shape so that the center is longer than the edges; this shape gives them the ability to paint fairly straight lines.

Round-ferrule brushes include stippling brushes, which are useful on stencils. The paint is dabbed on, rather than brushed.

If you do a lot of painting, it is good to have a set of nicer brushes for doing higher-quality work as well as having plenty of cheaper brushes around. If you work with interns, students, or less experienced people, you will often find brushes left out with paint still in them, the bristles mashed and spread out, and brushes used for spreading glue and epoxy. Even when you emphasize proper brush care, these things are inevitable, and it is better for them to happen to cheap brushes than to your expensive set.

Figure 16-20: Lettering brushes can come in a variety of ferrule shapes and are designed for creating all manner of letters for signs. Their bristles are typically squared off so that you can paint sharp corners with them. They can be useful for a number of precise prop-painting tasks.

If you wish to reuse a brush, but not right away, and do not wish to wash it at that very second, you can keep it from drying out by wrapping it in plastic, such as cling wrap, so that it is not exposed to the air.

Figure 16-21: Chip brushes are cheap flat-ferrule brushes sold at most hardware stores meant for applying solvents, stains, glues, and resins; they are also handy for priming and lay-in work. Their cheap price means they can be used as disposable brushes in many shops. They can also have their bristles cut into a variety of shapes and profiles for specialized tasks and faux finishes.

Figure 16-22: For more detailed work, acid brushes are sold in bulk for economical prices and are meant for the same uses as chip brushes. It is a good idea to have a ready stock of chip and/or acid brushes around for tasks (or people) that may ruin your better-quality brushes.

Figure 16-23: Foam brushes are made from a single piece of soft foam rubber rather than bristles, and are useful for pushing paint and other coatings around without creating brush marks.

Paint Rollers

Paint rollers are useful for covering large surfaces quickly and for avoiding brush strokes (though they can impart their own texture and roller marks if done carelessly).

Like paintbrushes, paint roller covers come in a variety of materials and configurations that have different advantages depending on the surface you are painting. Nap refers to the thickness of the material on the cover; shorter naps are great for imparting a smooth coating on a smooth surface, while longer naps will coat rougher and more-textured surfaces better (but may impart its own texture to a very smooth surface). A ½″–¾″ nap is typical for “general” use.

For latex paints, use rollers made of synthetic materials. Lambskin and other natural materials are useful for alkyds and solvent-based paints, but they are far too absorbent for latex paint.

Figure 16-24: While the most common size of paint rollers for house painting is 9″, the 4″ or 3″ kinds are often more useful for the props artisan.

Foam roller covers are useful for coating very slick surfaces; the foam absorbs almost none of the paint and imparts barely any texture. Foam roller covers are also indispensable for spreading glue or adhesive.

Specialized roller covers are also available with various textures for imparting effects and faux finishing techniques. Rag rolling involves using a fabric-covered roll, which can be purchased or made in the shop by wrapping a rag over a paint roller. Tying string around a roller in random configurations will also allow you to roll out various patterns of paint rather than a solid color.

When using a roller, make sure the surface of the roller cover is fully charged with paint. A roller tray is useful for this. A tray will have a well filled with paint next to an inclined surface. Touch the roller cover to the paint, and then roll it over the inclined surface. Do this several times to charge all parts of the roller cover; you should never fully submerge the roller cover in a bucket of paint.

Begin rolling out in an unpainted portion. Roll the paint out to the edges in long, even strokes. Keep a wet edge. When the roller runs out of paint, recharge it, and begin working in another unpainted section, working your way back to the previous wet edge. When your surface is completely coated, you can lightly roll over paint buildups and roller marks to smooth out the paint coverage.

Figure 16-25: Rollers with a ¼″ (6 mm) nap on the left and a 1″ (25 mm) nap on the right.

For extremely smooth surfaces, you may need to run your roller over the entire surface while it is still wet. Beginning at one end, roll in a straight line from one edge to the other. Move over so that the next roll is slightly overlapping the first one. Hold your roller at a slight angle so you are placing less pressure on the side that is overlapping; in this way, you are feathering the edges as you go along.

Spray Paint

Spray painting can open up a number of effects not achievable through brushing or rolling, such as very smooth and even coats, or subtle transitions from one color to the next.

A spray can or rattle can is an aerosol can of paint filled with its own propellant. These are the easiest to use; you buy the color you want from a paint or hardware store and press the cap to spray the paint. After it becomes empty, the entire can is recycled. You can find a vast array of colors and types of paint, as well as a number of specialty finishes and coatings. Everything from acrylics to alkyds can be found in a spray can.

Refillable aerosol cans use pressurized air rather than chemical propellants. One of the most common brands is made by Preval and distinguished by its glass jar and long skinny neck; many painters say “Preval” when referring to any hand-pump spray can.

A garden sprayer uses an attached hand pump to pressurize the tank; though intended for spraying water or pesticides on gardens, they handle thinner paints with no problems. The paint comes out in larger droplets than with other spray guns, so they are often used for spatter effects and other textures rather than for laying down smooth base coats. Popular brand names of smaller garden sprayers include Floretta and the P-50.

A bit larger than the garden sprayer is the tank sprayer, with a spray nozzle connected by a hose to a separate tank. One of the most popular brands of tank sprayer is the Hudson sprayer, and many painters refer to all tank sprayers as “Hudson sprayers.” A quality brass nozzle will help you control the quality of the spray coming out and allow you to achieve almost airbrush-like effects. A cheap plastic nozzle will strip the threads if you try to tighten it down enough to get such a fine spray. Keeping the nozzle clean is also imperative; run warm water through all the parts after every use, and be sure to strain the paint to keep debris and chunks from running through your sprayer.

You can find all sorts of electric spray guns meant for the home improver or contractor types. These basically have an air pump built in, making them very portable (but also very loud). They are better at laying down an even coat of paint than a garden sprayer, though.

An HPLV gun stands for “high volume low pressure”; these guns shoot out a lot of paint at a low pressure. This cuts down on overspray and material usage; of course, you will also get the paint too thick if you spray in one location for even a fraction of a second too long. They are one of the best guns for quickly covering a large object with an even coat of paint. Though they require a separate air compressor, they offer more control and better results than an electric spray gun.

An airbrush is one of the smaller types of spray guns. This is most popular for model makers and people working on smaller props, as it shoots out far less paint than other guns. The pen-shaped brush is also easier to manipulate. “Airbrushed” often refers to artwork with the subtle and even shading that airbrushes are particularly adept at producing.

When spraying to get an even coat of paint, do not swing your arm in an arc. Swinging brings the gun closer to your material in the center and farther at the sides. Instead, sweep your arm in a parallel line to the surface you are painting so that the gun maintains a constant distance while paint is coming out.

When you get to an edge, continue moving and spraying until no more paint is hitting the surface. If you stop moving while paint is still hitting the surface, you will build up a pool of paint in that one spot, which may drip or run. Overlap each subsequent pass of paint.

Figure 16-26: Place your object on a turntable to allow you to spray all sides without having to touch any of the surfaces to move it around. You can also hang your prop make painting all sides of it easier.

In most spray guns or cans, as you run out of paint, the paint will sputter and spatter out of the nozzle rather than be emitted in a continuous mist. Always make sure you have enough paint before starting a pass.

Place the object on three pins or spikes so you can paint all the way to the bottom. If you rest a prop on the floor, the paint on the sides will ooze down and stick to the floor. Lifting the prop after the paint has dried can tear the paint off and leave a jagged edge.

A reusable sprayer must be cleaned as soon as you are finished using it. Most spray guns have a network of thin pipes to carry the paint; if even a small amount of paint is allowed to dry inside of these or on the outside of the nozzle, it will slow or completely block the passage of any more paint. For most sprayers, when you are finished using them, you should fill the tank with plain water and spray that out over the sink for a few minutes.

Figure 16-27: For a super-smooth finish on transparent objects, spray paint the inside rather than the outside. As an added bonus, the paint will not scratch off when the outside is handled.

Other Tools

A sponge adds paint in a random pattern. Natural sponges are preferred by painters because their surfaces are more random and their round shape allows the edges they leave to be feathered.

Figure 16-28: A selection of natural sponges.

Figure 16-29: The gold and green accents on this park bench were created by sponging on the paint.

A flogger has strips of muslin or other cloth attached to the end of a stick. It looks like a mop and is used either by slapping it against the prop (called “flogging”) or by swishing and twirling it over the surface (“schlepitchka”). Most of the time, it is dipped in paint and wrung out so that it is nearly dry.

Feather dusters and combs are useful for various faux finishing techniques, and their use will be discussed in the upcoming sections. Rags and other cloths are useful for wiping on coatings, particularly wood stains and clear oil finishes.

While there are certainly hundreds of brushes, rollers, sponges, stamps, and other specialized implements for executing well-tested painting techniques, do not be afraid of experimenting with nontraditional and offbeat tools. Filling a balloon with paint and squirting it out can give you interesting spray patterns; dropping paint onto a surface that is rapidly spinning can result in very natural-looking burst patterns.

Masking

Masking is a material applied to the surface that protects it from paint. Rather than trying to freehand different colors in different areas, you mask off the areas that do not receive paint. When the masking is removed, the area underneath will not have any paint.

Figure 16-30: When spray painting, you want not just masking tape to give clean edges, but also something to cover the rest of the prop to keep overspray from settling on the surfaces.

Figure 16-31 and 16-32: These footlights for the New York City production of Sleep No More were painted gloss black with a border of bare metal around each face. I used masking tape to cover these lines; carefully masking off the areas took far longer than the actual application of the paint.

Masking tape will stick well enough to create a sharp edge to paint, but will peel off without leaving any residue or removing any previously dried paint. House painter's tape (typically beige) and painter's tape (typically blue) is often rated for staying on a surface anywhere from one to sixty days without leaving residue. Auto body masking tape is usually graded to provide extremely clean lines (lesser grades, such as painter's tape, will sometimes allow paint to bleed through underneath resulting in a less than perfect line). Newer tapes (such as the brand FrogTape) are coated with polymers to quickly “gel” the paint, preventing it from bleeding underneath.

Masking can also be done with a liquid compound that dries on the surface and can be peeled off after the paint dries. Batik is an effect accomplished by painting a dye-resistant wax to the portions of fabric you wish to remain uncolored. Latex is another example of a material that can be used for masking; just apply it to areas to be masked in a thin layer, and let it dry completely. After painting, lift one corner, and the whole mask should pull right off.

Careful masking does take time and patience; it often takes longer than the actual painting. You can avoid complicated masking by painting the different parts before assembling.

Making a Paint Treatment

Many paint treatments for a prop follow the same basic steps: priming, base coat, overpainting, and breaking down. Sometimes you will have a painter's elevation from the designer (a sample of the paint treatment for your prop). Other times you may just have a research image or a verbal description. If your prop has a particularly involved paint treatment or some kind of faux finish, it may be helpful to develop your own painter's elevation with the designer's approval to record the steps you need to take. This is also a chance to ensure all your paint products will work together and give you the result you want.

Priming

A prime coat is a coat of paint that completely covers your prop and gives subsequent coats a uniform base to stick to. If your prop is made up of a number of different materials, then your paint will stick differently to each of those materials. Even different areas of the same material may react differently with your paint; for example, the end grain of wood is a lot more absorbent than the face. A prime coat seals the underlying material and creates a uniform color so that any paint added afterward will act consistently regardless of what is underneath.

Metal may be primed with “etching” primer, which has an acid in it that etches the surface of the metal a bit to rough it up and remove surface impurities to give the paint good adhesion. Direct-to-metal (DTM) paint is another type that can be used as a primer or as a single-coat solution. Plastic primers contain solvents that soften the plastic to help the paint bond directly into the surface. Primers with these types of solvents require adequate ventilation and a respirator while applying; they should also be kept in a separate room or a spray booth while drying so that you are not breathing the fumes while working on something else.

Some primers are extra thick, elastomeric, or “spot-filling” primers, which allow them to cover imperfections or fill small spots as they go on.

Shellac can be used as a primer/sealer. It dries quickly and can be sanded smooth so that your next coating is smooth as well. Besides straight shellac, you can also buy shellac-based sealers, such as Zinsser B-I-N primer/sealer, which has white pigment added. Shellac is good when priming older materials that might have stains or odors you want to seal in.

Liquid latex brushed on flexible or open materials (such as soft foam or fabric) will give paint something to stick to without flaking off when the prop is squished or bent. Water-based contact cements can be used as well (these are typically latex-based). A 50/50 mix of PVA and water works well on particularly spongy surfaces such as the ends of MDF.

If you are trying to create an area of flat, smooth color, brush with a figure-eight or infinity sign loop. Even when you cannot see the brush strokes, they may still impart a slight texture that can show up in subsequent coats. If you need an extremely smooth paint finish, sand the paint after it dries. To avoid brush marks, roll or spray your paint on. Stippling the paint on, rather than brushing, is time consuming for larger surfaces, but can create a more abstract and random texture.

It may take two or three coats before the surface is completely sealed; you can tell it needs more primer if the surface looks splotchy after it dries.

Base Coat

The base coat is a flat coat of “average” color you want an area to have. Different areas of your prop may have different base colors. Sometimes, your primer can serve as your base coat.

Apply the base coat with the widest flat brush you can. Thinner paint obscures the brush strokes better. Let the base coat dry completely before adding more paint to avoid smearing.

Figure 16-33: These book covers have a white primer coat followed by a red base coat. Cendrillon, Santa Fe Opera, 2006. Scenic design by Barbara de Limburg. Photo courtesy of Natalie Taylor Hart.

“Cutting in” means you paint the edges carefully with a more precise brush or edging tool, before filling in the rest with your larger brush or roller.

The base coat does not need to be a single color. Wet blending is a method for applying two or more colors so that they do not have hard edges separating them. One way to make a wet blend is to use one brush for each color and lay them down in X-strokes, switching colors after every few strokes. You want to leave at least some distinction between colors (otherwise it just becomes a single muddied mess). The wet edges blend the paint for you.

For a little more separation between colors, lay in each color with only slight overlapping between them, and then take another brush that is wet but free of paint, and use that to feather and smooth the edges. This technique is helpful to make a smooth transition between different colored areas, such as a gradient or an ombré blend.

For more than two colors where one color is meant to be more dominant, lay in the two (or more) minor colors, and then use the third color to blend and feather the first two together. The multiple colors can also be applied with a sponge.

Figure 16-34: A mottled wet blend between red and yellow paint.

When adding additional washes and glazes over your base coat, overemphasize the contrast and texture you are laying down. It is easy to tone something down, but if you start with a base coat that is already fairly subtle and muddy, it will only get muddier as you add more paint on top. You want bright and bold colors and patterns hidden under the more subtle tones on top to catch the light as your prop moves, giving it more life and character.

Overpainting

Overpainting, as the name implies, involves adding paint over the top of the base coat. Overpainting does not completely obscure the base coat (otherwise, you are simply repainting a new base coat), but it allows some of the base coat to show through, either by using translucent paint, or by being used selectively in certain areas rather than over the full surface. Very few surfaces can be simulated with a single coat or color of paint, and the use of multiple layers of paint gives a richer and more vibrant look to your prop.

When attempting a multilayered paint treatment, remember to periodically take steps back and view the prop as a whole. Keep in mind too that it will be viewed in different lighting conditions than those in your shop; theatrical lighting and audience distance often requires more contrast to “read.”

With a wash, the paint is diluted to the point that individual brush strokes disappear and you achieve a field of uniform color. Water-based paints are diluted with water, while oil-based paints are diluted with whatever solvent the manufacturer recommends. Be careful; if you dilute paint too much, it will not have enough binder to stick anymore.

For a glaze, the paint is made translucent by mixing it with unpigmented medium. For example, if you want to make a glaze with acrylic paint, you can mix it with transparent acrylic medium (often called “matte medium” or “gloss medium” to indicate the sheen it imparts).

Figure 16-35: A glaze changes the hue or value of the original color or gives an overall tone to a bunch of different colors. For instance, adding a brown glaze over a painted object will make all the colors slightly warmer and more “antique-y.”

Besides toning your whole prop, you can use washes and glazes to deepen the shadows of your recessed areas. Darken your base coat and thin it down. Some artisans may use a mix of half water and half alcohol to thin the paint so that they have more drying time; you can also add a touch of dish soap to let the paint flow off the raised edges better. Push the paint around with a fine tip brush so that it flows into all the recessed areas; wipe the paint off the rest of the prop with an empty and dry paintbrush or just a cloth or rag.

Just as a darker color can add depth to shadows, a lighter color can be used to add highlights to raised areas. Two techniques useful for this are scumbling and drybrushing.

Scumbling involves taking a brush with only a bit of paint on it and scrubbing or jabbing the brush in a random manner over the whole surface. You are not trying to completely cover the underlying color; instead, you are creating a loose sort of “veil” over the color with another color. If you put your nose to the prop, you can still see the individual colors, but from a normal distance, the two colors will blend together in a more vibrant way than just a single coat of paint.

Figure 16-36 to 16-38: A black wash is painted over the entire surface. When wiped away, paint remains in the cracks and crevices, giving the prop some age and depth.

For drybrushing, add some paint to a dry paintbrush, and then wipe or brush as much of it off as possible. Lightly drawing the brush over the surface gives more of a “scratchy” result. If the surface has a bit of texture, it is also possible to add paint to only the raised areas. Drybrushing is frequently employed to lighten raised areas. Tint your base coat with white paint, and drybrush this lightly back and forth over the raised areas. You can repeat this with progressively lighter shades to get a smoother transition.

You can use a wood block to add highlights. Just brush some paint on the block and then wipe it along the raised edges of your prop. You can also block a darker color to add some faux distressing, as though the paint wore away there.

Thin paints can also be poured over surfaces rather than brushed or sprayed on. This creates a natural dripping effect, such as with water stains or rust stains. If the poured paint comes into contact with other wet paints, the ends will blend together in a more random and natural manner than by attempting it manually. You can also make the paint run in multiple directions by tilting your prop back and forth, blowing the paint, or using a blow dryer.

Figure 16-39: The yellow was drybrushed over the coat of red.

Figure 16-40: A small amount of silver Rub ‘n Buff (a wax metallic finish) was applied to the edges and corners of this tomahawk blade. A little goes a long way to making a realistic-looking metallic finish.

Wet-on-wet techniques are used when wet paint is added to layers of paint that are still wet. Some of these techniques include blooms, spattering, and blotting.

For a bloom, drop water or thin paint onto wet paint. It will spread out to the edge, pushing the paint with it to create a jagged but random edge. With water-based paint, you can also drop a solvent such as alcohol onto the damp surface; because water and alcohol do not mix, the bloom will push all the pigment away in a random pattern.

Spattering involves hurling tiny dots of paint onto your surface. A tiny spatter pattern can be had by dipping an old toothbrush into paint, and then running your thumb along the bristles; the paint shoots out as you do so. You can also spatter with a brush; load it with paint, and then hit it onto your hand or a stick. If your paint is very thin, you can simply wave your brush around and do it all Jackson Pollock style.

Figure 16-41: Look closely at how the recessed areas of this evil clown doll were darkened with paint, giving it more depth and form than if it was just painted with a solid color.

You can lay a coat of paint down, let it dry a little, but while it is still wet, blot some of it up. Blotting can be done with a sponge or with other absorbent materials. Tissue paper and rags are useful. If you crumple and scrunch these materials, you can impart some random texture as you blot your paint. You can achieve different results depending on how wet your paint is when you blot it up. A similar technique involves covering a damp surface with a piece of cling wrap plastic that is slightly wrinkled or crumpled. The texture of the plastic wrap allows the paint to collect and pool in a random fashion, but because the paint cannot absorb into the plastic, it leaves harder and more distinct edges and borders. You can leave the cling wrap on until the paint has fully dried for hard borders between the areas of paint, or remove it carefully while the paint is still slightly damp to allow some of the paint to flow back together and soften the edges.

Faux Finishing

Faux finishing techniques are used when you wish one material to mimic another material solely through the use of paint, though a slight bit of texture is added for some techniques. The underlying texture can do a lot to add to a faux finishing technique (while the wrong kind of underlying texture can do a lot to detract from it); review the texturing techniques from earlier in this chapter to develop a texturing and coloring process that works hand in hand.

Good reference material on what you are trying to mimic will reveal all the precise details and qualities in the material that make it recognizable as that material. I will paraphrase the old saying here; “Everyone knows what wood grain looks like until they have to paint wood grain.”

Many faux finishing techniques can be achieved by careful application of the techniques I have already discussed. For silver-colored metals, you can start with a black base coat, and then follow that with a drybrush of silver paint. The less drybrush you apply, the older the metal will look. Gold and copper metals can be achieved with a dark brown base coat followed by a drybrush layer of the appropriate shade. Leather can be simulated with a black base coat and brown drybrush. There are countless faux finishing techniques out there, and you can always discover new ones if you look.

Wood Graining

Graining, or faux bois (French for “fake wood”) is used in prop building to replicate expensive or hard-to-use woods, to mimic wood on a prop constructed out of another material, and to match woods used in other elements of the production.

Painting the actual grains is aided with special tools such as a rubber grainer (sometimes called a “heel” or a rocker grainer) and combs made from either rubber or steel. Lay down a base coat of one color, and when it is dry, lay on a thinner coat of your second grain color. While this second coat is still wet, you can use a rocker grainer by dragging it in the direction you want the grain to run; slightly rocking the tool back and forth gives you “knots.” Combs work similarly, though they will not give you knots. You drag it in the direction you want the grain to run.

Many faux woodgrains work better if you create a higher-contrast grain pattern, and then tone it down with a glaze on top. You can again find special brushes for this, such as overgrain brushes, grain brushes, and floggers (not to be confused with the mop-style flogger; a flogger for wood graining is a brush with excessively long bristles). Some grain brushes have individual “tufts” so that they act like a grain comb; props artisans have also been known to use a brush that has dried paint on it, giving it the same action as a comb but in a more random pattern.

Figure 16-42: First, I wet blended a base coat of light and dark tan, with the brush strokes running in the direction of the grain.

Figure 16-43: Next, I used a grain rocker to add grain lines in a fairly pink color.

Figure 16-44: Third is a dark brown glaze to tone everything.

Figure 16-45: For the final step, I used a glaze of tinted shellac for a golden tone with some sheen; this glaze was lightly flogged while wet to add the appearance of pores in the wood grain.

For very weathered wood, use combs and grain rockers on a layer of tinted texturing compound to give a three-dimensional grain to your prop.

A reference image or sample is vital for making a realistic replica and avoiding a cartoony cowboy wood grain. Be especially careful with knots; though it is fun to make knots when you first discover the rubber grainer tool, most fine furniture and wooden antiques are built with knot-free wood. Every wood grain you paint will be slightly different depending on your reference material, but the example in Figures 16-42 to 16-45 shows some common steps.

Marble

Marble is simulated by painting multiple layers of translucent glazes on top of each other, allowing each layer to dry before starting the next. In essence, you are creating a thick coating that holds pigments at different depths, so you can achieve a three-dimensional finish. This is why some surfaces look “real,” and others look like a painted object. The surfaces of many materials change appearance as you turn and rotate them in the light; flat paint will not do this, but several translucent glazes will. This is useful not just for marbles, but other gems and minerals like alabaster, jade, and lapis lazuli.

Adding mica powder to your glazes imparts some sparkle to your surface. Bronze powder, pearlescent pigments, and various other metallic powders and flakes can also be used. Some of these come premixed in liquid form, though they often look flat when applied on their own straight from the bottle.

For extra dimensionality, add a layer of clear coat between every coat of paint in your process.

A good research image or sample is vital in determining the colors to use and the steps to take. A slab of marble will look different from a piece of carved marble, so find research images that match the shape of your prop so you know what to do around curves and corners. Figures 16-46 to 16-49 show just one example of a marble treatment using some of the most common techniques.

Figure 16-46: For the first layer, I wet blended two different blues as a base coat. Once dry, I added a layer of clear glaze on top.

Figure 16-47: After the previous layers dried, I painted on another layer of glaze. I dribbled white paint onto the wet glaze, and used a feather to drag it around, creating the veining.

Figure 16-48: After that dried, I sponged on some white and copper paint.

Figure 16-49: A translucent glaze of light green finishes the faux marble treatment.

Figure 16-50 and 16-51: These “before and after” pictures of a gun show how aging and weathering transform a prop from a flat object to an item with a life and a history. Photographs and prop by Harrison Krix.

Aging With Paint

Watery washes of brown, gray, or black paint can fill cracks and make them seem to be filled with dirt, dust, and mildew. Diluting water-based paint with denatured alcohol will help it flow more evenly and enter all the cracks and crevices, rather than puddling up. Some props artisans like to give the whole prop a bath of very translucent glaze. A brown bath gives the prop an antiqued look and unifies the colors.

Dusting the prop with black or brown spray paints will dull it down and give it a bit of grime. A spray paint known as Design Master Glossy Wood Tone has been prized since at least the mid-1980s by props artisans as a way to quickly age a prop by dusting the surface with it. A hand sprayer (such as a Preval) can be used with a wash, FEV, or watered-down dye for a similar purpose.

Physical Distressing

Physically distressing a prop usually works best if you build the prop somewhat nicely and regularly at first, and then do all the distressing at the end. If you build it distressed from the beginning, it might not be sturdy enough, and you will surely end up with a less believable “look” to your distressing.

Figure 16-55 and 16-56: To distress this bag, portions were worn with a rasp and even torn. Large hand stitches were added to other parts. Pieces of shredded fabric were sewn on the bottom so it would look as though the bag was torn and coming apart without weakening the structure of the actual bag.

Figure 16-57 and 16-58: A blowtorch can be run over a piece of wood to darken it. The first picture shows how it can easily look fake or cheap if overdone. In the second picture, the torch completely charred the entire surface of the board. The blackened parts were brushed away with steel wool, which left a heavily dimensional grain.

Fabric can be tattered or worn down with a rasp, file, or a surform. If the prop has fabric trim, it can be pulled free and stretched. If you are aging a piece of upholstery, you can layer fabrics so they show through underneath the rips and tears. The cushions can be made saggy or even flattened to show a lot of age and use. You may even unravel the edges so some threads hang down. You can attach other fabric with a loose weave, such as cheesecloth, and then pull the threads so they are hanging free.

Sandpaper, rasps, and files are frequently used to wear down the edges of objects or paint, and areas where other objects would have rubbed against them, such as hands gripping the handle. For more pronounced aging, you can use a jigsaw, reciprocating saw, or other tool to cut away chunks and corners before sanding them down. A grinder with a sanding disk or abrasive flap wheel can remove wood quickly, as can a belt sander. For subtler effects, a palm sander may be all you need, while for smaller props a rotary tool works great. A rotary tool has a lot of options with different bits depending on whether you want aggressive distressing or subtle aging.

Heat and flame can also be used to scorch the edges of fabric. Always do a test for the degree of flammability on a scrap piece of fabric first, and keep a cup of water and a fire extinguisher handy. Many synthetics will melt rather than burn.

Nuts and bolts in a canvas bag or heavy chain can be beaten against surfaces to give them random divots for a “beat-up” look. This works well on wood as well as sheet metal. The effect can often be heightened by darkening the recesses with paint and lightening the raised areas.

Though you may wish to simulate grime with paint, sometimes you just need to rub actual dirt over your prop.

Water-Based Paints

A water-based paint can be thinned with water, and wet paint can be cleaned up with water. Watercolors and gouache can be reactivated with water after they dry. Most other water-based paints actually “cure” as the water evaporates, so they become water resistant once dry.

Acrylic paint is a popular water-based paint for prop builders because it is easy to use, it dries quickly, comes in a variety of colors, and will stick to many types of materials with very little surface preparation.

“Latex″ paint, known as “house” paint, does not actually contain any latex (natural rubber); its name is a reference to the similarity in consistency with latex. The paint is usually acrylic, vinyl, or PVA, or a mix of these. Acrylic latex (100 percent acrylic) is the highest quality but also the most expensive. Latex paints also tend to use a lot of fillers, so they are not as “pure” as artist's acrylics. Their lower price, ease of use, and ready availability make them useful in situations where paint quantity is more important than paint quality.

“Scenic″ paint refers to any kind of paint formulated for use on scenic elements and used by theatre, film, and television painters. Scenic paint can be acrylic, latex, soy-based, casein, or even oil. While artist's acrylics and paints are good for small hand props, they can get expensive for larger areas and can be fairly thick for quick application. Scenic paint is useful in these cases.

Most scenic paint has much purer pigments in a higher concentration than house paint, as theatrical applications often require more heavy saturation and vivid colors than houses and other buildings. The purer pigments also allow greater control in diluting and color mixing. They often have less binder than house paint since they are not meant to be permanent; this helps keep the colors more vivid. In some cases, painters like to wash the paint off a flat or set piece after a production to reuse it for the next one. Most scenic paint also dries to a flat finish, as gloss can create uncontrollable glare under stage or film lights. Gloss can always be added by putting a gloss coat over top or by mixing the paint with a gloss medium before applying. Scenic paints are useful for the props artisan when you have to match paint treatments and colors of the set, when you have to paint larger pieces, or generally when you wish to have the good pigment quality of artist's paints combined with the ease and convenience of using house paint.

Casein is a protein derived from milk. Because it is a natural protein, casein paint will eventually go bad and turn sour. If you have ever opened old cans of paint found in the back of a scenic paint shop, you are probably very familiar with the smell that bad paint can get. Its use has largely been superseded by acrylics; it is brittle when dry, unlike acrylic which retains some flexibility. It has a matte finish when dry, but you can now find matte acrylics to achieve the same effect.

Soy paints dry inflexible and brittle, so are not useful for fabrics or other flexible surfaces. You can find both oil-based and water-based soy paints. They show promise as a renewable and nontoxic alternative to petrochemical-based paints, but many of the water-based soy paints found in today's stores use so many chemicals and toxins to process it that using soy provides no real environmental benefit.

Watercolor uses a binder such as gum arabic (also known as acacia gum) that becomes fluid whenever water is added. This means that even after it dries, it can be rewet and worked further, allowing very smooth blending and magical translucent effects. It also means the paint will wash away if it accidentally gets wet.

Gouache is made of the same stuff as watercolors, but it is opaque, usually because a white pigment, like chalk, is added. Fillers are frequently added to adjust the body or viscosity of the paint, or to affect other properties, such as drying time.

Commercially available tempera paint, often called poster paint, is often a cheap form of gouache. The more traditional egg tempera uses an egg yolk as a binder; it is rarely produced commercially because it only lasts about a week after making it.

Oil-Based Paints

Oil paint uses a drying oil as the binder, making it incompatible with water. It needs to be thinned with either more oil or a solvent depending on the type of paint, and it needs to be cleaned up with a solvent. Artist's oil paints take a long time to dry, making them great for artists but disadvantageous to the prop builder where time is of the essence. However, other types of oil-based paints can come in handy.

Most modern oil paints for home and industrial use are known as alkyds. One advantage of alkyds is that they stick to a lot more types of surfaces; etching primers and plastic primers are typically alkyd paints. After the paint dries, you can use a different type of paint over it. So you can prime a tricky surface with an alkyd, and then switch to acrylic paints for subsequent coloring coats. They can also be self-leveling, resulting in less visible brush marks, and give a smoother and glossier surface when dry. Of course, a lot of research and development is devoted to achieving these properties in water-based paint, so oil-based paints become more obsolete with each passing year.

Enamel paint refers to paint that mimics the hard and glossy coating of an enameled object. It can be oil-based or water-based. It is a marketing term, rather than a specific substance, to describe any high-sheen and durable paint coating. Lacquer is another type of coating that dries to a hard, smooth, and shiny surface. Again, it is more of a descriptive term for any type of oil-based or water-based paint that mimics traditional lacquer.

Other solvent-based finishes include urethane (or polyurethane) paints and shellac-based paints.

Disposing of Paint

Because of the solvents contained in paint, as well as the heavy metals and other toxic substances used as many colorants, large quantities of paint should never be disposed down a sink. Many shops will have a “slop sink” that allows for the disposal of some waste; these can be used to wash out containers and brushes, but you should still refrain from emptying any considerable amount of paint into a drain.

To use less water and keep too much paint from going down the drain, you can start by wiping as much paint off with a rag as possible. Fill a container with warm (not hot) water, and a little soap if necessary. Clean your brush in this, and then rinse it in another container filled only with water. You can do a final rinse in the sink if needed.

To dispose of large amounts of latex and acrylic paint, fill the paint bucket with an absorbent material such as kitty litter or sawdust to dry out. Then you can dispose of the whole bucket with other solid waste. You can also spread the paint in thin layers on top of newspapers to dry it out and throw it away in a dumpster. If the paint is unneeded but still usable, you can often donate it to community theatres, schools, or other organizations.

Brushes used with oil-based paints cannot be rinsed with water; you need to clean them with a solvent, such as odorless mineral spirits. In the old days, painters would leave a bucket filled with solvent that you would toss your brushes into. This fills the air with fumes and is not recommended. To keep a brush from drying out in between coats, you can wrap the bristles in plastic wrap. To minimize exposure to solvents, you can use disposable brushes for oil-based paints. For prop shops that need to use oil-based paints on a regular basis, you will need a well-ventilated or outdoor area for cleaning brushes and containers. Again, do not empty the solvent down the sink; rather, let it dry out and throw it away in the trash.

Dye

Dyes are a great way to add color to porous material like fabric, leather, paper, and some plastics. Paint is a coating that may stiffen the surface of these materials; dye actually soaks in and bonds with the material itself. The colorants for dyes, like the pigments in paint, can be looked up in the Colour Index International.

Most dyeing is done in vats or pots filled with water to allow circulation. Stainless steel pots are the best; many shops repurpose industrial kitchen supplies to use for dyeing. Copper, iron, and brass react with the chemicals in some dyes and should be avoided. For mixing, glass rods, stainless steel spoons, or plastic spoons are best; wooden stirrers or spoons can be used but will soak in dye over time and need replacing.

Most dyes require hot and even boiling water to become fully soluble; silks, wools, and blends are usually dyed in water heated to 190°F (87°C), while cottons and linens can be boiled. Simmer the fabric in the dye bath for the length of time indicated by the instructions on the dye package. Try to keep the water hot for the entire length of time, and stir or agitate the fabric continually.

Figure 16-60: A dedicated dye vat like this is hooked up near a water source with either a hose or a moveable faucet that can be maneuvered to fill the top. The PVC pipe at the bottom runs into a drain that is allowed to accept the chemicals in the dyes. It also has a dedicated breaker box. This one is directly underneath a fume hood to vent as many fumes as possible directly from the source.

“Always add wet to dry.” Don't pour the powdered dye into the big vat of water. Mix a small bit of water to the powdered dye first, then pour that into the dye bath. The same is true of any other chemicals or salts you may need to add to the dye bath; dissolve them in their own little bit of water first. Many dyes are also acids, so remember the cardinal rule from chemistry class: add acid to water, not vice versa.

Some shops dye fabrics in a washing machine; though it does not really get hot enough to permanently set the dye, it is far easier to do. Obviously, one washing machine should be set aside for dyeing; do not attempt to wash clothes in a washing machine used for dyeing, and do not dye fabrics in a washing machine meant to clean clothes.

Test your dyes on swatches. The color of the dye in the bottle or in the dye bath is rarely what will end up on your cloth. Also, wet cloth is darker than dry cloth; use a hair dryer to quickly dry your swatch so you can see the actual color. Dyeing is influenced by countless variables, and even commercial lots vary in color intensity. Overdyeing (dyeing something two or more times) may help, but repeated dyebaths will eventually deteriorate the fibers. After the dye bath, rinse your fabric until water is clear, which can take up to forty minutes. Many dyes may also require a fixative, which is a chemical that prevents a dye from washing out over time.

Dyes can also be sprayed onto fabric for selective effects. Be careful, as this increases the possibility of inhaling toxins. You should also take care to block and mask areas from being hit by the overspray, as well as taking precautions to keep the floor from getting wet and slippery.

You can also apply dye by sponging, dry brushing, or even just pouring it directly over your fabric.

Clean everything as soon as possible after dyeing. Most vats and buckets should be cleaned with bleach and water.

Types of Dye

The success of your dyeing endeavor depends on choosing the correct dye class for your fabric, leather, or plastic. Dyes are a varied group of materials; you prepare and apply them all differently. Always read the instructions of the dye you are working with.

Acid dyes are a large class of synthetic dyes used for wool, silk, and nylon. They are typically applied in a bath of nearly boiling water.

Basic dyes also work well on silk, wool, and nylon, as well as on acrylic fibers, which are hard to dye with other classes. Acid and basic dyes can be diluted with water and used in scenic painting to achieve watercolor-like effects on absorbent materials.

Fiber-reactive dyes were originally developed to dye rayon. They are also the best choice for other plant-based fibers such as cotton, linen, raffia, and reed. These dyes only need cool to lukewarm temperatures. Brand names include Procion MX, Hi Dye, Cibacron F, and Dylon.

Disperse dyes were developed specifically for synthetic fibers. Use them to dye acetates, nylon, and polyester to brilliant and intense colors that are very wash-fast. They require extremely high heat in the dye bath. Some disperse dyes require a carrier to assist dye penetration; many of these carriers give off toxic fumes in the bath. Some disperse dyes can cause irritation to the skin, so avoid them where actors will rub up against them.

Direct dyes are an inexpensive and simple alternative for cotton, linen, and viscose rayon. You immerse the fiber in the dye solution without any other chemicals. However, a post-dyeing fixative is often needed to improve wash-fastness.

Leather dye is an alcohol-based dye for coloring leather. Newer leather dyes that use an acrylic base can also be found.

A union dye is a combination of two or more dye classes used to dye fabrics made of a blend of fibers. A household dye refers to the kinds of dyes sold in grocery stores, which are most often union dyes. Though they do not achieve the brilliance of color as individual dyes, they dye a wide range of fibers and are simple to use. Rit, Tintex, Cushing's, and Deka L are common brand names.

Another way to dye mixed-blend fabrics is by dyeing the fabric in one bath with a dye class for one of the fibers, and then dyeing it in a second bath containing a dye class for the second fiber. Never mix two classes of dye into the same bath.

Figure 16-61: This mop is soaked in a bath of tea to tone the white fibers on its head down to more of a sepia tone. Photo courtesy of Jay Duckworth.

Union dyes are also useful on plastics that resist conventional paints, such as polyethylene. Like fabric, you want the dye water hot but not boiling. It is helpful to have a second pot of water of ice-cold water nearby. As you heat the plastic, it may begin to deform from the temperature; remove it from the hot water, and submerge it in the cold to cool it back down. You may need to do this repeatedly; keep the plastic in the hot water for about ten seconds or so, douse it in the cold water, and then move it back to the hot water.

Other plastics can be dyed with solvent dyes. Solvent dye, also called “fuel dye” and “petroleum dye,” is made to color gasoline and similar products. Mix a drop or two into methyl ethyl ketone or “clear cleaner” (a plastic cleaner/primer containing the solvent tetrahydrofuran). This solution can be brushed onto PVC or ABS to permanently color it. These are potent solvents, so take all the appropriate safety precautions.

Aniline dye remains popular for staining wood and leather. Experienced prop builders may remember a time when aniline dyes were quite cancerous, but current aniline dyes use different ingredients. Still, all dyes have varying levels of toxicity until they are “set,” so take the appropriate precautions. Aniline dye typically comes in a powder that is either water-soluble or oil-soluble depending on the product.

Tea and coffee are useful for aging white papers and fabrics. Brew the tea or coffee in hot to boiling water, then soak the material for several minutes.

French Enamel Varnish

French enamel varnish, or FEV for short, is shellac tinted with dyes and/or metallic powders, and thinned with denatured alcohol. Because of its ingredients, it is difficult to work with safely, particularly on large-scale projects. Still, it remains popular in some theatres as a finish, and if you can work in a well-ventilated area (or even a spray booth) while wearing a proper respirator and clothing, the results are pretty stunning. It creates a transparent finish that shows off some of the texture and properties of the material below, and it imparts its own light-reflective qualities. So, for example, it can be used to tint and color metal without getting rid of that “metallic” quality. Multiple layers can build up quite a rich and complex surface. The use of alcohol keeps it flexible when dry, so it can be used on leather and fabrics as well.

Figure 16-62: FEV (French enamel varnish).

I've seen recipes that thin the shellac with as much as sixteen parts of alcohol, but a good starting recipe is as follows:

• four parts denatured alcohol

• one part white shellac

• a few drops of dye

The dyes used must be soluble in alcohol, such as leather dyes, aniline dyes, or some acid and basic dyes. Union dyes such as Rit or Tintex, while safer, will not work straight out of the bottle. You need to either strain the salts out of the dye before using or rub off with steel wool after applying it.

You can paint, spray, or pour FEV to use it. The shellac is the binder, so once it dries, it is also set. It is not particularly washable or dry-cleanable, however. Remember too that shellac is not entirely waterproof, so further protective coats may be needed if it is an outdoor prop. The randomness and organic flow of FEV, which are part of its appeal, also make it fairly unpredictable. Like any other paint, always test on a sample or hidden portion of your material.

Figure 16-63: Instant gun blue, or “cold” bluing, is a product used on steel to give it a dark black/blue color while also protecting it from rust. Instant gun blue is wiped on the finished piece of steel or stainless steel with a cloth and immediately wiped off with a second dry cloth.

Chemical Coloring

Some materials can be colored by applying chemicals that activate a change in the material itself. Most techniques are geared toward various metals to give them a patina. Many of these techniques use incredibly toxic and caustic chemicals and involve extensive setups (not to mention the need to dispose of these chemicals), so more often than not, the props artisan is better off making a faux finish with paint.

Writing and Drawing Utensils

Inks can encompass a wide range of colorants, binders, and medium found in both paint and dye; their main difference is their intended use. Inks are generally formulated for use in writing and drawing on paper, or in various printing processes. The pigments and dyes used are usually more finely ground, and they are used in a thinner solution than paint or dye. They also dry to a much thinner film than most paints.

Colored pencils, pens, and markers can also be utilized for various decorating and coloring tasks. Black markers are useful for quickly making a screw head or shiny edge disappear. Brown markers can do the same with scratches and other imperfections on wooden furniture. Markers and pens can also make tasks such as lettering and lining more convenient and consistent.

Figure 16-64: These molding samples show what gold leaf looks like over the top of different colors.

Figure 16-65: To apply gold leaf, first apply gold size (found at craft and art stores) to your sealed and painted surface. Allow it to dry fully.

Figure 16-66: Take a sheet of metal leaf; this is usually very fragile, and is easier to move by using a paintbrush that has been charged with static electricity. Once the leaf touches the size, it will not move, so place it carefully.

Figure 16-67: When placed, begin feathering the leaf onto the size; a paintbrush works best. Brush the foil over the entire surface. The foil will not get into every crack and crevice. As you brush over it, the loose foil will be brushed away. When you are finished, you may find a lot of missed spots, like in the photograph (left). You can pick up smaller flakes of the foil (again, using a statically charged brush is easiest), and place these on the bare spots. The spots may also be bare because no size was applied there; reapply some size to those spots and again wait for it to dry before adding foil. Continue burnishing the surface of the foil until no more flakes or dust come off. Once the whole surface is coated to your satisfaction, you will need to seal it; shellac is a traditional favorite (amber shellac will impart a deep yellow that may help the color of your gold leaf in some situations), while polyurethane and acrylic clear coats may be used for a tougher and more water-resistant sealer.

Metal Leaf

Real gold leaf is actually thin layers of gold that have been hammered out to the thickness of tissue paper. A less costly alternative is imitation gold leaf, sometimes known as Dutch Metal or bronze leaf. These come in a wider variety of colors, allowing you to leaf an object in silver or copper, for example.

The method of applying gold leaf for props is a little less elegant than traditional gilding, both in the materials used and the amount of time spent, but it gives adequate results for objects on stage.

Porous materials must first be sealed. Latex and acrylic paints work well. Acrylic gesso is preferred if you want to sand the surface smooth before leafing.

Bole (pronounced like “bowl”) is applied next. Traditionally, a fine pigmented clay has been used as bole, though today, particularly for props, paint is substituted. The bole gives a base color, and different colors can impart different qualities to the final piece. A black bole gives the gold leaf a cold and hard look you might find in Art Deco pieces, while red bole gives a warm and rich tone to the gold. Because you can use paint both to seal the material and as the bole color, many props artisans simply combine these two steps and use a single coat of paint.

Chrome Plating

Real chrome plating is done by electroplating nickel onto a highly polished surface, and then electroplating chrome onto that. The equipment and chemicals needed (not to mention the permits and regulations to deal with those chemicals) means even the largest commercial shops will send props off to an outside vendor to be chrome plated.

As an alternative, you can find many “chrome-look” paints, as well as stainless steel and aluminum paints. The key to success is to make the surface as glossy and defect-free before adding a coat of the chrome paint.