I am really proud of the paint job, which was done using an airbrush. A base coat of black airbrush paint was applied first. Then, I watered down Martha Stewart's pearl acrylic craft paints to bring the piece to life. By using the black base coat, this enabled me to get a shadow effect in the crevices. And, it made for richer colors from the acrylics; the gunmetal color would have otherwise come out as a lighter silvery color.
The rest of this piece was largely unsatisfying. I would have preferred to use some sort of gem or bead in the center rather than painting this section in. However, I did not find one that was 100% satisfactory.
After having success using Instamorph moldable plastic on part of the belt, I decided to use it on the circlet as well. Because the headpiece is very thin, however, I found it difficult to get an even length on the band. It was also frustrating to attach and/or mold some of the details, which sticks out quite obviously in the photo above. This would have been alleviated somewhat had I sanded it.
Lessons learned:
- Moldable plastic is good for large pieces; it is hard to shape nicely for thin pieces.
- Don't be lazy! Applying a base coat color can really enhance your paint job.
