Morihalda Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Hey there! I have a super quick question that I can't find with the search function. How well does the... seam? between metal and green stuff paint over? For example, I'm adding some leggings/thigh highs to a mini, and I'm wondering if I need to work all the way down to the feet, or if really working on smoothing down where the GS ends will be sufficient. I'll be doing the entire leggings for this mini, because I want to be safe and it would bother me anyways to be working on a mini with green knees. It also applies to another thing I'm working on - a collectible figure in really bad condition, and using GS to fill in the slight scratches and nicks on her skin. WIll those sort of lines/seams be obvious when I paint over it later? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sundseth Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Depends how smooth the seam is when the GS is fully dry. If it's completely smooth, you can paint over it fine, no different than painting over an underlying dark color that you decided you didn't want. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Palmer Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 (edited) I have always found seams to show up worse when painted than they do with the naked eye if they have the slightest gap or differential in height. They need to be sanded extremely thin and level to blend. Edited February 21, 2016 by Chris Palmer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hosercanadian Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 "Paint covers a multitude of sins" I forget the original writer but I have lived by it since I started sculpting and converting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Jack Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 If you can't get the edges of your greenstuff blended perfectly, you can paint over them with a bit of brush-on sealer or matte medium to level them out. However, you always want to work on getting your edges as well-blended as possible. Blending is one of the essential skills of sculpting. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenity Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 If you don't have clay or color shapers in your tool chest, get some. They make smoothing and blending easier. I've used the firm ones and they do a good job. I haven't tried the extra firm, but I know some people prefer them. As putty gets firmer, a firmer rubber/silicon may be easier to work with. When I've worked with putty, it was usually freshly mixed Milliput or green stuff used for filling gaps, rather than to sculpt. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morihalda Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 Okay, thanks all! I worked super hard on smushing all the putty down, so I -think- it should be alright. I like the brush on sealer as an oopsie-fixer, though! But I promise to work on my blending. There were a few things that were really getting me - making the GS stick the metal in the first place! I do not have the vaseline, which I've read helps GS stick to everything. That's on my shopping list. I have extra firm shapers, but they didn't seem to move the GS as much as I wanted to... Which makes me think that maybe I have the consistency wrong, because the second batch I made was a bit stickier (more yellow?) and it moved a bit easier. I'm pretty darn happy with my overall work today, and she's almost done! New bag, new chest, new legs ("You got new legs!").... Just a hand now... Eep! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knarthex Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Okay, thanks all! I worked super hard on smushing all the putty down, so I -think- it should be alright. I like the brush on sealer as an oopsie-fixer, though! But I promise to work on my blending. There were a few things that were really getting me - making the GS stick the metal in the first place! I do not have the vaseline, which I've read helps GS stick to everything. That's on my shopping list. I have extra firm shapers, but they didn't seem to move the GS as much as I wanted to... Which makes me think that maybe I have the consistency wrong, because the second batch I made was a bit stickier (more yellow?) and it moved a bit easier. I'm pretty darn happy with my overall work today, and she's almost done! New bag, new chest, new legs ("You got new legs!").... Just a hand now... Eep! NOOOOOO! The vaseline is to keep the GS from sticking to the tools!!!!! I have found with the extra firm shapers, it is sometimes easier to 'push' with the shaper than to 'pull' like a paint bush.... I use water as my lubricant when doing GS work. The liquid GS might also be a way for you to smooth your transitions, but as Jack said, smoothing..... And like everything else in our hobby, practice, practice, and..... well you know.... George 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morihalda Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 LOL. Well I read something! Water didn't seem to make a difference, but pushing the tool helped immensely! But I think I'm just expecting softer materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TaleSpinner Posted February 21, 2016 Moderator Share Posted February 21, 2016 You likely read that vaseline mixed in with GS helps the GS stick to cured GS with vaseline on it. That is true. The vaseline it there to keep the GS from sticking to everything as you sculpt. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speak_Centurion Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 (edited) I'd have to see a photo, but if you're a beginner, the chances are you adding way too much putty. You don't have to create a whole layer for the leggings, all you need to add is the creases, the seam-line and the top edge of the leggings. The creases are where it's at: one tiny realistic crease/wrinkle in the right spot will create the illusion of fabric over a bare leg. Edited February 22, 2016 by Cosmic_Mastermind 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morihalda Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 (edited) I'd have to see a photo, but if you're a beginner, the chances are you adding way too much putty. You don't have to create a whole layer for the leggings, all you need to add is the creases, the seam-line and the top edge of the leggings. The creases are where it's at: one tiny realistic crease/wrinkle in the right spot will create the illusion of fabric over a bare leg. Yeah, that's exactly what I ended up doing! I didn't want her to have thick legs since I wanted to keep her looking like a teenager, so I kept it super thin. I read on here that when people are sculpted, the body is done first and the clothes are added on in thin layers, so I treated this mini like I was just adding a final layer of clothing. It was kind of silly, I accidentally nicked the back of her leg with my nail and went, "OH MAN it looks like real clothes now!!" so I ran off to put on some leggings and a tight shirt so I could add creases to my mini She'll be fully cured this afternoon. The hand shape gave me fits until I remembered that I could do it in layers, but this is definitely one of the most satisfying things I have ever done! It's a spring exchange mini or I'd love to send a photo to you or Talespinner for help. Edited February 22, 2016 by Morihalda 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Jack Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 For hands, I generally do them in three stages - blocking in the general shape and size of the main part of the hand, finishing the hand itself, and then adding on the fingers last - because I personally find it easier to make sure that the main portion of the hand is correctly proportioned and positioned in relation to the rest of the arm and then sculpt the fingers on it, rather than trying to get the entire hand right in one shot. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morihalda Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 (edited) AUGH. SMART. Part of my problem was how I started - I didn't want to go crazy trying to get the GS to stick flat against a cut off wrist (the bag was driving me crazy with that until I decided to slowly blend a piece of the shirt down so it had something to grab onto), so I left a center bit of the original hand in there. Unfortunately I left a teeny bit too much, even after cutting more off and restarting again, so when I would make the notches for the fingers - it's a loose fist - I would hit the metal. I ended up having to do the thumb, first 2 fingers, and palm in one go, and then the last 2 fingers and the item later. I also planned on letting the GS harden a bit and see if I could make the lines between the fingers better when it was less sticky, but I completely forgot. So she might be wearing gloves. Edited February 22, 2016 by Morihalda 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TaleSpinner Posted February 23, 2016 Moderator Share Posted February 23, 2016 I'm doing hands later this week. I'll bring my camera and see if I can put together a tutorial on how I do them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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