Sun Jul 20, 2014 11:24 am
#85837
Good question. It's one I worried a lot about myself and kept putting it off and re-trying mixing green paints and working them into the design. It never really looked right though, partly because on the leather it always looked brighter/sharper or something. The fabric of the tongue is a sort of tight synthetic mesh, with another fabric underneath which seemed to swallow up the light, compared with the sheen on the leather.
I used to paint designs on T-shirts when I was at college so wondered if the fabric paints I used then would be best, but they were really made for natural fibres, and I thought they might flake off this slightly plastic-ish surface texture. The Angelus leather paints seem to adhere well on the outside of the shoes, so I painted a small area of the tongue way down inside the shoe, where it would never be seen anyway, to try it out. I let it dry for a few hours and then rubbed it to see if it came off easily. It didn't come off, so I thought "Be brave. Lets do it", and painted the whole thing. It didn't just sit on the surface, as I worried it might, but sank in really quickly. I'll do another coat, as in a few places the under-fabric still shows slightly, then I'll put a coat of finisher on as well, to be on the safe side.
My thinking though, is that even if it wears off a bit I won't mind too much as it will give an appropriate natural faded air of age and use.
You're right, Ryan. The Nightmare Before Christmas is so full of wonderful elements, it was difficult to choose what to paint. I didn't want to leave anything out! Maybe another, different pair would be good to do too.
Now I've got this far, I've started to think about my next pair. I have a pair of Air force One's prepped and waiting.. Not sure what yet, but I have some ideas.
I used to paint designs on T-shirts when I was at college so wondered if the fabric paints I used then would be best, but they were really made for natural fibres, and I thought they might flake off this slightly plastic-ish surface texture. The Angelus leather paints seem to adhere well on the outside of the shoes, so I painted a small area of the tongue way down inside the shoe, where it would never be seen anyway, to try it out. I let it dry for a few hours and then rubbed it to see if it came off easily. It didn't come off, so I thought "Be brave. Lets do it", and painted the whole thing. It didn't just sit on the surface, as I worried it might, but sank in really quickly. I'll do another coat, as in a few places the under-fabric still shows slightly, then I'll put a coat of finisher on as well, to be on the safe side.
My thinking though, is that even if it wears off a bit I won't mind too much as it will give an appropriate natural faded air of age and use.
You're right, Ryan. The Nightmare Before Christmas is so full of wonderful elements, it was difficult to choose what to paint. I didn't want to leave anything out! Maybe another, different pair would be good to do too.
Now I've got this far, I've started to think about my next pair. I have a pair of Air force One's prepped and waiting.. Not sure what yet, but I have some ideas.
I am the 'who' when you call "Who's there?"