#propmakingtutorial

[waywardwarriorcosplay]

Jack Frost Staff Tutorial - Part 2 : Painting the Staff

I have two main versions of this staff that the tutorial is based around: Painting & Stringing. Both versions do require a painted base prior to the detailing aspect - the tutorial will split after the initial process. 

Which option you choose will depend on your own personal preferences, time, and how much you have to spend. 

What you will need for Option 1 - Painting

Painter's Tape (or masking tape)

Gesso (or spray paint)

Paint brushes (a few different sizes)

Different shades of brown paint (I prefer acrylics for this)

Different shades of blue paint (I prefer acrylics myself)

White or silver paints (Glitter ones optional)

What you will need for Option 2 - Stringing

Painter's Tape (or masking tape)

Gesso (or spray paint)

Paint Brush (a few different sizes)

Hemp cording (2 shades of brown minimum)

Hemp cording (3 or more shades of blue)

Hemp cording (white and or silver)

Step 1 Prep Work - Hiding the PVC joints

There are a few different ways to cover/hide the joints where the multiple PVC pipes connect. I will cover two of my preferred types here - Painters Tape & Primer/Wood Filler

Option 1 - Painter’s Tape

Cover each of the joints with either masking tape or painters tape. This acts as two fold: the first part is to help give the staff some added sturdiness, the second part helps smooth out the roughness of each joint. This means that after it is painted it looks like one whole piece rather than a disjointed staff.

I would do at least 2 layers of tape, more if you see it as necessary. Definitely do a healthy amount around the joint at the bottom of the crook. This will also help to reinforce the glue and rubber bands holding it on.

Make sure you also do this at the bottom of the staff as well on the foot joint.

Personally I use painter's tape because I have more of it, but as long as it is thick enough it really doesn't matter what kind of tape you use.

Option 2 - Primer/Wood Filler/Modeling Clay

There a few different mediums you can use here, though wood filler and modeling clay are two of my favorites. The idea is to use a material that can be added in around the joints to fill in the void where it connects and smooth them out to make a seamless connection. 

**Unfortunately I do not have a photo to share of this aspect as we did the painter’s tape for the original tutorial**

Step 2

After adding the tape around the joint you want to prime the staff for painting. Because of the smoothness of the staff and the type of plastic, normal paint doesn't stick to it as nicely, thus the primer. You can do this one of two ways and it is whichever you prefer. You can use a spray paint and do 1-2 coats on each side. If you choose the spray paint I would suggest doing white or a light brown. Your other option and the one I used was Gesso. This stuff works great. I did about 2-3 coats of Gesso on each side. Make sure you lay newspaper or something else down before painting.

NOTE: I forgot to put the tape on before taking this image (which meant I had to do it afterwards - please don't make my mistake) 

HINT: Do small layers of Gesso at a time to prevent globing or uneven drying. It takes longer but it worth it.

Step 3

After you Gesso (or spray paint) and it is fully dry, then you can do your initial painting.

I would suggest starting with a medium brown, and then do coats of darker and lighter trying to get it to look like wood. Keep your paint strokes going in the same direction (Up & Down) to help get this particular look.

This photo isn't a very good example so I apologize.

You can always look up wood references to get an idea of how you want it to look. This is entirely personal. Don't worry too much if you can't get it right. The blues, whites, and silvers will help cover up any mistakes you have.

This is the point where the two options split.

Step 4 - Option 2

Take your your first shade of tan (or brown) hemp cording and wrap it loosely like so. I would suggest getting a friend to help hold the staff while you wrap the hemp cording. (You can see my friend in the bottom corner - though the staff is hers, it was more so me helping her make it)

Continue adding hemp cording around the staff. Alternate the thread colors with the different shades of brown and tan. After you have a decent amount you can change over to the blues. Again keep alternating the colors as you go to give the staff dimension with the colors.

After you feel you have enough, switch to the white or silvers to give it the highlights. The goal is to make it look frosted. Where your hand sits should be the most frosted part gradually changing back to brown around it.

This does take awhile but it looks unique and awesome when its done.

[stone-design-la-blog]

Coin cast in a 2 part resin by nathan at the @hivegallery . . . . .

[waywardwarriorcosplay]

The wait is over! Here is edited Part 2 for the Princess Mononoke Dagger video. 

After much consideration, I ended up shortening the video quite a bit and also unfortunately had to edit out half of the second side painting and black handle as I kept lifting it up out of the video frame while painting. Because of that, I'm afraid it's a tad choppy during the handle painting. I

 also edited out all the additional layers I did to help cut down the video length. Initially I had planned on doing a wrap on the handle, but now I'm debating about leaving it as is. 

What do you guys think? 

References:

Original 3D printed dagger @rpm3dprinting (along with the mask, ears, and Kodama) Painting by @waywardwarriorcosplay 

Depending on the outcome of cons this year, I may bring out Mononoke again just for this dagger! ^_^ Definitely one of my new favorite pieces. 

[waywardwarriorcosplay]

This is part 1 of our time-lapse video of how we did our Princess Mononoke Dagger. 

Please note: before you prime your dagger, you need to make sure to sand the 3D print plastic smooth first by hand. I realized after the fact that this part of process never got filmed. 

On a separate note, this is my first time creating this style video so I apologize ahead of time for any weird cuts or jumps. My goal is to hopefully get better at these in the future. 

References:

Original 3D print dagger courtesy of RMP 3DPrinting 

FB: https://www.facebook.com/RPM3DPrinting/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rpm3dprinting 

Part 1: Priming & Sanding Part 2: Painting & Sealing