New to Rana's kitchen shelf is some kind of little pot that I love.
I found the tiny steel oil servers in Little Tokyo the other day. It's lucky to find things that are the right scale for your project to use as the basis for new props, especially if they are inexpensive.
I was inspired by a little detail I saw in a photo of in remarkable artist Rima's kitchen (printout seen in middle photo) to add add'l detail to the server until it looked like something that belonged in Halfland's world. The black pull on top is actually a black dried bean, The wood dome shape was the bottom slice of a candle holder sanded smooth.
I used several colors of paints to unify the textures and shade them until they looked like old pewter pieces. I found that a high quality chalk pastel in burnt umber adds a perfect tarnish for this and other things that need aging.
After I stage the kitchen, and crammed it with all the lovely little finished props and food, I'll look to see whether the silver tone in these flagons stands out against the rest of the warmer tones of the cottage interior. If so, I'll just tint them with a wine over-glaze. But in silver they might be useful as they are to break things up visually, to make everything pop.
16 comments:
Shelley, I cant believe my eyes.. How you turn all these little things into aged, wonderful looking set pieces??? The first picture; Rana's kitchen shelf... so impressive.. Using chalk pastels.. I will try this!!
And thanks for posting the URL of Rima's website. Her illustrations are amazing and I have enjoyed visiting her pages a lot.
TEXTURETastic!!
very nice.
jriggity
Those are a great find, and you've done a nice job of bringing them into your world. Wish I could have found something similar 3 weeks ago when I had to make 2 beer steins. We don't have many Japanese here, so no Little Tokyo. Had to make them from cardboard in the end.
Yahoo! I just got a package this morning! It contains the magic water gel, all wrapped up with warm blankety fabric samples and gorgeous handmade cards! I have to go out for a meeting with a producer now, and all I want is to stay home and play with the goop...
It's arrived in time to try it out for my final drink pouring shot, probably at the end of this week.
Thanks, Yazzy. Listen the chalk works as a finishing touch of age but the surface has to be painted if it's too smooth, like the metal in this case.
First I coated the mixed surfaces with black iron paint (iron powder in a suspension) that's what gave it the uniform grainy surface. Then I used more Nova Color paint, this time in stainless steel, then spread silver rub n' buff metallic wax all over--then-- that's when I aged it with the umber chalk, rubbed on wit finger pad.
I'll put a piece in your kit, use it with restraint for best effect, only where the object would collect dirt.
Thanks, Riggster!
Hooray, Nick! I'm so glad you got the pack. It'll be interesting to see how you like animating with it.
Mike wrote me today to report he found he preferred a clear, firmer, non-drying museum wax. (I'm sure he'll announce which kind). But I think it's great to have several products and textures for different needs at different times.
That is the one add'l thing I found out about water gel:
It dries out if exposed to air. Please keep it in a small airtight jar or think zip lock bag to preserve.
Can't wait to see your next drinking clip!
Museum gel... not museum wax!! Quakehold makes both, as well as a Museum Putty. The wax is just microcrystalline wax, so even though on the package it says it's "crystal clear" it's actually a thick translucent yellow. This is the stuff for affixing little props to a set (like bottles to a bar) or to a puppet's hand (like a hat in Buster's hand).
But for water the Museum Gel is the stuff! So far it hasn't dried out at all (it's been 4 or 5 days since I put out a little bit). It does sag into a puddle after a whole, but it takes hours!!
One more surprise find though, which I discovered today.... gel deodorant!! Perhaps luckily, the last bottle I bought was defective and the gel wouldn't push through the slotted top, so I had to break open a seam near the bottom and dip in with a finger. The stuff is really thick, absolutely clear, and non-toxic, and much stiffer than any of the substances we've tried yet (except for the microcrystalline wax, but that's not very waterlike).
Great find, Mike! Museum GEL--got it.
And how about your deodorant find!? Now we're getting all jiggy with various "slow water" material options. Wow!
That's the word - Slow Water! Yes, exactly!
My similar goop stuff is also clear yellow, but closer to the pale green opaque stuff you sent in consistency. I left a little twist of it out, and it dried leather hard - and doesn't soften again when placed in water. Dried shapes might be great for making a set of hard replacement streams or splashes that can be re-used?
I was tied up yesterday with a meeting, a visit, and a night out, so have only now found you put several different types and colours in the package... wow!!!
And that small sample where you put in the tiny glass beads in different sizes - totally convincing as bubbles!
It's hard, typing with one hand while playing with the clear yellow stuff with the other... gotta stop typing, do more playing...
.....
Ok, pulled out two thin stands then twisted them together to make a braided looking stream of water - beautiful stuff, and definitely does hold it's shape better than the goop I found here. Thank you so much!
I've never heard of this museum gel, interesting. And as anybody downwind of me could probably tell, I don't usually go in for deodorants, but I might check that out as well, I like the idea of something you can buy at the local supermarket being used for a totally different purpose.
Maybe we'll see some of these other Slow Waters served up in the Radkins bar?
Gotta go do some actual animation today - I hope to finish Seventh Skol by the end of this week, the final shot with the Slow Water is getting close.
Nick said
"Maybe we'll see some of these other Slow Waters served up in the Radkins bar?"
Probably not poured into glasses... they're too tiny!! I don't know, I'll try it and see what happens, but there will definitely be a big slow-liquor spill!!
Newsflash!! Mikeee sent me a jar of the museum GEL and WAX as a prezzie (FANX!) and I think it could be even slower water from how he's described it.
More to report after a test. I might have to send some of this new stuff to you in an envelope too. But at least you have the toy gel to work with for the Seventh Skol.
You are so welcome, Nick! I hope you'll find a use for some of it. I KNOW you'll make the most of it, what with your menacing animation skill and all.
Interesting idea about using dried gel as replacement streaming shapes. Hot glue might work too for transparent forms. I know it cast well in plaster molds.
Man, Mike, that's going to look so freaking great in that film.
Shelley, thank you for the detailed explanation of the aging process. I would love to try.. and thanks!!! for the another add to my package. I am finally back home after 3 weeks travelling.. It feels good to be abck here. I am going to email you my address.
Just did one shot today, but no water yet. Setting up now for the money shot where I want to try the stream of slow water, should shoot it tomorrow. Then only one more shot needed to finish the exercise - it's a spill on the ground, but figured I'd use actual liquid for that. (Tho Mike's got me thinking about it now.)
Look forward to your report on the museum gel.
Hot glue here is milky white or yellow, translucent but not transparent. It does go clear when hot, but goes milky again as it cools. So not good for water.
How cool is that, huh? Congrats! I'm speechless here in Brazil...;)
\o/
Thank you, Lilly, Welcome to Halfland!
Hi Shelley,
You can now see your Slow Water in action - it's in the very last shot. It was very difficult to do, with the puppet falling apart, but it's worked pretty well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRt9ZIX4l5g
Thanks so much for sending that stuff!
Jaw Dropped, Nick. I knew you'd do incredible things with it! I knew it!
How you animated that slow water inside a rib cage I'll not know. Brilliant skill, self evident.
I love both Bergman's version and now yours as well.
Skol!
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