bird colour scheme question

[kev.b]

hi not sure if i should have posted this in the finishing and painting section but thought you bird carvers in particular on this section would know best.
i have 3 carvings of birds heads for walking sticks ( and a wood duck nearly finished) all carved and ready to be painted.
i understand that i must first seal the carving , then paint with gesso before finally painting the birds colour scheme.
question is how to i get that irridescent colour that is typical of a Mallard, an American Widgeon and a Wood duck.
any advice would be very welcome.
heads in pic L to R: Woodcock, Mallard, American widgeon
many thanks
kev

[markken5889]

Hi Kev,

In my opinion, you don't need to seal and gesso both. I prefer to use JanssenArt clear sealer and then go right into blocking out under-coats of paint. JannsenArt makes some nice acrylics that pop and you can augment that with a high gloss finish, or you can add in some irridesent sparkles into your paint. I also believe that there's one line of acrylic paint out there that comes with the sparkle finish mixed right in, although I don't remember the brand right off-hand.

Good luck, and please show off your results when you've finished!

Mark

[Bob De.]

Looks like Mark has you on the right track. Just wanted to say, nice job all three looks great.

[Orygoner]

Most of the commonly used brands of paint have irridescent colors. I've got several different brands and colors...mostly Jo Sonja. A little goes a long way so you'd want to do a bit of testing/practicing first. Some people also use powders I believe.

[kev.b]

thanks guys. i have some jo sonja's iridescent green and blue but have been told that it can make a "plastic" and unrealistic finish if too much is used. i plan to practice several different painting methods, black background, grey background and straight to gesso. was just curious how you would get a shine like some of the decoys ive seen in carving magazines without the use of iridescent paints...if at all possible.
thanks for the comments on the carvings Bob, first real attempt at birds. been blown away by some of the bird carvings ive seen, and its not something i ever thought id like to carve.

[Orygoner]

Try some drybrushing during your practicing too. That's the way I've applied it...or by airbrushing lightly.

[kev.b]

thanks Randy. guess i'll be doing quite a bit of practising before i put a brush to the heads. dont want to mess it all up after carving them.

[kev.b]

randy a quick thought would it be a better idea to thin the iridescent colour out with water to make it less prominent?

[chipmunk]

they make 3-d paint that change colors like green that turns blue differant lite shines on it u may look into that

[markken5889]

Kev,

It's always better to put on your colors in thin layers. It's more work, but you can get more depth and subtle color variations that way. As you wrote, it is a good idea to do a little practicing before getting right into applying color to your hard work carving. Try to experiment a little with dry brushing, wet-on-wet blending and layering color for different effects, especially if you're planning on using irridesant color.

Mark