[GILLY]

Thanks for the tips folks.

[Donna_T]

Gilly,
I've not carved a fish in the last couple of years, but when I did, I airbrushed it with PolyTranspar airbrush water-based paints that can be purchased from a taxidermy supply. You can also get all of the colors in petroleum-based paints too, but I have asthma and can no longer use oil-paints. I start the painting by sealing the fish, spray a light but even coat of "everhide white" that makes for an even painting project. I put the basic colors on (bass greeen, for instance) then lightly add accent colors--white or light yellow to lighten areas, black to darken, etc. When I get near the end, and have all the colors in place, I spray a light coat of transparant pearl--it lets all the colors show through it, but has the pearly "wet" sheen. Then I put 2-3 coats of high gloss on it--letting it dry thoroughly between coats.

When I'm doing birds, like a humming bird which has a florescent look in places, I use a refracting powder (I think I have red, blue, violet, green)that I got from the company that is now Humel (they have a catalogue) and I admit, I've had those little containers of the stuff for nearly 15 years and they hardly show it. It just takes a little dab to add the look. Again, I paint the bird, and then using the acryllic paint that I was painting the area with, thin it drastically, add a smidgen of another color of refracting powder, and lightly go over it. For instance, I might add blue refracting to the green area, and might use green over the red area. That way the slight contrast shows up more. You can accomplish the same with just water, but I like the thinned paint. Be sure to let it dry before putting another coat on it or it might be too much. Look at it with natural light and artificial light--turning it to see if it's picking up enough shiny contrast before putting on more.

Anyway, that's how I've done it. And I'm quite sure there must be a dozen other ways to get the same effect.

Donna T

[GILLY]

Originally Posted by Kenny_S

U shape gouges works ok in textureing fish scales. There are irridescent paints and usually wally-World or Hobby-Lobby, micheals or most hobby shops that sell paint have the,' There is a Delta Ceramcoat Sparkle Glaze that gives a clear irridescent sparkle to a carving. I would experiment and a scrap piece of wood before using anything on the piece.

Well your gouge tip worked beautifully. I posted the perch in the work in prog thread............thanks, as simple as your tip was, I never thought of that technique.

[GILLY]

Alot of good tips shared folks, thanks. Donna T, I'll have to do some experimenting to find what works best. The carving in progress is coming along nicely so I don't want to ruin it with a lousy paint job. If I have to, I'll save the finishing till I get an air brush set-up.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Originally Posted by GILLY

Alot of good tips shared folks, thanks. Donna T, I'll have to do some experimenting to find what works best. The carving in progress is coming along nicely so I don't want to ruin it with a lousy paint job. If I have to, I'll save the finishing till I get an air brush set-up.

I have an old airbrush I got years ago but have never used it, don't even know if it works? But got an ad by email from Grizzly a couple of weeks ago for an airbrush for 19.95 on a special sale, so I bought it just in case, seems like a pretty decent airbrush!

[AlArchie]

Gilly, one of the most important tricks to use when painting fish, is NOT to depend on one color to get the effect you want. For instance, when starting to paint your perch, begin with a white base coat, or primer, followed by a light layer of taxidermists bass belly white or dime store "buttermilk". Then begin building your colors on with extremely light coats of subsequently darker colors. And those vertical stripes? they are not really brown or black, but shades of green. Start working them in AS you build your colors....very lightly, almost as shadows. As the color scheme develops, the stripes will have some depth to them, and not appear as they were painted on after the rest of the body was done.

Don't be afraid to mix your yellows and oranges with that buttermilk (heck this sounds like breakfast) to get just the particular shades you want. and those greens....you'll have to mix several colors (greens, soft black, browns, etc) to get the shades right. And to make it more complicated, the stripes are not all one color, but have varying shades within them. This can be done either with the airbrush or by stippling extremely light layers of paint on with a short bristled stiff brush.

That pearlescent material that was mentioned earlier is an exellent way to but that "shimmer" on the belly area, and can also be used to give that translucent appearance to the fins. I'd suggest you find a "pearl/white acrylic paint for that. After your belly and fin colors are exactly where you want them, dip a stiff brush in the pearl paint and wipe the brush on some paper till it's almost dry, then brush the belly with this untill the pearl begins to show. When doing the fins, same dry brush technique, used BETWEEN the spines on the fins will give the translucent look.

Get as good a photo of a perh as you can find and look carefully at the colors. No part of that fish is ever going to be one color. There are different shades on each scale, not that you need to be that meticulous, but varying shades across the entire fish will give a realistic appearance. If you are trying for the "decoy" look, solid colors will do just fine!

Hope this helps more than confuses.

Al

[Kenny_S]

Gilly, I noticed the updated picture and it looks great. It takes all of us for sure.
Try ALA or Donna T's suggestions out on another piece of wood or rough out a fish , don't have to be the same size, and try the buiding up layers on the rough out before applying them on your actual carving. This way, you can experiment with how you want it. The Sparkle Glaze that I mentioned in my post will not give you that shimmering effect ALA posted. It ios more for getting a sparkle in snow.

Now if only I would take my own suggestions sometimes.