TTC Beard
We had a great response to our Ask The Toy Chronicle shout out earlier last week. Some great questions were posed and we got some cracking answers back from our stellar collection of artist & contributors to the UK Designer Toy scene. If you are interested in asking your question to our panel of all-stars, then at the bottom of this page is the form to complete. Don’t forget to mention your name & location, so we can give you a shout-out!
This week the topics covered:
– Which brand of top coat do each artist recommend and why?
– Is there a secret to keeping your paint palette from drying out? I mix my paints, start painting and then look back to find they’re almost dry already!
– How do you guys manage to stay motivated when life, or your day job gets in the way?
So, lets get in to the all important answsers…
Rick from Birmingham asked: Which brand of top coat do each artist recommend and why?
Holly Glynn, Pink haired maestro behind A Little Stranger and Hey Cavey : For brush on gloss I like Citadel ‘ard coat, or Daler Rowney acrylic lacquer. I tend to make up my own spray lacquer using cellulose base and a matting agent.
James Freckingham – One man toy making machine behind Robotic Industries : The top coat I use is a gloss cellulose lacquer that comes from my local paint factors. I apply it using a spray gun although an airbrush would work just as well. As I like a matt finish on my pieces I mix 20% matting agent in with the lacquer. Unfortunately these are professional car paints that aren’t sold to the public although it’s worth checking out your local paint factors as many of them will be able to supply paints in aerosol cans and in a wide variety of colours and finishes.
Rich Page – Eighth Bearded Wonder of the World (Also see: Ume Toys) : I don’t always use a topcoat it depends what the piece is I’ve been working on but when I do it’s Montana Gold matt/gloss for me. They have a great low pressure cans that gives great coverage. I’ve used Citadel – Purity Seal Spray (Satin Varnish) in the past and liked it. Stay away from cheap Wilko style own brand top coats as I’ve learnt the hard way in the past (sticky pieces that don’t dry). Also it’s worth testing the varnish on some scrap with the paint you’re going to be protecting painted on as you never know if it’ll react.
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Anonymous asked: Is there a secret to keeping your paint palette from drying out? I mix my paints, start painting and then look back to find they’re almost dry already!
Holly Glynn : Mix more paint, or mix your paint in little pots – photographic film pots are great for storing small amounts of paint. Or just paint faster ;P
Rich Page : I usually paint using Vallejo acrylic paints. If I’m doing wet blending I use a little bit of their retarder, slows the paint drying down.
Mike Strick – Sculptor & Modelmaker behind Sculpt.Strick : I often mix colours in 35mm film canisters. The lids are pretty much airtight so the paint doesn’t dry out. Photo development shops (if you can still find one!) will usually give you a bag of them for free. Also, using acrylic medium instead of water seems to make them last longer, particularly as you can add more without reducing pigment.
James Freckingham : I just mix a large quantity of paint on my pallet and keep it going with water. This does thin the paint but it’s always better to put two thin coats on rather than one thick. Another tip is to create a colour swatch for the paints you use. Paint an inch square flat block of the colour on a piece of white card and write next to it the base colours you used to create it. That way if you do need to come back to the colour in a week, a month or a year you have some kind of reminder.
Jon-Paul Kaiser – Seventh Bearded Wonder of the World (also see artist: JPK) : I paint straight from the pot, I tend to work in block colours anyway. If I mix a new colour that I’m going to use a fair amount of, I mix it in an empty paint pot so I can use it for a later date. I used to use a little washing up liquid when I blended small amounts of paint on a palette, that kept it from drying out for longer.
Dan DMS – Resin Production King behind Skelevex. Also one half of Monster & Mecha : I haven’t really got much to add to the paint question. If I want to store self mixed colours, I’ll just make a large amount of it and keep it in an air tight pot. Cling film over my palette keeps paint from drying out for shorter amounts of time.
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Molly from Kent asked: How do you guys manage to stay motivated when life, or your day job gets in the way?
Holly Glynn : If i’m ever feeling unmotivated, i take the night off! I think it’s important to switch off once in a while, and not force it if I’m just not feeling it, because I won’t be happy with what a produce anyway. I work full time, training to be a tattoo artist, so i get some time to draw around the shop and start to get my ideas onto paper. I travel for two hours getting to and from work, so that gives me time to clear my mind and focus on what I’m going to do when i get home – in the evenings I have a clear agenda of what i want to get done; sometimes painting, working on a commission, or something for a show, on top of my freelance work and running Cavey, too. It’s important for me to do something creative every day, so i have to stay pretty focused and allocate my time in blocks or it can feel like I’m getting nothing done!
Rich Page : Haha that’s a question I get asked a lot. I work full time, have a family and three mental cats so time making toys and stuff is either early in the morning or late at night. For me it’s not really a question of motivation as making art/toys is something I love doing and it’s great knowing people are in to collecting what I produce. Try doing something everyday (even if it’s a scribble in your sketchpad) and stay away from the TV… I listen to plenty of program’s when I’m working but don’t sit and watch.
Mike Strick : Having a sculpting project to go back to at the end of the day is what keeps me sane (or as near as I get) doing my day job.
James Freckingham : Working on your creations should be fun and something you look forward to doing, if not then maybe you should try a different hobby or art form. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work hard at it to try and improve your skills but forcing these things never works. I always have multiple projects on the go at once so that if one is causing problems then I move onto the next and while I’m working on that one inspiration usually hits for the first one.
JPK: I stay motivated by the new ideas and challenges that come to me, it sounds a bit pretentious but one of the thingsI love most about doing this is not knowing what project I might be doing tomorrow and when people come to me to chat about some pretty off the wall ideas. Last year my job was starting to get in the way of painting and it came to a bit of a crunch, I talked it through with my wife and decided to give painting full-time a shot. I’ve never looked back.
Jonjo Glynn – One of the founders & organiser of ToyConUK : Obviously I’m a bit different from the artists, fortunately what I do with ToyCon is very similar to my day job. I find it fairly easy to stay motivated as I love the the event. As for things getting in the way when it gets to the planning stage I make sure that I set aside time to work on ToyCon. I also have a boatload of spreadsheets and calendar reminders that pretty much guide me through!
DMS: I’ve been doing this full time for five and a half years now, so I’ve got a good routine as far as keeping myself motivated and productive. I always have several very different projects on the go at any one time, switching between them keeps things interesting.
Jayne Goddard – One of the Founders & owners of Collect & Display : I stay motivated with collect and display by all the amazing support and feedback we get via the site, blogs and Facebook. Our customers and friends really help push us on with it all and keep us motivated. The sales obviously push us too but without the support from our customers & friends we wouldn’t have any sales so it’s all down to them
Neese Plush – Plush genius behind Raar. Also one half of Monster & Mecha: I’m lucky to have Dan DMS to help motivate me. He can be so obsessive with work, that it motivates me too. It also means I have someone who understands what I’m doing and gives me encouragement (and resin)! For me it’s also so different to my day job that it can be a real escape from the everyday work routines.
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Thanks to all who have asked a question so far. Don’t worry if your question didn’t appear this week. We’ll be asking questions again next week, so keep an eye out.
Also, a massive thanks to the guys who have given us answers this week! These are great and offer a real insight to the beautiful work you guys do!
We can’t get these awesome answers without awesome questions, so if you would like to pose your questions for future ‘Ask The Toy Chronicle’ then please do so here….
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