As I mentioned last time, Stuart will follow Gary’s color design. I used Maui Blue Gloss for the Eyes and Berry Pink for the mouth. Unfortunately, I did not mask off enough of Stuart’s Head which resulted in overspray even with using a piece of cardboard to block most of it. A little extra care up front can save you more work later. The overspray will be corrected when I make touch-ups.
Gloss Purple sprayed into the cap and then dipping in an artist brush is how I created the design on the back, neck and tail. This took a couple of hours. I will definitely consider brush on paints for this level of detail on larger Dinosaurs. Making random strokes with the brush and allowing it to glide around the sculpture gave me an outline for the design. Rough circular shapes were placed along the center and off center from the head to the tip of the tail. They increased and decreased in size proceeding from the top of the head to the tip of the tail. It was a matter of filling in the sides with various sizes of rough circular shapes as I progressed.
The next step was filling in the several of the shapes with Deep Blue Gloss. Which shapes you fill in or leave empty is a matter of choice based on the look You want. I stayed towards the center of the design and larger shapes to keep in line with the look I gave Gary. Leaving some open I felt gave a more natural appearance to graduate back to the solid Spring Green.
As an alternative brush paints are available from Rust-oleum. I used these products to paint Angie, the Augustynolophus. There are not as many color choices vs. the spray paints. However, they do provide a thicker coating. For the type of details I added to the Brontosaurs, they would have been much faster and easier. You can mix paints to get custom colors. I mixed the Navy Blue & Apple Red to obtain a Dark Purple, that I used on part of Angie’s horn. Mixing the Sun Yellow & Apple Red created an Orange that provided an interesting band between the Sun Yellow and Almond on Angie. Just keep track of the colors and the amounts You use to create Your Special Colors for making more. I used empty Gelato containers to store the mixed paints. Another recycling tip and excuse to buy Gelato, as if You need one. The other advantage of brush paints is they are easier to use by the young Dinosaur enthusiast. The Latex Brands are soap & water cleanup too! The difference in process is after the acid wash & rinse, use the Clean Metal Primer and then the Latex paints. I did NOT use Rust Reformer when using the brush paints. The Clean Metal Primer does require mineral spirts for cleanup.
Adding pupils to Stuart’s Eyes and Highlights for his Claws/Toes and more details to Stay Tuned!
I love the Brontosaurus, Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus. These were the first Sauropods I was introduced to as a kid. The only ones actually. However, the Amargasaurus is my favorite. It isn’t a giant in Sauropod Circles – at 30 feet long and 12 feet high at the hip. But, with Two Rows of Spikes along its Neck & Back and each row believed to be connected by Sails – How Fantastic a Beast is that?
Thanks to Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio for the picture of the Amargasaurus and Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogsport.com) own work for the chart comparison
The Amargasaurus discovered in 1984 at the La Amarga Formation in Argentina. The name comes from the location discovered and the name of the nearby town La Amarga. This Sauropod lived during the Early Cretaceous Period. Closest Relatives are from the Late Jurassic Dicraeosaurus in Africa and Brachytracelopan also discovered in South America. They are grouped together due to their short necks and small bodies by Sauropod Standards. To learn more about the Amargasaurus check out your Library, Natural History Museum or Wikipedia.
“Dino Fest Weekend” September 21st & 22nd an Everything Dinosaur Event at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles!
And while You are there
“Titanosaurs 3D” will Trill You and
“Antarctic Dinosaurs”
will Chill You All at
The Natural History Museum in Los Angeles!
“Encouraging the Appreciation of Art and Education through the Inspiration of Dinosaurs”
Paul & Prehistoric Pals
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