Fullsize Alien Warrior Build (Xenomorph)

[Palantirion]

Looking really good so far. Wonkiness is fine...it's an organic thing and more layers will just make it look better.

p.s. To get more dynamic range consider (if you haven't already) shifting the hues for your shadow and highlight colors. Maybe slightly toward purple (or brown) in the shadows and cyan (or Permanent Blue Light) in highlights. Varying tones in the "stripes" of the tubes could add a lot of visual texture too. Just ideas, you do you!

 

[Metalalien]

Looking really good so far. Wonkiness is fine...it's an organic thing and more layers will just make it look better.

p.s. To get more dynamic range consider (if you haven't already) shifting the hues for your shadow and highlight colors. Maybe slightly toward purple (or brown) in the shadows and cyan (or Permanent Blue Light) in highlights. Varying tones in the "stripes" of the tubes could add a lot of visual texture too. Just ideas, you do you!

all good ideas... will try! thanks for all the help!

 

[Metalalien]

Throwing a bit of FW ink indigo on there just to try it out..

 

[Palantirion]

It pops!

 

[Metalalien]

It pops!

some highlights... yea I know it's really really blue...lol... i'm working on it..

 

[Palantirion]

I really like it! If you're ambitious you can also go outside the box and use a torn sponge or crumpled towel or plastic wrap to make weird random pattern textures in contrasting colors, then spray over them with your base (or highlight, etc.) color to tone down the effect. Might be a good way to fill space on less physically detailed areas like the dome or whatever. Just giving you more ideas because clearly you don't have too much on your mind already!

GJ man!

 

[joberg]

Love the paint job so far. As Palantirion said, it's all about layers and layers: spray one color, then spray a coat of clear and spray another hue, etc...
Eager to see the rest

 

[Palantirion]

Love the paint job so far. As Palantirion said, it's all about layers and layers: spray one color, then spray a coat of clear and spray another hue, etc...
Eager to see the rest

- Quick note on that: IF you are going to clear between layers make SURE you use a clear of the same binder family as the paint! IE: If you're using water-based acrylics then use Liquitex Gloss (or Matte) Medium (not Varnish, that closes the pores). It will catalyze any paint that needs it (was super important on my art car projects) and will seal it well enough that subsequent thin layers could be removed (quickly after applying, oopses) but is also porous enough that it will act as a primer.

Conversely if you used a 2K or Urethane clear between layers of acrylic I'm 99% sure you will get cracking later on. Urethane over top of cured acrylic is fine...I think...so far no issues on my projects.

 

[Metalalien]

- Quick note on that: IF you are going to clear between layers make SURE you use a clear of the same binder family as the paint! IE: If you're using water-based acrylics then use Liquitex Gloss (or Matte) Medium (not Varnish, that closes the pores). It will catalyze any paint that needs it (was super important on my art car projects) and will seal it well enough that subsequent thin layers could be removed (quickly after applying, oopses) but is also porous enough that it will act as a primer.

Conversely if you used a 2K or Urethane clear between layers of acrylic I'm 99% sure you will get cracking later on. Urethane over top of cured acrylic is fine...I think...so far no issues on my projects.

What about for the final gloss coat?

 

[Palantirion]

What about for the final gloss coat?

Sort of depends. If you are airbrushing paint, and airbrushing isolation clears, then those layers will be thin and cure fast (as opposed to brushing). Then I see no problem using a good quality auto urethane over them as the final finish.

However you know your statue better than anyone. Does it flex more than the fiberglass fender of a Corvette? If so, then maybe a more flexible (and less hard) clear like Liquitex Gloss Varnish or General's 450 line (can only find semi gloss for some reason Amazon.com) would ensure flexibility.

One other note on top coats: A varnish (that is truly a varnish) will SEAL the surface. Which is why Liquitex "Gloss Medium and Varnish" is not a varnish, but Liquitex "Gloss Varnish" is. Anyway, the point being that once the surface is sealed it is air tight. Which means that any offgassing from materials under the paint will not be able to escape. This hasn't happened on my Green Queen (old fiberglass, sealed with urethane), or on the (old) fiberglass Avanti I painted (sealed with Liquitex Varnish), but did happen on the aftermarket CF roof (as the epoxy degraded) on my Z4 (sealed with Liquitex then later with General after some touch-up), which caused the sealed paint to bubble and it means I'll have to repaint that panel. If you think there will be risk of offgassing later on, then I'd seal it with just the Medium to allow for porosity...or maybe use a urethane because I believe (but cannot confirm) that this medium would be permeable to escaping volatile gasses in a way that an acrylic varnish would not.

 

[Metalalien]

Sort of depends. If you are airbrushing paint, and airbrushing isolation clears, then those layers will be thin and cure fast (as opposed to brushing). Then I see no problem using a good quality auto urethane over them as the final finish.

However you know your statue better than anyone. Does it flex more than the fiberglass fender of a Corvette? If so, then maybe a more flexible (and less hard) clear like Liquitex Gloss Varnish or General's 450 line (can only find semi gloss for some reason Amazon.com) would ensure flexibility.

One other note on top coats: A varnish (that is truly a varnish) will SEAL the surface. Which is why Liquitex "Gloss Medium and Varnish" is not a varnish, but Liquitex "Gloss Varnish" is. Anyway, the point being that once the surface is sealed it is air tight. Which means that any offgassing from materials under the paint will not be able to escape. This hasn't happened on my Green Queen (old fiberglass, sealed with urethane), or on the (old) fiberglass Avanti I painted (sealed with Liquitex Varnish), but did happen on the aftermarket CF roof (as the epoxy degraded) on my Z4 (sealed with Liquitex then later with General after some touch-up), which caused the sealed paint to bubble and it means I'll have to repaint that panel. If you think there will be risk of offgassing later on, then I'd seal it with just the Medium to allow for porosity...or maybe use a urethane because I believe (but cannot confirm) that this medium would be permeable to escaping volatile gasses in a way that an acrylic varnish would not.

I bought that clear coat that you suggested in our pm

 

[Palantirion]

I bought that clear coat that you suggested in our pm

-The Upol, should be fine....unless your sculpture is particularly flexible and will move/shake/rattle often. I think not, given your target location. Was more of an afterthought because I realized I didn't actually know the material. As long as it's similarly stiff to thin fiberglass then I would expect no problems.

Sometimes I over think things.

 

[Metalalien]

This one doesn't show up real good in photos but a tried a sprinkle of happy shimmering green just for fun...

 

[Palantirion]

It looks better, more dimensional to me. But I couldn't have told you why without putting this and yesterday's side by side. Then it's more clear. Heading in a great direction!

 

[Metalalien]

It looks better, more dimensional to me. But I couldn't have told you why without putting this and yesterday's side by side. Then it's more clear. Heading in a great direction!

The airbrush is super easy to work with.. now that I am not intimidated by it I have just been playing.. I am ready to try a wash/rubout but I need to get this clear coat thing sorted out... I can't do a rubout unless what I have done up till now is sealed otherwise it will all rubout...lol

 

[Palantirion]

The airbrush is super easy to work with.. now that I am not intimidated by it I have just been playing.. I am ready to try a wash/rubout but I need to get this clear coat thing sorted out... I can't do a rubout unless what I have done up till now is sealed otherwise it will all rubout...lol

- If you don't yet have the Liquitex Medium you could use their Varnish that you have...just spray it lightly (or use a higher pressure+distance) so it doesn't build up quite enough to get glossy. That should (should!) make the surface more durable yet also leave enough surface roughness for the next paint to grip. Make sure to let it dry completely (4+ hours depending on humidity and thickness) before subjecting it to physical agitation. GL!

p.s. Something I did on my Green Queen that turned out to be surprisingly easy was to airbrush thinned black over the texture and then wiping/buffing it off immediately with a rag. I worked in small areas but very quickly, turned out to be faster and more accurate than a brush wash. I had the airbrush in one hand and the rag in the other and did the whole crown in one go. The sculpt did all the work for me and the bunched rag gave the depth of the black an organic consistency.

 

[Metalalien]

- If you don't yet have the Liquitex Medium you could use their Varnish that you have...just spray it lightly (or use a higher pressure+distance) so it doesn't build up quite enough to get glossy. That should (should!) make the surface more durable yet also leave enough surface roughness for the next paint to grip. Make sure to let it dry completely (4+ hours depending on humidity and thickness) before subjecting it to physical agitation. GL!

p.s. Something I did on my Green Queen that turned out to be surprisingly easy was to airbrush thinned black over the texture and then wiping/buffing it off immediately with a rag. I worked in small areas but very quickly, turned out to be faster and more accurate than a brush wash. I had the airbrush in one hand and the rag in the other and did the whole crown in one go. The sculpt did all the work for me and the bunched rag gave the depth of the black an organic consistency.

I just bought a bottle of the Liquitex Medium in gloss and matte

 

[Palantirion]

I just bought a bottle of the Liquitex Medium in gloss and matte

Matte is arguable easier to use because it's glossy when wet so you can see coverage easily. To over-think it: Test on some small black section (only need an inch or so), coat it with Matte, let that dry, then coat it with Gloss and compare to non-Matted area - just to make sure you don't loose any of the darkness. Should be fine, but best to check.

Or...You might prefer the Gloss Medium's application because if your paints are naturally matte or satin it gives you an obvious coverage indication even when dry. Might be better on a thing with intricate shapes like your xeno.

The Matte, when brushed (when I paint on canvas) has a little more tooth than the Gloss, so I use Matte more often as an isolation layer because I get more opacity brushing paint onto it. BUT that wouldn't effect airbrushing at all. Gloss might be better as an isolation layer before you do your dark wash, as it will slide off better...OR the opposite might be preferred as the Matte might give a less abrupt transition by holding on to wash particles a little stronger. Experiment and see what you like more. No wrong answers, just different options to fine tune your process.

Oh, and I should have mentioned it before (sorry): I think it's best to put down random visual textures (splatter, blotches, etc.) before doing your base coat. Because you can be really extreme with them and then use the base coat to reduce the effect until you are happy. See my Pumpkinhead thread for example. I went nuts with the contrast before base coating. Of course you end up going back and adjusting details later, but it's much easier (and faster) to be careful in a few areas (with a visual guide) than over the whole piece without a guide.

 

[Metalalien]

Just in case some of you guys aren't convinced the brown color (of the suits and puppets on the production set) was just to make them look right under the cinematic (blue) lighting of Cameron... here is a photo of the Alien made for Stan Winston studios (after the film) straight from the Stan Winston Studio book... it has a giant fold out of his gallery.

You can see the Alien that Stan wanted for his gallery is not even remotely brown... in fact his leans heavy into green.

I like the blue but I am adding a green tint to mine as well.

 

[Metalalien]

Here is a paint test to see how it looks on video...