IronManiac
Sr Member
Last weekend I got to dress up and show off for the kids at the local zoo for Halloween. I was lucky enough to team up with HurleyFX in his amazing Groot costume. The kids loved us, we posed for lots of photos.
I was really happy with how I looked, but my jacket needed some work. Its the FZ Merchandise leather version from ebay, it's a nice fit and pretty accurate. But looking at the photos, it looked too new, too shiny, and too...red.
I decided to just take a chance, weather the jacket and add some shadow and contrast. Tools:
- Angelus Leather Preparer & Deglazer (seems like its just watered down acetone)
- Raw Umber acrylic paint
- Tooth brush
- Old cotton tee shirt and paper towels
To start, the leather needed to be prepped before applying paint. I dabbed a little of the deglazer onto the tee, then wiped it gently over the areas i wanted to add shadow. I worked in sections, applying deglazer then paint. Some of the jacket dye comes up on the tee shirt, but doesn't really discolor the jacket. It just helps to knock that shiny top coat off.
To paint, i watered down some raw umber and loaded it on the toothbrush. The brush gave me good control over where the paint goes, and let me get it down into the crevices and seams. To paint a section, I start by applying a good bit of paint along a seam, then brushed it away from the seam to blend it out into the red. As it started to dry, i would dab off any excess paint with the paper towels to vary up the blend and also keep from any hard edges of paint to form. Its important to blend, so you don't have any areas that go dark to light too sharply.
I worked in sections, deglaze, water down paint, brush into seams then make it fade. I thought about where the jacket would get dirty and focused more paint on those areas. Specifically, the under side of the sleeves, the cuffs and bottom edge of the jacket, the sides of the jacket under the arms, around the collar, and down in the deep seams to really make those edges pop and add depth.
Here's how it looked half way done. On the left, unpainted, right has been painted / weathered. Its kind of subtle but it makes a difference.
I continued all the way around, it was really pretty easy. It's hard to mess up making something look messy. Here are some detail shots:
This was a pretty simple project...once I got over the initial fear of painting a leather jacket I paid money for. But I'm really happy with how it turned out. It adds a whole level of depth and dimension, gives it a great worn-in look, and adds some much needed contrast. It also helps to knock down that shine that makes it look like pleather and brings it to life.
Can't wait to wear it again for Halloween!
I was really happy with how I looked, but my jacket needed some work. Its the FZ Merchandise leather version from ebay, it's a nice fit and pretty accurate. But looking at the photos, it looked too new, too shiny, and too...red.
I decided to just take a chance, weather the jacket and add some shadow and contrast. Tools:
- Angelus Leather Preparer & Deglazer (seems like its just watered down acetone)
- Raw Umber acrylic paint
- Tooth brush
- Old cotton tee shirt and paper towels
To start, the leather needed to be prepped before applying paint. I dabbed a little of the deglazer onto the tee, then wiped it gently over the areas i wanted to add shadow. I worked in sections, applying deglazer then paint. Some of the jacket dye comes up on the tee shirt, but doesn't really discolor the jacket. It just helps to knock that shiny top coat off.
To paint, i watered down some raw umber and loaded it on the toothbrush. The brush gave me good control over where the paint goes, and let me get it down into the crevices and seams. To paint a section, I start by applying a good bit of paint along a seam, then brushed it away from the seam to blend it out into the red. As it started to dry, i would dab off any excess paint with the paper towels to vary up the blend and also keep from any hard edges of paint to form. Its important to blend, so you don't have any areas that go dark to light too sharply.
I worked in sections, deglaze, water down paint, brush into seams then make it fade. I thought about where the jacket would get dirty and focused more paint on those areas. Specifically, the under side of the sleeves, the cuffs and bottom edge of the jacket, the sides of the jacket under the arms, around the collar, and down in the deep seams to really make those edges pop and add depth.
Here's how it looked half way done. On the left, unpainted, right has been painted / weathered. Its kind of subtle but it makes a difference.
I continued all the way around, it was really pretty easy. It's hard to mess up making something look messy. Here are some detail shots:
This was a pretty simple project...once I got over the initial fear of painting a leather jacket I paid money for. But I'm really happy with how it turned out. It adds a whole level of depth and dimension, gives it a great worn-in look, and adds some much needed contrast. It also helps to knock down that shine that makes it look like pleather and brings it to life.
Can't wait to wear it again for Halloween!
