Post by DugFinn on Apr 21, 2009 0:23:49 GMT -5
How I Made...
Pit's Sacred Bow!
Tutorial type: Experimental.
I wanted to revisit my old techniques in Paper Mache, so I decided to do this little project. Even so, I just had to use plastic (corrugated plastic instead of cardboard). I've just spoiled myself with plastic so I don't really think I could ever go back to cardboard. Mm mm! Love that plastic! Still though, I now remember why I both loved and yet let go of paper mache...
I did a lot of experimenting on this project. Some things I found out worked well, others, not so well. Still, this is how I figure out what works and what doesn't work. And now, I pass that info onto you.
Materials I used:
- Reference Photos!
- Corrugated plastic (can be substituted by cardboard or foamboard)
- Marker
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Poster board (can be substituted by paper, newspaper, etc)
- 1" PVC pipe
- table clamp
- pipe cutter
- Thick and light weight rope or twine
- Hot glue gun & hot glue sticks
- Clear and fast drying fabric glue (I used Fabri-tac)
- Tape (just in case)
- Newspaper
- Wood Glue (I use Titebond II)
- Latex or Enamel House Paint
- Paint Mixer (I used chop sticks)
- Large 1" brush
- Small detail brush
- Patching Plaster
- Puddy Knife
- Sand paper #80 or #100 and #200 or higher
- Rub N' Buff
- Clothes with designs on them
- Acrylic paint the same color as fabric
- Epoxy Resin (I used Easy Cast)
- Clothes Pins
- Neodymium Magnets (N50)
- Plasti-Dip (optional)
Procedure!
Step 1: Draw and cut out of the poster board (or paper or newspaper) the 2-D shape of the prop. In this case, the sacred bow sword shape. Trace it onto the corrugated plastic (or posterboard or cardboard) and cut it out.
Step 2: Draw and cut out of the poster board (or paper or newspaper) the 2-D shape of the gem (blue part) of the bow. Trace that onto the plastic sword pieces with the marker.
Step 3: Using the hot glue, follow the marker path with the rope or twine. Do this a few times until it creates a raised up 3-D impression on the plastic. Stay away from the edges of the plastic. Try to hot glue it on in a way where the highest parts are close to the marker line and then taper off halfway to the edge of the plastic.
Step 4: Draw the 2-D intersecting pieces of the hilt part on the poster board, trace them on the plastic and cut them out. Hot glue them into place to create a 3-D intersecting hilt.
Step 5: Time to paper mache the blade! Stay away from the hilt and don't bother paper macheing the center of the sword since its going to be covered by fabric anyways. Let this dry while you do the next part.
Step 6:Measure the length of how long you want the hilt to be and mark that on the PVC pipe with the marker. Add about 5 cm extra to the length just to be on the safe side. You can always go back and cut it down more later.
Step 7:Clamp the PVC pipe into the table clamp. Use the pipe cutter to cut the PVC pipe to the correct sizes. You should have two equal sized PVC pipes about 13 cm long each (the exact size depends on the size of your sword blades).
Step 8:Cut slits into the plastic that shoots down from the hilt so that you can easily slide the PVC pipe up and into the hilt. Use hot glue to attach it. Use the hot glue to cover the hole at the top of the PVC pipe that directly attaches it to the hilt.
Step 9: Mix up about 1 oz of epoxy resin or fiber glass resin (a quick cure resin is best for this) and pour it down the shaft of the PVC pipe so that it cures where the hilt and the PVC pipe meet. This will stabilize the whole prop and allow for quick swinging motions, will reduce the strain on the blade, which will keep the paint job and paper mache on the hilt from cracking later on too. Hang the blades up to dry/cure upside down (PVC pipe opening facing upwards). Hang them using the clothes line hangers.
Step 10: Once the resin is cured, do a few more coats of paper mache on the blades. Paper mache the hilt too. Don't paper mache the PVC pipe. Take the blades outside and let them dry in the sun for maximum hardness (the "drier" the mache, the harder the strength). You can hang them outside in the sun on a clothes line using the clothes line hangers.
Step 11: Once everything is dry, paint the pieces in Primer paint (latex or enamel paint mixed with wood glue). If you can, use black or a dark color paint (rub N' Buff works better on black and dark colors). Don't paint the PVC pipe or bother painting the center of the sword. Apply a few more coats. Let this dry completely. Hang it in the Sun again if you can and it will dry far quicker.
Step 12: Once the paint is dry, use the puddy knife and apply a thick coat of patching plaster to all of the areas on the blade part that are not smooth. Use the sand paper grit #80 or #100 to hand sand the plaster evenly. Reapply the patching plaster again and sand again as many times as you need to get the shape and smoothness you want. Tip: the better and smoother a job you did on the paper mache part back in step 5 and step 10, the less difficult and annoying this step will be. Also, don't forget to wear a dust mask.
Step 13: Repeat step 11. Let dry completely, then sand using grit #200 or higher. Clean the sword and dust it off. Clean it with a lightly damp towel. Now put on the Rub N' Buff.
Step 14: Using the inner pattern piece of the blue gem you made in step 2, cut out two gem pieces out of fabric. Lay it on the inside of the sword part and glue it in. Use a glue that won't create bumps (so don't use hot glue). I recomend a fast drying clear glue like Fabri-tac.
Step 15: Using the acrylic paint that matches the fabric, paint in any area to cover the imperfection. I also extended the "cut" of the fabric, like in the hilt, to make it look nicer.
To be continued... (tomorrow, because right now I'm tired and hungry, rawr!)
Pit's Sacred Bow!
Tutorial type: Experimental.
I wanted to revisit my old techniques in Paper Mache, so I decided to do this little project. Even so, I just had to use plastic (corrugated plastic instead of cardboard). I've just spoiled myself with plastic so I don't really think I could ever go back to cardboard. Mm mm! Love that plastic! Still though, I now remember why I both loved and yet let go of paper mache...
I did a lot of experimenting on this project. Some things I found out worked well, others, not so well. Still, this is how I figure out what works and what doesn't work. And now, I pass that info onto you.
Materials I used:
- Reference Photos!
- Corrugated plastic (can be substituted by cardboard or foamboard)
- Marker
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Poster board (can be substituted by paper, newspaper, etc)
- 1" PVC pipe
- table clamp
- pipe cutter
- Thick and light weight rope or twine
- Hot glue gun & hot glue sticks
- Clear and fast drying fabric glue (I used Fabri-tac)
- Tape (just in case)
- Newspaper
- Wood Glue (I use Titebond II)
- Latex or Enamel House Paint
- Paint Mixer (I used chop sticks)
- Large 1" brush
- Small detail brush
- Patching Plaster
- Puddy Knife
- Sand paper #80 or #100 and #200 or higher
- Rub N' Buff
- Clothes with designs on them
- Acrylic paint the same color as fabric
- Epoxy Resin (I used Easy Cast)
- Clothes Pins
- Neodymium Magnets (N50)
- Plasti-Dip (optional)
Procedure!
Step 1: Draw and cut out of the poster board (or paper or newspaper) the 2-D shape of the prop. In this case, the sacred bow sword shape. Trace it onto the corrugated plastic (or posterboard or cardboard) and cut it out.
Step 2: Draw and cut out of the poster board (or paper or newspaper) the 2-D shape of the gem (blue part) of the bow. Trace that onto the plastic sword pieces with the marker.
Step 3: Using the hot glue, follow the marker path with the rope or twine. Do this a few times until it creates a raised up 3-D impression on the plastic. Stay away from the edges of the plastic. Try to hot glue it on in a way where the highest parts are close to the marker line and then taper off halfway to the edge of the plastic.
Step 4: Draw the 2-D intersecting pieces of the hilt part on the poster board, trace them on the plastic and cut them out. Hot glue them into place to create a 3-D intersecting hilt.
Step 5: Time to paper mache the blade! Stay away from the hilt and don't bother paper macheing the center of the sword since its going to be covered by fabric anyways. Let this dry while you do the next part.
Step 6:Measure the length of how long you want the hilt to be and mark that on the PVC pipe with the marker. Add about 5 cm extra to the length just to be on the safe side. You can always go back and cut it down more later.
Step 7:Clamp the PVC pipe into the table clamp. Use the pipe cutter to cut the PVC pipe to the correct sizes. You should have two equal sized PVC pipes about 13 cm long each (the exact size depends on the size of your sword blades).
Step 8:Cut slits into the plastic that shoots down from the hilt so that you can easily slide the PVC pipe up and into the hilt. Use hot glue to attach it. Use the hot glue to cover the hole at the top of the PVC pipe that directly attaches it to the hilt.
Step 9: Mix up about 1 oz of epoxy resin or fiber glass resin (a quick cure resin is best for this) and pour it down the shaft of the PVC pipe so that it cures where the hilt and the PVC pipe meet. This will stabilize the whole prop and allow for quick swinging motions, will reduce the strain on the blade, which will keep the paint job and paper mache on the hilt from cracking later on too. Hang the blades up to dry/cure upside down (PVC pipe opening facing upwards). Hang them using the clothes line hangers.
Step 10: Once the resin is cured, do a few more coats of paper mache on the blades. Paper mache the hilt too. Don't paper mache the PVC pipe. Take the blades outside and let them dry in the sun for maximum hardness (the "drier" the mache, the harder the strength). You can hang them outside in the sun on a clothes line using the clothes line hangers.
Step 11: Once everything is dry, paint the pieces in Primer paint (latex or enamel paint mixed with wood glue). If you can, use black or a dark color paint (rub N' Buff works better on black and dark colors). Don't paint the PVC pipe or bother painting the center of the sword. Apply a few more coats. Let this dry completely. Hang it in the Sun again if you can and it will dry far quicker.
Step 12: Once the paint is dry, use the puddy knife and apply a thick coat of patching plaster to all of the areas on the blade part that are not smooth. Use the sand paper grit #80 or #100 to hand sand the plaster evenly. Reapply the patching plaster again and sand again as many times as you need to get the shape and smoothness you want. Tip: the better and smoother a job you did on the paper mache part back in step 5 and step 10, the less difficult and annoying this step will be. Also, don't forget to wear a dust mask.
Step 13: Repeat step 11. Let dry completely, then sand using grit #200 or higher. Clean the sword and dust it off. Clean it with a lightly damp towel. Now put on the Rub N' Buff.
Step 14: Using the inner pattern piece of the blue gem you made in step 2, cut out two gem pieces out of fabric. Lay it on the inside of the sword part and glue it in. Use a glue that won't create bumps (so don't use hot glue). I recomend a fast drying clear glue like Fabri-tac.
Step 15: Using the acrylic paint that matches the fabric, paint in any area to cover the imperfection. I also extended the "cut" of the fabric, like in the hilt, to make it look nicer.
To be continued... (tomorrow, because right now I'm tired and hungry, rawr!)
