Ok, I had to get this horse, or at least, parts of this horse past the really ‘ewwwww’ stage so I could even come close to describing the technique I use for roaning, rabicanos, sabinos…whatever has a roaned out look to it. This first photo shows the horse after the first layer of ‘ticking’. The brush I’m using for this is a Kolinsky Reservoir Liner, series 1310, size 2. This brush works very well for me for this technique. Of course, you don’t have to use exactly what I use. Any good, super fine point liner brush will work.
Ok, so back to this first layer. The color used for this was a mix of Medium Gray (Folkart is what I had on hand) and Titan Buff by Golden Fluid Acrylics. I just dip my brush in water first, then in the gray, then just the tip in the buff and mix them until I get a shade just a hair lighter than the medium gray. I want my acrylics thinned but not too thin or they will ‘bleed’ instead of holding a sharp line. I always wipe them across a paper towel before I go to the horse with them. That will help soak up extra moisture that will cause them to bleed. I apply my acrylics in teensy eensy brushstrokes (most often spots or specks and not actual strokes). This takes FOREVER for me to do because I have to constantly refer to hair charts and super duper large photos of my own horses so I can be very aware of every little swirl, whirl and hair direction shift. But the first layer takes the longest in my experience. After roughly about 19 hours spaced out over 4 days of working on this horse I had the first layer at a point where I could stop. Here ya go, a pic of the side and a pic of the belly
Though this looked ok up close (color wise), when I sat the horse on the shelf I realized I could barely see this whole first layer. Perhaps I should have gone lighter with my mix. At any rate, it was a little sickening but I could still make it work just fine. If you look closely you will see a variety of different types of marks. The strokes would get longer as I rapidly lost my patience and focus. When this starts to happen I put the horse down and work on something else.
So, for my next layer I used Quaker Gray by Ceramcoat along with the Medium Gray and Titan Buff. The Quaker Gray is used to lighten the mix but still keep it ‘gray’ in color. I won’t even bust out any white until probably the very last layer. And heck, the horse might not even need it at the end and I can use by Titan Buff as my ‘lightener’. For this layer I don’t mind doing a bit longer stroke in the areas that I know will need multiple layers. When I say a longer stroke, I’m still talking tiny, tiny stroke, not some big streak. Like, about 1/32” or thereabouts. Nothing will funky up a nice roan-y look like a bunch of long strokes.
So here is a photo with side by side difference of the look of one layer vs. two layers. The center of the belly is obviously the division.
And then here is a photo of a section that has, oh I don’t know, maybe 7-8 layers on it (the flank). And basically I’ve just hovered in this same area applying more acrylics. Each layer being just a teensy bit lighter than the last. For probably the 5th layer on I stuck with strictly Quaker Gray mixed with a small amount of Titan Buff. I left the Medium Gray out of those later layers.
And finally, I am getting out of the ‘ewwww’ stage. At least in that flank. The acrylics have not been sealed in at this point since I use a carbide scraper to remove areas or shape brushstrokes that are too big. I want to make sure I'm thoroughly happy with the acrylics before I seal. I'm not saying be finished with them, I just need to be at a happy spot. Remember sealer makes you commit to your mistakes. You can still fix things after sealer has been applied but it's going to be a lot more difficult.
NOTE: No white has been used AT ALL on this horse yet. Not in the mixes or anything.
If you notice choppy areas that look like they are lighter or darker those are stop marks or edges where I stopped my brushstrokes. It will take more layers to smooth and even that out. Don’t worry, it’s coming. And of course she is not going to have such defined stripes down the sides. She is still in 'rough draft' mode.
And just for example, here are the 3 colors I’ve been using and here are the little dried piles on my plates so you can get a better idea of the actual color going onto the plate.
I’m not even close to being done yet so stay tuned, it will get better. I promise!
Very interesting, Jaime! I love the underside :-) I do mine sort of the same, except I start with colored pencils. Each layer of colored pencils gets the color knocked back, similar to pastels, so after 3-4 coats it starts building up, and then I start using a brush for the final layers. I feel like I have more hand control with pencils, but I may try something like this to see how it works -- it looks faster! How can you work so fast? It takes me a week just to do one side!
ReplyDeleteGood grief, I don't work fast! LOL! That's 7 days of work just in the rabicano markings alone on her and she's still just got the one layer on the other side. She still probably needs a good solid 2 weeks to finish just the rabicano stuff. Maybe more. With enough praying, maybe less:) This is the first Traditional rabicano I've done so I'm a little nauseous about how long it's taking me. I used to do all of my roaning and such with white charcoal pencil but with enough practice the brush just lends a much smaller line for me. There is a huge learning curve to the brush I use though. Once you get the hang of it, it's easier to use and I have more control over it than I do a pencil. It's all what you get used to:) The one thing quicker about the acrylics is you don't have to worry about smearing them before you seal like I would with pencil. And I can do several layers of acrylic without sealing. So, that DOES make it a little faster. But it sure doesn't feel fast while I'm doing it. Ugghhh!!
ReplyDeleteSo do you work in one, say, 1" spot at a time, or do you go in a diagonal pattern as not to get the hairs all lined up in a row and create that "too straight" look or what? It's the not knowing where to start that has always caused me the most trouble.
ReplyDeleteI work in probably 1 square inch sections. Maybe smaller, heck maybe larger. It kinda depends on where I'm at on the body. And yeah, I work diagonally generally speaking just because no matter where I'm at on the horse, the hair pattern is diagonal. About the only time you're going to hit straight vertical with hairs is on the face (cheeks) and legs...and the back of the butt cheeks.
ReplyDeleteThe very first thing I do with the rabicanos is the stripes. Then once I get them where I'm happy with them, I realize that the spacing is wrong or they are too wide or something is just wrong with them and I redo them. I have yet to get it right the first time. But I get the landmarks in first. The stripes, any larger areas of patterns (e.g. flanks, in between front legs) and then I focus on the hair pattern. That whole first layer is JUST to focus on the hair pattern. Then I can deal with building up layers and focusing on the pattern itself. It's the same with my dapple grays. The first layer is always the hardest, the next ones are much easier because I'm not checking references for hair patterns. I can just follow what is already laid down on the horse. Hopefully that makes sense:)
Would these same shades work on bay, strawberry, & palomino roans as well?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! If you look at the very first post on the blog (there's only 3, so not a lot of searching for it:)) you'll see a little chestnut sabino. The same colors were used on all of the ticking. The only straight white was used in the center of the sabino spots and the face and leg markings. No matter what my base color is (bay, chestnut, black, etc) I've found that white, pale gray, and pale beige/cream are the colors to mix to keep the whites from being so stark and contrasty and keeps the overall look a bit softer in my opinion. Hope that helps!
ReplyDelete