I have not been able to get the "scale detail" to show up on my duck feet. I have tried to do the "wash coat" but basically wind up painting black spots on the feet.
Appreciate any help.
Thanks,
Bill
Return to Bird Taxidermy Category Menu
Thin it way way down with water, apply it with a paint brush and immediatly wipe the excess off. This will stay in the grooves of the duck legs.
Another way to do this is to use Minwax stain. I have found that the best color to use is Ebony. Once you have completed painting your feet give it a good sealer coat over your color. If you don't the stain will absorb into the color and give you a real dark foot. Allow some time for the sealer coat to dry. Then take a Q-Tip and dip it into the stain. Squeeze out most of the stain from the Q-Tip on a paper towel, then brush this onto your feet. Start off with very light amounts and work your way into darker area. It works well for wood ducks to highlight the knuckles on the toes. Your creativity can flow. This technique is called " antiquing " It will give your feet a lot of life.
Best of luck to you and happy mounting!
Aim for a consistency of paint that is sort of like cream... not really watery - but thin enough that it would definately not be good on a canvas...
When I do a wash, I dilute the paint down to a very watery consistency, but only to the point to where the paint still retains it's color. Then I put it on the feet or what ever I'm washing with a good sable brush. Then take another dry brush and brush over what you just washed. Not hard strokes but fast and light enough to pick up the paint on top. This will give you the detail of the scales or if your doing lets say a turkey head the creases in the head. If your using oils you can dilute the paint with lacquer thinner, or if your using water paints just use plain water. Just make sure your paint are compatable with each other
Coyote
Acrylic matte medium added to your water base paints will thin the pigment and actually thicken the consistency making it very easy to do a wash coat. I will add a little water to the matte/paint mixture to thin it even further.
Its important to note, though, that the method you use for a wash will only be as good as your shrinkage control. Badly shrunken feet will never take a wash no matter what you use.