Antique Color For Silver Steelhead??

I don’t antique but I do like to paint my blanks a dark color. Under Ricks thread for this month I did a barracuda and that whole blank was painted with a charcoal color then I hand painted the scales in and the followed with paints.
Doing anything in a sliver phase you should think like how a mirror is done. Black background follow by silvers. I even dud this a palomino trout painted it dark then color it in. It’s not hard once you get used to thinking this way.

 

I never start out dark on silver fish but that just me, and I like to buck Frank on the idea of doing so! Hehehehe

 

I paint all my Chromers dark , dark grey
Then light em up with powders

 

I have several of Rick's steelhead/rainbow videos. He pretty much did the same thing you mentioned for all of them. Same thing for chrome-phased salmon.

Mine have all turned out fantastic using his technique. There are so many layers that I wouldn't worry at all about starting off dark. Once you antique most of the dark on the scales is pretty much gone. Contrast is super important and what you want!

Tipping with silver is what really brings out the chrome. Once the silver tipping is done it's possible to lightly blend in the olive back by using other colors plus additional tipping, powders, etc (as desired).

The nice thing about it....if you aren't happy with something it's super easy to start over until you get exactly what you want! My biggest tip in this process is to use super light coats and DON"T over-apply!

 

The real question is do you guys make any money after all that time?

 

It does take a lot of time! I do it for my own personal pieces so it’s worth it to me!

 

This all depends on your own painting steps and proficiency.

I encourage you to consider your approach within the context of your reference. What does it show "between the scales." On your reference, I doubt you are seeing very much "black" even when you are seeing black. How do you intend to replicate the scale and in-between scale colors?

I don't know about the relationship of mirrors and fish, but I have seen that contrast can be friend or foe depending on application. Without precise application, it can be a hard road imo.

Ricks videos are a great jumping off point. Your concerns show you are already working past what others tell you to do. This is favorable for your personal development. You're trending in a positive direction, imo, I hope you follow this path.