Work in Progress: Tiny Totem Bobble Birds-Part Two

Last week I showed you a picture of my Tiny Totem Bobble Birds in progress. You can see that post here.  If you don’t feel like following that link, suffice to say that the birdies had recently been cured in the oven and were shown without any color. Just plain ol’ cured white clay.

Now, let’s see how I add color to these cuties.

First, you need alcohol inks, rubbing alcohol, paint brushes and gloves.

Luscious alcohol inks (not for consumption)

And here are the little birdies waiting to be colored.

Hi! We're Waiting

Because I will be teaching a class on how to make these little birdies, I can’t share all the specific details on how to create and paint them at this time. Please enjoy these process pictures as each piece is colored. Humming your favorite song while looking at the pictures might be fun. For some reason the theme song from Jeopardy, the one they play when people are writing their answers to the final question, popped into my head.

Do not, however, hum “The Girl from Impanea.” You know what will happen if you do. Just sayin’.

Tiny Totem Bobble Bird “Spike”

Coloring the top side of Spike

Add a Green collar

Gotta have fuchsia spiky hair

All done & waiting

Tiny Totem Bobble Bird “Wing”

Don't 'cha love my tangerine wings?

A nice warm yellow for the bod.

Heart-beat

Green hair & a yellow neck

Tout fait, for now.

You may have noticed that I use both Pinata & Ranger alcohol inks. On “Wing” above I decided to only use the Pinata alcohol inks. I noticed a big difference between the two brands almost immediately. The Pinata inks appear to dry with a glossy sheen whereas the Ranger inks appear to dry with a matte finish.

If you use alcohol inks, have you noticed this difference?

To continue this further, I’m going to put a coat of Kato liquid clay on “Spike,” dry it with a heat gun, and see what happens. Will he end up with a shiny coat or will all his colors meld and patina with the liquid clay?

Stay tuned for more pictures of “Spike” and “Wings.”

Oh, if you’re interested in learning how to make these little birdies, leave a comment below that you’d like class information & I can add you to my newsletter list.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!