if i mix translucent polymer clay with acrylic paint

Sometimes real metal, with its strength and shine, will work better than faux polymer metal or real stones will glimmer and give a piece the needed weight that faux polymer stones cannot.

We’re not talking just paint here either-this applies to any material. In other words, each material has its strengths and so why not employ them based on those strengths?Īs an artist, one should use the material that suits the end result desired if the material and the skills to use them are available to them. The facts are that it is easy to get smooth, uniform color using polymer clay but can be tricky with paint and it is easy to get variation in a field of color with paint but takes more work than it is often worth to get a similar effect in clay. On the other hand, paint which is applied in layers can so readily be everything from dense and uniform to translucent and feathery to gritty and splattered. The fact is, the color in polymer clay only pieces tends to be fairly uniform since we are working with a material which is colored throughout making it fairly difficult to achieve an organic variation and imperfect diffusion of color. So, if its sculptural qualities are primarily what the artist needs from the material, then why not use whatever kind of treatment gives the surface the color and feel the artist finds most appealing or fitting for the work? Polymer has other qualities beyond it’s color, primarily its sculptural characteristics including the ability to hold very fine detail. It’s not wrong to change or obscure the wood’s natural look. For instance, I prefer woodwork that has been treated with nothing but oil and wax to let the natural beauty shine through but wood that is stained or painted can result in beautiful work as well. Well, a material can be gorgeous on its own, but what the artist wants out of that material may be other qualities beyond its inherent visual ones. With a strong love for the material, those crafters were simply strong proponents of letting the material shine through. This was also a time when polymer was fighting for its place in the art world and competitions for polymer were being won by pieces that were not wholly polymer which heavily irritated those who strove to create only with polymer clay. This sentiment was rooted in the thought that since polymer is already colored, painting would be superfluous if not downright heretical. There were many comments about how painting on polymer was not “working in polymer” and therefore I should not be writing about it on a polymer blog. I think painting on polymer has found its place in our repertoire of techniques but statistically (and I’m just looking at the stats I have available from the blog and the general response to articles) I don’t think it gets quite the regard that other techniques do and it makes me wonder if people still steer away from it, even when it might be the best choice.Īges ago, I unintentionally incited a heated conversation about painting on polymer through a blog post where all the color and the focal point of the piece was painted. Have you ever used paint on polymer? If so, why did you chose to paint it rather than use the inherent color? This question is at the heart of a kind of prejudice against paint that used to be rather prevalent in the polymer community.

If i mix translucent polymer clay with acrylic paint