I felt a little guilty (at first) about buying and reading Harrison’s Krix’s excellent ebook, Painting and Weathering for Props and Replicas. Part of being a maker is discovery by making, and this guy decided to take all his years of success (or rather, failures) and teach us all how to properly mix paints and finishing techniques for eight measly bucks. Can you believe the nerve!?
Sure, the book is amazing, without a word wasted, and covers all the topics I had hoped it would, and more. His simple chart on “Paint Interactions” — when to mix enamel, lacquer and acrylic and in which order — is worth twice the amount of this whole book. I’ve ruined a few sculpture pieces myself testing out paints, yet I’ve never put in the hours like Krix has. But I guess I don’t have to now. If I were Krix, I’d be laying in bed at night worrying about how many amazing prop builders he just seeded. I’m sure he’ll be out of a job soon… well, good for him. He deserves it for selling this for the equivalent of two venti mocha frappuccinos. Grab this ebook before he wakes up and realizes that he just torpedoed his career. That’ll show him.
Wetsanding, priming, decals, and faking different materials through painting are laid out with big photos and easy to understand techniques. One of my favorite pieces Harrison has made is Halo’s Needler, and he specifically lays out his steps he took to make the amazing futuristic texture and finish. I think I’ll knock one out this weekend, just to *show him*.
What really grinds my gears is how Krix excessively documents his builds on his Facebook and flickr, further proving I’m way lazier than he is. (See the gallery at the top of this page for examples of his work.) Well, ha ha Krix, I’m coming for you. Sucker.
Now, if only this guy would make an ebook how to make props. I mean, it can’t be *that* hard, right?
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