Kire von Banhammer
03-12-2009, 06:49 AM
Welcome! Welcome!
Alot of you new customizers have been asking me some questions about the art of mugg customizing, so I decided to consoldate the popular questions into 1 thread for the ease of browsing! So lets begin!
Q: Should I wash my mugg before I paint it?
A: Yes you should. A mugg has a thin film from the air of the factory to the finishing gloss and may even have invisible dirt and grease on it. A good scrubbing with dish soap and water will remove all this undesirable muck from your mugg giving your paint a smoother finish, eliminating the risk of bubbles or not drying due to grease.
Q: Should I prime my mugg?
A: YES! I can not stress this enough people. Priming is the most crucial part of the preliminary mugg making process! Not only does it give you a fresh "canvas" to work on, it will ensure that you get the best paint coverage! Paint also sticks better to a primed mugg and will take less coats. I personally recommend Krylon Primer in white for light color customs, in grey for darker colors.
Q: I will be doing some sculpting on my mugg, what do you use to sculpt?
A: I use a combination of "super sculpey" and "aves apoxy sculpt". The super sculpey can be found at most hobby stores for about 13 bucks for a good amount, the aves apoxy sculpt I have found is available only through online retailers. Search it on ebay or google, you'll find it.
Q: What kind of paints should I use on my custom?
A: I know this question is open to debate on what the "best" way to paint a custom mugg is. Some say its acrylics, some say its enamel model paints some have even developed a skill with paint markers, but I prefer a nice combination and get the best from all worlds! The majority of the paints I use are all brands of Acrylics. I have found very little difference in the different brands, the biggest difference is the price. Really, that's it. I'm not loyal to one brand or the other, just buy the colors you want. For metallic colors, I use the Testors Enamel model paints, it always gives a smoother "metal" finish than acrylics and will also come out more shiny than it's acrylic counterpart.
Q: I'm done painting my mugg, am I finished?
A: No you are not. To officially finish a mugg, You need to coat your masterpiece with some sort of protective gloss. Using a gloss will help protect your mugg, even out the paint and give your mugg a more professional look and feel. For Lestat Customs, I use a "Matte" finish gloss. A "matte" finish will provide a nice satin finish to your mugg and eliminate that distracting glare. Unless you like having your character blind people when light reflects off of it, then go with a "gloss" finish.
Q: What kind of brushes do you use?
A: I use genuine horse hair brushes. You can buy these in a variety pack at any hobby shop or walmart.
Q: How do I make custom accessories?
A: Custom accessories are a whole different story. The easiest way for this problem is to find accessories from other toys and just give them to your mugg. But, if you don't want to cheap out, accessories can be made a number of ways. One of the more simple ways is to modify an existing mugg weapon. Its easy because you know it will already fit in the muggs hand and you have a strong base to work off with. Try carving the weapon down with an x-acto blade to the desired shape, then use your sculpting material to shape on the details. You can also use Balsa wood to add on to accessories. Balsa wood is very easy to carve and sand into any desired shape, but it is very brittle and will break if handled wrong, so be careful. If you want an example of what can be done with balsa wood, check here: http://www.mightymuggsforum.com/showthread.php?t=6174. Once you are done sculpting/ adding to your accessory, prime it and paint it as you would your mugg. Also make sure you spray your protective gloss on it as well.
I hope this helps you newbies out, if you have a question that is not answered on here, feel free to PM me with it and I will update this thread with all the questions I receive. Enjoy!;)
Alot of you new customizers have been asking me some questions about the art of mugg customizing, so I decided to consoldate the popular questions into 1 thread for the ease of browsing! So lets begin!
Q: Should I wash my mugg before I paint it?
A: Yes you should. A mugg has a thin film from the air of the factory to the finishing gloss and may even have invisible dirt and grease on it. A good scrubbing with dish soap and water will remove all this undesirable muck from your mugg giving your paint a smoother finish, eliminating the risk of bubbles or not drying due to grease.
Q: Should I prime my mugg?
A: YES! I can not stress this enough people. Priming is the most crucial part of the preliminary mugg making process! Not only does it give you a fresh "canvas" to work on, it will ensure that you get the best paint coverage! Paint also sticks better to a primed mugg and will take less coats. I personally recommend Krylon Primer in white for light color customs, in grey for darker colors.
Q: I will be doing some sculpting on my mugg, what do you use to sculpt?
A: I use a combination of "super sculpey" and "aves apoxy sculpt". The super sculpey can be found at most hobby stores for about 13 bucks for a good amount, the aves apoxy sculpt I have found is available only through online retailers. Search it on ebay or google, you'll find it.
Q: What kind of paints should I use on my custom?
A: I know this question is open to debate on what the "best" way to paint a custom mugg is. Some say its acrylics, some say its enamel model paints some have even developed a skill with paint markers, but I prefer a nice combination and get the best from all worlds! The majority of the paints I use are all brands of Acrylics. I have found very little difference in the different brands, the biggest difference is the price. Really, that's it. I'm not loyal to one brand or the other, just buy the colors you want. For metallic colors, I use the Testors Enamel model paints, it always gives a smoother "metal" finish than acrylics and will also come out more shiny than it's acrylic counterpart.
Q: I'm done painting my mugg, am I finished?
A: No you are not. To officially finish a mugg, You need to coat your masterpiece with some sort of protective gloss. Using a gloss will help protect your mugg, even out the paint and give your mugg a more professional look and feel. For Lestat Customs, I use a "Matte" finish gloss. A "matte" finish will provide a nice satin finish to your mugg and eliminate that distracting glare. Unless you like having your character blind people when light reflects off of it, then go with a "gloss" finish.
Q: What kind of brushes do you use?
A: I use genuine horse hair brushes. You can buy these in a variety pack at any hobby shop or walmart.
Q: How do I make custom accessories?
A: Custom accessories are a whole different story. The easiest way for this problem is to find accessories from other toys and just give them to your mugg. But, if you don't want to cheap out, accessories can be made a number of ways. One of the more simple ways is to modify an existing mugg weapon. Its easy because you know it will already fit in the muggs hand and you have a strong base to work off with. Try carving the weapon down with an x-acto blade to the desired shape, then use your sculpting material to shape on the details. You can also use Balsa wood to add on to accessories. Balsa wood is very easy to carve and sand into any desired shape, but it is very brittle and will break if handled wrong, so be careful. If you want an example of what can be done with balsa wood, check here: http://www.mightymuggsforum.com/showthread.php?t=6174. Once you are done sculpting/ adding to your accessory, prime it and paint it as you would your mugg. Also make sure you spray your protective gloss on it as well.
I hope this helps you newbies out, if you have a question that is not answered on here, feel free to PM me with it and I will update this thread with all the questions I receive. Enjoy!;)