We are doing Sleeping Beauty at the local junior high. This requires us to "age" the castle room of the evil witch (cob webs, dust that sort of thing). Any ideas on how to apply "permanent" dust or otherwise make the room look like it hasn't been touched for years.
Oh Boy My Favorite ! Distressing a set ! There are a TON of techniques to pursue to get what you are looking for. Obviously < or maybe not > , in the original painting of the set finish it with a "
spatter" technique. usin a
Hudson sprayer, or the brush bristle technique. Heavier
spatter up top workin down to a lighter layer below will give te appearence of age and dirt piling up in the corners. Cobwebs can e accomplished a few diferent ways. One great method is to
purchase a "cobweb
spinner" from a theatrical supply
house. They work fantastic ! they use a Ruber cement-like compound and shoot it accross the set with a fan. It's a blast to
play with, but expensive. I think they run $100.00 for the
spinner te cobweb
juice is cheap though. There are a few cautions to be considered. the cobwebs are flamamble, they can stain sometihngs < not really stain, they have
acetone or lacquer thinner in them and if the webs hit something before drying completely the thinner can discolor the object>
Your M.E. will also get real pissed off if you spray all his fixtures with cobwebs. Another method for cobwebs is using the Halloween type they sell in Party supply stores. When applying them be sure to pull them very thin keep the clumps out and the do quite nicely.
For dust I stick by my previous statements on here. The best way to make dust , specially if you want it to get blown about by someone opening a
book etc, is Rye flour. It's the least allergenic and least harmfull of any other substances. DO NOT USE TALC ! I can't say that enough. Talc contains
asbestos and even by itself will irratate the nasal and lung passages. Hope that helps I have a few more ideas for you but I have to go replace my keyboard before I
throw it at something or somebody.