Rock skin

[Peyton]

No, not skin you get from rockin out too hard.

I will be creating some rocks that are supposed to be dark, possibly black, and shiny or glittery. I want mostly black, with enough metallic to show through and reflect light well. I thought Rosco had some sort of cine-gel for this, but when I checked my swatchbook, I was wrong.

For the record, this is what I am thinking of, but in a cave:
http://www.chemistryland.com/ElementarySchool/BuildingBlocks/obsidianBoulder.jpg

Does anybody have any ideas for something like this?

 

[derekleffew]

Originally, I was thinking of bronzing powders, but the effect in the picture

looks like it could be replicated with a gloss medium such as polyurethane finish.

 

[Drmafreek]

I agree with Derek. In a situation where I would be matching that picture I would use a variety of scenic painting techniques to create the look. Looking at the picture, and ignoring the light reflection, I would probably do a streaky black with a variety of grays, however minimal the grays appear. The thing with theatrical productions is that texture helps give scenery a 3 dimensional look.

Then I would finish with a glossy polyurethane that you can pick up at Home Depot or pretty much any other hardware store.

Now, will these rocks be climbed on? What type of material are you creating the rocks from? How far away is the viewer (this affects the paint treatment)? Figured I would ask so I can give the most comprehensive answer possible.

 

[Axislights]

I've used blacks and grays for the rocks first, then threw a handfull of small glitter in a bucket of gloss and sprayed that over it.

 

[BrianWolfe]

Use the same techniques you would for marble. Layer up the colors and highlights, then a nice heavy clearcoat. To take it further you can sand the clearcoat with a very fine sandpaper then wax it up with some butcher's wax to give it a softer patina and soft gloss like your photo.

 

[Drmafreek]

Brian:

I like the waxing idea. I'll have to try it on a smaller show sometime.

 

[Peyton]

The rocks don't need to be structural; nobody will be climbing on them (I hope). They will be seen from about 20 and more feet away.

I think I'll do paper mache and then put some sort of resin/clear coat on, paint it matte black with gray texture, and top it off with another clear coat.

 

[thatactorguy]

My first thought when I saw the example photo was black plastic, as in garbage bags or that 3 mil sheeting. Thinking a frame of 1x4s, chicken wire, glue plastic to it, paint to suit.

Sounds like a recipe now that I look back at it. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. why not?

 

[Peyton]

Sounds like a recipe now that I look back at it. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. why not?

if you have a large enough oven, it might make some pretty cool looking rocks

 

[thatactorguy]

if you have a large enough oven, it might make some pretty cool looking rocks

Or one that gets hot enough, lol. I was kidding about the cooking part, just to be clear My idea ended with the first paragraph...