One fig I'm working on now has a sort of pectoral held on by large leather straps. How does one properly shade and highlght leather straps? There are no crevices for shade to wash into, and no details to bring out with highlighting. Best I can think of is to drop some shade into where the strap meets the body, and maybe highlight the top edge of the strap, but is that right?
Posted by Greg at September 23, 2007 6:16 PM
To create a faux leather effect on painted walls or furniture, one applies a translucent glaze tinted with a color several shades either lighter or darker than the well-dried undercoat, then promptly presses on the wet glaze un-crumpled craft paper (crumple the paper first to create wrinkles, smooth it out as much as possible, then lay it gently against the glaze, smoothing it down with a wallpaper brush, then peel the paper away carefully to avoid smudging). The effect is one of worn leather & the technique is called "frottage." I've seen it adapted for other purposes than walls or furniture; it possibly could be adapted for yours by using a finer grade of paper than craft.
HTH.
Be well,
Charlotte
I might paint the strap a dark base color, then paint all but the very edges the final color you want, then highlight the edges, leaving only a thin line of the original dark basecoat.
I understand that "frottage" is French for "rubbing" but I've never heard it used in English to mean this particular art technique. This could put a whole new spin on my fantasy sex life.