Before you Begin:
- This method is more involved than painting, but the results are superb. Metallic paints just won't give the same shine.
- Without a overcoat, the foil will rub off similar to acrylic paints. Unfortunately, gloss coats tend to dull the shine> You must decide if your figure will be handled enough to warrant an overcoating.
- Some non-art supply stores sell a "foil leaf" that is much thicker than true foil leaf. (real foil sheets are thinner than human hair) The thicker foil will obscure details when applied, so don't be tempted to use the cheap stuff.
- Foil leaves are VERY delicate. Special care must be taken when working with them. The breeze from an air conditioner or heater may be enough to tear the sheets. BE CAREFUL.
- The cool thing about the oil size is it's exactness. Sign painters used to use leaf on doors, those shiny letters in banks, for example... so if you apply the size in very specific areas, let it set up, then lay the leaf, you burnish it down with a cotton ball, and it only adheres to the size, leaving the rest of the area untouched...
Step 1
Apply the size over any pieces you want metallic, then let cure.
Step 2
Lay the leaf on top of the cured size, then burnish it down by gently rubbing a cotton swab over the leaf in a circular motion. (If you use a back and forth motion it sometimes mars the leaf)
Step 3
Admire!
