The Perfect Color to Match

Tutorial August 21, 2018

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When making parts of cosplay that don’t involve sewing, one of the most exciting moments in the process is when what you’re working on is primed, sealed, and otherwise ready for a nice paint job.

The right color can make or break a character, especially if the colors are too off.

I wanted to use this opportunity to share some of the paints that I used for my cosplays and any general thoughts about them. I will expand on this list in the future as I create and paint more things.

Cosplays

Andy – Americana: Calico Red (Boots), DecoArt Dazzling Metallics:  Shimmering Silver (Wrench)

Gastly – Quick Color: Flat Black (Head), Apple Barrel: Diva Pink (Mouth)

Pumpkin Rapper – Ceramcoat: Jubilee Green (Tendrils)

Koffing – Colortool Spray: Purple (Body), Quick Color: Flat White (Skull), Apple Barrel: Diva Pink (Mouth)

Curling Veigar – Rust-Oleum: Metallic (Claws and Shoes), Craft Essentials: Tropical Mango (Broom)

Chimney Sweeper – Quick Color: Flat Black (Broom)

Ike – Apple Barrel: Cobalt Blue (Blue Parts), Ceramcoat: Antique Gold (Gold Parts)

Renegade Talon – Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch 2X: Dark Gray (Blades),  Quick Color: Flat White (Spikes)

Kuvira Armyman – Rust-Oleum: Metallic (Silver Parts), Rust-Oleum Textured: Aged Iron (Helmet)

Hiro Hamada – Krylon Shimmer Metallic: Candy Grape/Purple Shimmer (Armor)

Skull Kid – Montana Black: Kicking Yellow (Yellow), Montana White: Caipirinha (Green), Montana White: Chili (Red), Montana White: Heaven (Blue), Montana Gold: Power Orange (Orange), Montana Gold: Shock Lilac (Purple)

Poe Dameron – Quick Color: Flat White (Respirator), Rust-Oleum: Metallic (Silver Parts)

Omega Squad Teemo – Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch 2X: Dark Gray (Shoes, Gloves, Gun), Quick Color: Flat Black (Gun), Rust-Oleum: Metallic (Gun)

Chandelure – Quick Color: Flat Black (Black Parts), Rust-Oleum: Frosted Glass (Frosted Panes)

Alolan Ash – Apple Barrel: Cobalt Blue (Dark Blue Parts), Ceramcoat: Blue Bayou (Light Blue Parts)

Keaton Fox – Montana Black: Kicking Yellow (Mask), Quick Color: Flat Black (Ear Tips)

Climbing Gear Link with Bokoblin Mask – Montana White: Caipirinha (Bokoblin Mask Eye), Ceramcoat: Mermaid Blue (Bokoblin Mask Eye), Montana Gold: Roof (Buckles), Montana Black: Kicking Yellow (Buckles)

Thoughts About Paints

• Quick Color – Super cheap. Spray head works well. The flat black looks great, but it does require a few coats. White seems a little off. I would go with a different brand for matte white. At 10 ounces, you’ll often need more than one can to finish a project.
• Colortool – A bit more expensive than other sprays. Would go with Rust-Oleum or Krylon is color isn’t exactly and issue. The spray head and color looks great.
• Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch 2X – Super easy to use. You don’t need to have so many coats compared to other spray paints.
• Rust-Oleum: Metallic – You don’t need to many applications to achieve desired results. Haven’t had a problem with nozzle blockage.
• Montana Black/White – Great color. Need to worry about cleaning the nozzle after spray painting.
• Montana Gold – Superior color. Doesn’t go on quite as easily as Painter’s Touch 2X but the fact that there are so many great colors, makes this one of my go-to spray paints.
• Apple Barrel/Ceramcoat – Quality acrylic paints that do a good job at matching the color to label.
• Craft Essentials – Requires multiple layers to achieve desired results. Would rather go with Apple Barrel or Ceramcoat if I had the choice.
• DecoArt Dazzling Metallics – Has a tendency to separate after some time in the bottle. Requires a lot of mixing to get it back to its original state. If you don’t mix it well, you risk different parts of a brush stroke having differing amounts of metallic shimmer. Would rather go with silver spray paint over using this type of acrylic.
• Americana/Crafter’s Acrylic – Like Dazzling Metallics, these have a tendency to separate over time in the bottle. After the bottle is mixed though, it applies well.

If any of this proves useful, let me know! Would love to hear more about what you are creating.

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