Need more help getting started with QuikWood (QW) go to this page: Quikwood Tips and Tricks
Painting Prep:
Basecoat Santa Tomato Red, boots Zinc and beard and face Warm White. The cart is Blue Harbor, hub and axles Indian Turquoise, wheels Tomato Red and head of axle pin Foliage Green.
Transfer pattern lines for hat trim, center of coat and boots and coat trim. Lay painters tape on right side of center of coat and boots. Shade left side of coat with Deep Burgundy. Also shade along trim line, up lower outside edges of coat around beard, and above hat trim and next to hat ball. Shade between boots with Lamp Black. Remove tape and add tape to other side. Highlight other side of front with Bright Salmon. Also highlight top of hat and in lower front centers of coat by creating a circular back to back float. The center fronts of coat could also be dry brushed. Highlight center line and toes of boots with Slate Grey. Touch up beard if needed.
Tree:
Mark from top of dowel down 1 ¼” and 3” from top so that you will know where to lay the sections of branches. Also you can mark from the bottom 13/8”. Mix 1” of QW and begin pressing and patting to flatten the clay into a pancake. Lay on parchment paper and continue flattening with palm of hand. Cut two large hands, 3 medium and 4 small, rerolling clay as needed. If needed mix up some more clay. Pick up clay with blade so that you don’t stretch the clay. Let sit 5 minutes.
Spread fingers on hands and pinch back of hands as you assemble. Starting at 3” mark lay one hand to one side of the trunk, flip the other large hand over and lay it to the other side of the trunk. Pinch the top of the hands to the trunk and blend. Pinch two small hands together at top and lay one on one side at top and one on other side, down a little allowing the tips to stick up a little For the next level place two medium hands like you did the large hands at the 1 ¼” mark. Lay a small hand on top of the medium hands. Lay the last medium hand at the top of the tree pinching the top to a nice point. Lay a small hand on top. Allow to cure
To finish tree, turn tree to back. Mix 1/8” of QW and pull off small ball and place over dowel on top branches, blend into place, not letting any of the clay show on the front. Repeat covering middle section and bottom section of tree. Allow to cure. (Video)
Santa Details:
Transfer Santa face to wood. For Santa face mix a sliver of QW and roll into a ball. Place in center of face and begin pressing and patting to fill in space creating a dome shape and making sure that it is flat across the top.
To make the trim on the bottom of the coat mix 1” of QW and roll into a 6 ½” long coil. Lay on parchment paper and then begin flattening with hand until it is ¾” wide. Use blade to straighten edges. Lift with blade and lay on Santa starting in center and lay next to pattern line. Wrap around edges. Press with hand to secure and extend to bottom of Santa if needed.
Mix 1/8” of QW and pull off a ¼” ball for the nose. Roll into a 5/8” cone and lay in center of face. Place the nose so there is room for the mustache and maybe a little of the lip showing. Trim end of nose with blade or push up on it with blasé to square off. Allow to cure. Use remaining clay for buttons by pulling off 4 ¼” balls. Lay on parchment paper and gently flatten. Using tool or end of pencil, place indent in each button. Use tool or point of pencil to put 2 holes in each button. Allow to cure.
Mix 1/8” of QW and pull of 2 – ¼” balls for mustache and one slight larger for ball of hat. With what is left make hat band by rolling clay into a 1 ¾” coil. Lay on parchment paper. Gently pat to make about ¼” wide. Use blade to straighten edge. Pick up and lay across hat band and gently pat in place and wrap ends around edges. Place larger ball on ball of hat and gently pat in place keeping a dome shape. Roll two small balls into a cone about ½” – ¾” and lay fat end in center under nose. Press center gently in place. Lift ends of mustache and turn up with fingers.
Mix 1/16” of QW and gently press and flatten and cut out a small hand for holly on hat. Pull off 4 small balls about 1/8” for buttons on boots. Press in place; if they don’t stay first add a drop of Super Glue Gel to boot and then press clay onto boots. Pull off two small pieces for eye brows and roll into a small cone and place on bottom of hat band with center of brows going slightly upward. Pinch back of hand and lay at top of hat band. Pull off three small balls for holly and place at back point of holly. Allow to cure. (video)
Bunny – Getting Started:
Lay parchment paper over pattern for bunny ears. Mix sliver of QW and divide into two. Roll each into a long skinny coil about 1 ¼” with top end being slightly pointed. For back ear lay with pointed end at top over pattern. Gently flatten. Roll bottom of ear into thin point so that you will be able to insert into head when cured. Lay pointed end on front ear pattern and gently flatten. Run toothpick down center of ear. Roll bottom into thin point at bottom. Lift tip of front ear up. Allow to cure.
To make body mix ¼” of QW. Cut toothpick in half. Lay parchment paper over pattern. Roll clay into egg shape and lay in center of pattern. Begin pressing and patting filling in pattern and making a dome shape. Lift top of body and insert toothpick under it making sure the toothpick lines us with the neck on the pattern. Allow to cure.
Mix 1/8” of QW and pull off a ball a little larger than a ¼” for tail and then pull off very small ball for nose. Roll remaining clay into a short cone shape for head. Align body up with head and press into place on pattern creating a dome shape and allowing room for neck. Slip back ear into back of head in center top of head . Insert front ear into clay slightly forward from back and back a little from other ear having the ear come forward. Add nose to front of face. Add tail to back of bunny. Using pointy tool or pencil press indents all over tail. Allow to cure
Mix sliver of QW and flip bunny over. Place ball on back of head to cover toothpick and flatten and blend into place. Using other piece of clay lay at top of body and press and blend into place making sure none of the clay is showing on the front. Allow to cure.
For the back legs mix ¼” of QW and divide into two with one slightly bigger than the other. Allow to sit 5 minutes. Using smaller piece for leg on back begin rolling into ball and then begin rolling with finger and creating a thin extension that is about ¾” long. Shape with fingers and then lay while rolling second leg. Roll front leg the same way. The top round piece is about ¾” and the bottom round is about ¾”. Shape with fingers having the leg and foot bend. Lay bottom leg on back of body and then place other leg on top. Gently press hip in place. Shape and allow to cure lifting front leg every now and then to make sure it is lifted out a little. (video)
Deer – Getting Started:
Insert 4 dowels into Styrofoam egg, the larger end of the egg is the back of the deer’s body and the pointy end is the front. The dowels should be insert in the egg about 1/2” and extend out. Check to make sure the deer stands level. Mix ¼” of QW and divide into two for the back legs. Make a coil about 1 ¼” and wrap around top of each leg. Blend top of coil onto Styrofoam , then blend clay down onto dowel using a little extender if needed. Mix 1/8” of QW and divide in two for the front legs. Roll 1” coil and wrap around top of leg, blend onto Styrofoam and blend down leg on both front legs like you did for the back legs. Allow to cure.
To make antlers mix of 1/8” of QW and let sit 5 minutes. Pinch and create flat pancake. Using large Kemper star pattern cutter cut two stars. Lay point of a toothpick between two points on each star, pull two points up onto toothpick and blend onto toothpick. Gently tap points and then pinch and pull two side points forward front to create antler. Also pinch center anther to shape. Allow to sit 5 minutes and then pick up each antler and continue to blend clay onto toothpick and to shape top. If needed allow to sit 5 more minutes and then pick up and do final shaping. Pull small piece of excess clay and pinch thin between fingers. Lay on Styrofoam area of deer and press and blend over Styrofoam. Continue until you use all the clay. Any time you have excess clay you can do this to cover the body of the deer. Allow to cure.
To put hooves on deer mix 1/8” of QW and divide into 4. Roll into a coil about 1” long. Put drop of super glue gel on both sides of bottom of leg. Wrap clay around bottom of leg over glue. Blend top of clay to leg using extender. Repeat for other three. Stand and make sure he is standing ok. Place small cut in front of each hoof with extacto knife.
Finishing Deer:
Insert 2” dowel into front of body so that the head will be turned out to the right. Mix 1/8” of QW and roll into a 1” coil and wrap around bottom of dowel next to body. Blend bottom of clay to body and then blend top of clay to dowel keeping more of the clay next to the neck and shaped in a nice triangular shape. Allow to cure.
Insert 1” ball onto neck with the head turned just slightly to the right. Mix a sliver of QW and roll into a coil and wrap around dowel next to head. Blend clay onto Styrofoam and then down neck, keeping more of the clay on the head keeping the neck thin. Allow to cure.
Mix ¼” of QW. Trim antlers to 1 ¼” by measuring from the point back on the toothpick. Pinch clay between fingers to make a pancake and then lay over head. Begin pressing and patting to cover head. Blend clay to bottom of head next to neck using extender. Press and pat with palm of hand to get clay smooth. Insert antlers into head. They should go just about center of head and should be parallel to the front. Allow to cure.
Mix 1/8” of QW and roll into a cone about 1” long for tail. Lay on parchment paper and gently pat to flatten. Place on center back of body with the tail pointing up. Press bottom into place to secure and gently tip out the tip of tail back.
Mix 1/8” of QW and pull off two balls that ate about 3/8” for the ears and the remaining piece is for the nose. Off of larger ball pull off very small piece for nose and roll into a ball and then roll remaining clay into a cone that is ¾” – 1” long. Flatten back and center on face with nose pointing up. Gently pat on tip and then attach ball for nose. For ears roll each ball into a cone about ¾” long. Lay on parchment paper and gently flatten. Lay pointy tool or pencil from point of ear to the back and pinch clay around tool point. Pick up and position on face and lay next to antler. Press and remove tool. Blend clay at back of ear to head. Repeat for other ear. Keep watching and lift ears up as they cure. Allow to cure. (video)
Owl:
Mix 1/2” of QW to make the owl. Roll into a ball and then begin shaping. It is a little more than a 1” high and ¾” wide. Make a little thinner at the top from side to side and front to back. Pinch at the top to make the ears. Sit level on piece of parchment paper and let cure.
Mix a sliver of QW to make the features on the owl. Pull off two small balls less than ¼” to make the circle/feathers around the eyes. Position and gently pat into place and then press them flat. Pull off two very small balls for the eyes and then place them in center of each circle. Pull off another small piece about the size of both eyes for nose. Roll into a ball and then roll into a little cone and place between eyes for nose.
Make sure your owl is level and will sit nicely on your deer. If it is not, add a little clay to the bottom and blend onto deer using a little extender. (video)
Painting before final Assembling:
Note: Before painting any QuikWood areas base with a mix of paint (anycolor I usually use Oyster Beige or Bleached Sand) and Adhesion Medium (1:1). Allow to dry before adding next layer of paint.
Santa – Paint face Warm Beige. Shade across top of face next to hat and tip of nose with a brush mix of Warm Beige + Burnt Sienna. Paint eyes Lamp Black and cheeks with thin brush mix of Tomato Red + Warm Beige. Base eyebrows, mustache and beard with Warm White and shade with Slate Grey. Hat – paint thinned Bright Salmon dots on hat. Paint trim on hat and coat with Burlap. Paint Lamp Black stripes on hat band with a #2 flat and on coat trim with a #4 flat. Shade edges of hat trim and coat trim with Espresso. Paint buttons Indian Turquoise and highlight with Warm White float on edges. Paint buttons on boots with Zink and float with Slate Grey.
Tree and Holly on hat – Base Foliage Green and shade with Plantation Pine. Line edges of leaves with Warm White. Paint berries Tomato Red with a Bright Salmon dot on each of them. Paint Warm White highlight on each berry. Paint trunk of tree with Espresso.
Rabbit – Base with Dove Grey. Brush over tail with Warm White. Shade base of ears, head, top of body and hip and top of back leg with Espresso. Paint nose with Vintage Pink. Paint inside ear and cheek with thinned Vintage Pink. Paint eye Lamp Black. Highlight tips of ears, around nose and feet with Warm White.
Deer – Basecoat with Honey Brown. Paint antlers with Burlap, nose, hooves and eyes with Lamp Place and cheeks with thinned Vintage Pink. Paint thinned Warm White dots on back of deer and stoke thinned Warm White on tail pulling from top down. Shade bottom of antlers, bottom of tail and back of ears with Esspresso. Paint inside of ears with thinned Vintage Pink.
Owl – Base with Espresso. Paint belly and eyes with Shoreline, around eyes with Warm White and nose with True Ocher. Paint pupil in eye with Lamp Black and shade bell with Blue Harbor.
Santa- Finishing:
Position tree and rabbit on Santa and mark on Santa with chalk pencil where you want to place your arms. Mark bottom of tree and cut off bottom. For arms mix ¾” of QW and divide into two. Roll each into a coil 5 ½” long. Let sit 5 minutes. Mix a sliver of QW and place on back of rabbit and place on Santa. Place right arm on right shoulder of Santa and press top in place. Position tree on arm and press to secure. Bring arm around and over trunk of tree. Press into place. Place left arm on Santa at shoulder and press into place. Bring arm down and over rabbit and press firmly into place. Allow to cure.
Mix 1/8” of QW and divide into two for cuffs. Roll into coil about 1” long and flatten so that it is ¼” wide. Lay over arm where you want the cuff and cut off excess, starting out a little farther than you think it should be and tuck under arm on each side. Repeat for other cuff. Divide excess in two and roll into 1” coil for arms on rabbit. Place back arm on back of rabbit and bring down over Santa’s hand. Lay other arm on front and down over Santa’s arm. Allow to cure. (video)
Painting snow on Cart:
Freehand snow shape on cart with white chalk pencil. Load #16 brush with Warm White and begin slip slapping in center and bringing paint out to edges. Pick up more paint if needed. Allow to dry. Side load Warm White in brush and float around edges. If you feel it is too light you can repeat the process. (video)