Decor Delights - Free Pattern (Santa - a - Rama

Santa - a - rama

by
copyright © Janet Riegel

	Click here to view pattern Copyright © 1995 Janet Riegel
	Click here to view large picture Copyright © 1995 Janet Riegel

Size: 7 inches across, 5 1/2 inches tall
This project would fit on almost any rectangular project. Use your imagination!!

Painting Level: Advanced Beginner

All rights reserved under Pan American and International copyright conventions. This design is for the use of the decorative painter. Painters may hand paint it for fun or profit. Company use is prohibited without written consent of the author and permission fees negotiated.

Supplies Needed

Delta Ceramcoat Acrylic Paint:

Adriatic
Autumn Brown
Burnt Sienna
Payne's Gray
Barn Red
Cadet Gray
Pigskin
Black
Forest Green
Santa's Flesh
Black Green
Hammered Iron
White
Brown Iron Oxide
Napthol Red Light

Supplies and Mediums:

Delta Soft Tints Matte Sealer and Glaze
Delta Satin Spray Varnish
Delta Color Float (add one drop per ounce to your brush basin)
wet palette
water bucket
paper towel blotting pad
disposable palette

Brushes:

Royal RG 595 #1 liner
Royal RG 250 #3 round
Royal RG 150 #8 flat
Royal RG 150 #12 flat

Instructions

Preparation:

Download and print the design from the web page.

Photocopy the print onto heavy Bristol board (Kinko's can do this. Just ask for the heaviest Bristol board they can use).

Using a sponge brush or a large (3/4" flat) brush, evenly coat the paper with Delta Soft Tints Matte Sealer. Work quickly to avoid ridges - check in the light to be sure. Let dry until no longer cool. (NOTE: DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!! The Bristol board will fall apart if you try to paint on it without the sealer down first!!!!)

Techniques:

The basecoating is applied with "loose" paint. By this, I mean paint slightly thinned with water. I based in most of the design with the #3 round. Avoid streaking by fully loading your brush into the loose paint, then hold to a paper towel blotter (4 good quality paper towels, stacked, then folded into fourths) until you can see all the extra paint and water pulled from the brush (the bristles will turn from shiny to dull). When filling in areas with color work quickly, pulling at any area that looks streaky to smooth it out.

Shading is applied using floats. Keep them "sheer" and layer for depth. To get a "sheer" float, dip your brush into your brush basin and press against your paper towel surface, counting to two. Repeat on the other side. Then, sideload into desired color and, stroke on your palette paper, in the same area (the stroke should be straight and no longer than 1/2") to "press" the paint into the bristles of your brush. Working in the same area, "squiggle" your brush, working the paint corner into the line of paint on the palette, then pull straight. Repeat this until there is a smooth gradation of paint across your bristles. Don't worry if the color travels to the water side of your brush! Now, dip the brush into your basin and hold, again, to the paper towel surface as before, to remove the excess paint and water. Check the float on your palette paper. If it doesn't look right, repeat. I always tell students that "if it doesn't look good on the palette, it's not gonna look good on the painting!" Work to get your float looking great BEFORE you try to paint with it!

The final steps you'll take in the painting process are filling in eyebrows, whites of the eyes, and sparkles on the eyes with White. Also, it may be necessary to base the pupil back in with Black. To do this, use straight paint and fill in thickly, using the #1 liner.

The "dotted" areas are where the shade is applied on the Santas. On the background, shade is floated around the Santas.

Painting:

Faces: All faces are based in Santa's Flesh. Shade with Burnt Sienna. "Rouge" with very sheer Napthol Red Light along the bottoms of the cheeks and noses. Tuck a small amount of this color along the hair line.

Beards: Shade with Cadet Gray. Deepen with Hammered Iron.

Copyright © 1995 Janet Riegel

Hats:

Santa #1: Large squares are Napthol Red light, shaded with Barn Red.

Stripes are Pigskin, shaded with Burnt Sienna, then Brown Iron Oxide. The pompom is Napthol Red Light on the lined stripes and Pigskin on the plain stripes. Shade the Napthol Red Light with Barn Red and the Pigskin with Burnt Sienna, then Brown Iron Oxide.

Santa #2: Dotted squares are Autumn Brown. Plain squares are Forest Green. Shade entire hat with Black Green.

Santa #3: Hat band is Autumn Brown. Commas are Forest Green. Shade band with Brown Iron Oxide.

Santa #4: Hat band is uncolored and shaded with Cadet Gray, then Hammered Iron. Wide stripes are Napthol Red Light. Narrow stripes are Barn Red. Shade with Barn Red.

Santa #5: Plain squares are Forest Green. Tree squares are Autumn Brown. Shade entire hat with Black Green.

Santa #6: Band is Forest Green. Hearts and dots are Napthol Red Light. Shade with Black Green. Top of hat is Pigskin, shaded with Burnt Sienna, then Brown Iron Oxide.

Santa #7: Hat trim is Autumn Brown. Shade with Brown Iron Oxide. Top of hat is Napthol Red Light, shaded with Barn Red. Bell is Pigskin, shaded with Burnt Sienna.

Santa #8: Striped squares are Adriatic, shaded with Payne's Gray. Plain squares are Napthol Red Light, shaded with Barn Red.

Santa #9: Hat band and pompom is Pigskin. Stripes are Autumn Brown. Shade entire band and pompom with Burnt Sienna, then Brown Iron Oxide. The upper hat is Forest Green, shaded with Black Green.

Santa #10: Hat band is uncolored and shaded with Cadet Gray, then Hammered Iron. The upper hat is Adriatic, shaded with Payne's Gray. Add Napthol Red Light dots. The pompom is Adriatic. The holly berries are Napthol Red Light. The holly leaves are Forest Green, shaded with Black Green.

Eyebrows and eyes: Fill in all pupils with Black. Fill in eyebrows, taking care not to go over the linework, with White. Add White highlight dots to the pupils and fill in the whites of the eyes, where necessary.

Finishing:

Spray with Delta Spray Varnish. Mount and frame as desired.

For Alternate Surfaces, Techniques and Sizes:

This design can be applied to whatever surface you desire. If you apply it to wood, I suggest you sand, seal the wood with Delta Wood Sealer, resand, then basecoat, solidly, with White. Trace the pattern, transfer with gray graphite, then ink the lines. They should be sprayed with Krylon Matte Finish, lightly, before proceeding. Then, follow the directions accordingly.

For other surfaces, such as non-porous (tin, ceramic, glass, canvas, etc.), the painting directions may not apply. You should be familiar with painting techniques specific to the type of surface you choose before proceeding.

This design can be done without the linework and shade dots showing. Transfer the basic outlines, basecoat, solidly, and float shading. You may want to add the additional step of highlighting, which should be done in hues 2-3 values higher than the basecoat.

If you desire to change the size of the design, you will probably want to trace, transfer, and re-ink the lines and the shade dots. Remember to lightly spray the inking with Krylon Matte Spray before proceeding with the rest of the instructions, otherwise, the ink may run.

Copyright © 1996-2009 Decor Delights. All rights reserved.
Online since March 10, 1996
No copying or reprinting of this or any part of Decor Delights without written permission.
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