My first idea was to use this new fabric spray paint made by Tulip called Color Shot. My friend recently used this to do black strips on a knit fabric for a cosplay (it was a red shirt). It worked out really well for her! It stretched nicely and wasn't to stiff! So that was my first thought. Now, these cans are tiny.. and at $6 a can, it'll become very expensive very quickly (which I'm not a fan of). Had I went this method, I would of made the gradients more spread out to try and not have to buy a zillion cans.
So my result? I loved it!! Well, at first... I tested it on the gold fabric to see how well it coated. It took two layers for the purple to not be translucent but overall, I loved the color. A bit on the darker side but I was willing to overlook it if it meant making life simple. So I let it dry overnight. Color still looks nice...but the fabric became stiff. So in the end, I decided not to go with this method. It was going to be to stiff to my liking and would probably feel really weird walking around in.
So onto my next test!! I've been debating on buying an airbrush kit for a long time now. And it's something that I don't mind investing in because like my sewing machine, I will get lots of use out of it. And as long as you take care of your equipment properly, it can last a really long time too! So I did a little bit of research. I knew A.C. Moore carried some in stores so I head on over to take a look at what they have. Wow.
The price was shocking (to me). I did not have $400+ to drop on it. But I took a look at what kind of equipment and tools they have, so if I ever need something in a pinch, I know where to go. Funny enough though, a Hanzo cosplayer who was working on the wolf head of one of his skins, had posted about a new, cheap but nice airbrush kit that was slightly over $100. That sounded much better to me!! After hunting for a link to this kit, I checked it out on amazon. Came with everything you need to start! Compressor, a few brushes, hose, cleaning tools, bottles, and paints. Nice!!
If it's your first time airbrush, I highly recommend watching some youtube videos on how to use it and how to clean it. There are quite a few out there. And it's all really easy. Now you just need to keep up with cleaning it after each use and you'll be good to go for a long time!! Anyway..
I ordered a set of basic color paints (since I'm sure I'll use it in the future) and two different gold paints (I couldn't decide). After messing with the airbrush for a while, I finally got the hang of it and tested it out on some scrap fabric. I loved the purple on the white fabric (far right). The color is beautiful. Absolutely love it. Tested the same purple on the gold fabric (middle). Was not happy with it at all... it looked awful!! Then I tested out one of the golds (the other didn't come in yet). Didn't really like it. It looked very cheap and kind of like it as painted yellow then some kind of gold dust was smashed into it. Not a fan. But I hope the other gold works. I want a gold that will match my gold fabric as close as possible (so it all looks uniform).
As for flexibility? The gold paint stiffened a tiny bit but was still over all flexible. The purple paint would out really nice. Still allowed the fabric to drape well. I ended up using the 3rd gold paint (which I found in a youtube tutorial).
Up next: the after math! I'll show you the result of my air brushing and my thoughts on it.
~Serenity
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