Ceramic Techniques
By Shelley Long
Technique Packets are for personal use, photocopying for distributing or reselling is prohibited.
Visit www.shelleysbrushworks.com for more packets. Thank you for appreciating the work
involved.
Piece: Doc Holliday Sarah Snow DH2888
Materials Needed:
Abbreviations:
(BC) Basecoat, (WB) Wet brush,
(HL) High-light, (CL) Corner-load
Black DH8, Mystic Purple DH15, Midnight Blue DH27,
White DH29, Cream DH37, Teal DH43, Blue Suede DH44,
Shadow Green DH45, Cranberry DH52, Spring Green DH57, Indian Corn DH93, Firewood
DH94, Apple Blossom Green DH109, Forget Me Not Blue DH111, Tea Rose Red DH115,
Tuscan Rose DH134, Rich Amethyst, DH135,
Red Brown AT4, Krackle-It SP7, Matte Spray SP8, Gloss-It SP3,
Sprinkle Glitter
Brushes: Shaders: #6, 8, 12. Round Detail brush, 10/0 liner, Soft brush to apply antique.
Basecoat (BC)

BC the snow body including nose, White. BC the star and Hat Rich Amethyst, BC the
Scarf, leaves, berries and birds Midnight Blue
Antique the body, star and purple area of hat with Red Brown and wipe back. Then wipe
back smooth areas (body and hat) with cloth damp with mineral spirits to get as clean as
possible.
Technique:
1. Shade Body: CL all edges of the body with Firewood to shade
2. Shade Hat & Star: CL the edges of the purple area on the hat and the all the edges of
the star with Mystic Purple (don’t worry about the face of the star, it will be covered
up). Let Dry. With a smaller corner of Cranberry shade again on the on the very edge
on the brim (on the top and bottom, sharp edge of color to the outside edge) of the
hat.
3. WB Scarf: Load a #12 shader for wet brushing with Midnight Blue, add Blue Suede to
lighten and wet brush the scarf. Add Spring Green and highlight the edges of the
scarf, add Apple Blossom Green to the edges again to further brighten. Add Cream
and wet brush the fringe on the scarf keeping the very ends almost pure Cream.
4. WB Leaves: Load a small square shader with Midnight Blue for wet brushing add
Blue Suede and wet brush the leaves add Apple Blossom Green and wet brush the
very tip again to brighten and if desired at a touch of Indian Corn to get a slight
yellow on the tips of the leaves. Using a round detail brush, paint the berries with
Rich Amethyst.
Technique By Shelley Long
www.shelleysbrushworks.com
1
2/9/2016 1:09:00 PM
5. Hat Band: WB the hatband with Blue Suede using a small shader. When dry CL the
edges of the hatband with Midnight Blue .
6. Shade Scarf: Mix a wash of Midnight Blue mixed with Blue Suede. Shade the crevice
areas of the scarf create depth for shading. CL the edges and deep crevices of the
scarf with Teal, and again just the very edges with a smaller load of Midnight Blue.
CL the ends of the scarf near the fringe on the scarf side and the fringe side with
Teal. CL that area again with a smaller corner of Midnight Blue right at the very
crevice between the scarf and the fringe on both sides. (keep the solid edge of paint
at the crease and the bleed going away from the crease on both sides of the line)
7. Scarf Stripes: CL stripes on the scarf with Rich Amethyst when dry, CL Teal stripes
next to the Rich Amethyst with the sharp edge butted up to the sharp edge of Rich
Amethyst and the fade going the opposite direction. Using your liner, paint a thin
line of Mystic Purple directly in the middle of the Teal and Rich Amethyst corner
loaded stripes.
8. Shade the Leaves: CL around all of the leaves and through the middle of the stem
creases with Midnight Blue. Using a liner load with thinned Midnight Blue, paint in
the veins on the leaves. You can also outline the edges of the leaves to make them
crisper with Midnight Blue. CL around the berries with Cranberry when dry.
9. WB Birds: Wet brush the birds with Forget Me Not Blue, add White and wet brush
the tail, the end wing feathers, the cheeks and the chest to make a very bright white.
10. Shade the Birds: CL the birds with Midnight Blue and pull a wash of the same blue
onto the front area of the wings and on the back to deepen these areas. CL again a
very thin line around the face, the beak and the end wing feathers with Black to
create an outline for definition.
11. Birds Eyes: Paint the bird’s eyes making a dot of Black in the eye area you can apply
lashes if desired and place a tiny pinhole dot of White on the eyes for highlights.
12. Her Nose: CL the edges of the nose with Tuscan Rose to make the nose almost
completely peach colored, leaving the very tip Cream showing
13. Buttons: Make a wash of Forget-Me-Not Blue and brush over the buttons and wipe
back slightly while wet to highlight the edges. When the buttons are dry, paint the
stitching with White using a liner brush.
14. Her Eyes: CL above the snowman's eyes with Forget Me Not Blue, similar to eye
shadow. Paint the inside of the snowman's eyes with White let dry. Paint a small
circle towards the upper part of the eye opening with Forget Me Not Blue. When dry,
paint and even smaller circle of Black for the pupil at the very top of the eye. When
dry add a tiny dot of White for the highlight. Paint upper and lower eyelashes if
desired with thinned Black.
15. Her Mouth: Using a mix of Firewood and Tea Rose Red, paint the mouth line in with
a detail brush.
16. Star Krackle: Apply Krackle-it to the front of the star using a soft square or oval
brush (applying the Krackle-it in downwards strokes only) Allow the crackle to dry
completely, be sure it doesn’t run or leaves drip marks.
17. Star Krackle Continued: Paint 1 even heavy coat of Cream over the Krackle-it. (Be
sure you apply the Cream in a downward stroke only, just as you applied the
Krackle.) (If the Cream got on the outside edges of the star use a damp paper towel
wrapped around your finger and carefully wipe back immediately before the paint
Ceramic Techniques
By Shelley Long
Technique Packets are for personal use, photocopying for distributing or reselling is prohibited.
Visit www.shelleysbrushworks.com for more packets. Thank you for appreciating the work
involved.
dries.) Once you have coated an area with Cream do not overlap that area again as it
will mess the crackling up if the paint has already begun to dry
18. Star Shading: CL shade the front of the star with Mystic Purple, then shade that same
edge again with a smaller corner of Cranberry. Make a very thin wash of Cranberry
mixed with White to create a soft pink apply this to the cheeks for blush, and use it
to make a border around the edge of the front of the star and around the base of the
snowman where the flowers will be applied. (On the base, Approximately 1 inch up
from the base and create a band that is about one to 1 1/2 inches wide). If you are
uncomfortable doing this with the wash you can use a soft pink chalk.
19. Star Detail: Using a very porous Sea wool sponge pounce on Blue suede blotted with
Apple Blossom Green and White (Dip a portion of the sponge in each color and blot
on paper to blend) in a gentle light pattern around the base on top of the pink and
around the edges of the face of the star. This is to create a foliage look. Clean your
sponge and be sure to wring it out. Add Rich Amethyst and White to the sponge and
gently pounce again around to the green areas to create small tiny flowering vine
look around the top and bottom of the foliage.
Using a liner loaded with thinned Teal, paint on very thin scrolling lines to create the
vine with start and stop squiggle’s and curly ques. Double beside this same line with
thinned Apple Blossom Green to give a second color to fill out the line.
Paint small five-petal flowers on the vine alternating with a Mystic Purple flower
then a Forget-Me-Not Blue flower on the bottom of the snowman and on the front of
the star. Place a dot of Apple Blossom Green in the center of each flower. Using the tip
of your liner paint little clusters of White dots randomly around the buying to look
like more small flowers.
Using Black thinned with water and your liner paint “Let it Snow!” On the face of
your star.
Finish:

Once dry spray entire piece with Matt Sealer. When this is dry apply Gloss-it to the
leaves and the very edges of the front of the star. While Gloss-It is still wet sprinkle
on glitter.
Technique By Shelley Long
www.shelleysbrushworks.com
3
2/9/2016 1:09:00 PM