HINTS & TIPS FOR POTTERY PAINTING

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO BEFORE STARTING MY POTTERY PAINTING?

Before starting your project, wash your hands to ensure that they are clean and free from grease. Grease will stop the paint from sticking to your pottery. Set aside a space for you to enjoy your pottery painting project.  You will require a pot of water for cleaning your brushes between colours and some pieces of kitchen roll to dry your brushes. The paint can be used directly from the pots. The paint is non toxic and doesn’t stain, it washes readily from hands and clothes.  


DO I NEED TO ADD WATER TO MY PAINT?

No, do not add any water to your paint. The only time you use your water pot is when you wash your brush between each change of colour.  Please ensure that after washing your brush, you dry it well on your piece of kitchen roll before moving on to your next colour.  Please make sure that you use a clean brush for each colour.  


WHICH BRUSH DO I USE FOR EACH AREA?

For the large areas either use a large brush or sponge. For the best results, please do not try and paint a large area with a small brush otherwise you see your brush strokes. Use your small brush for the detailed areas only.


HOW MANY COATS OF PAINT DO I NEED?

For the best results and coverage we recommend two coats of paint.  The paint dries very quickly but please ensure that your first coat of paint is dry before moving on to the second coat. Please note that if you are using dots on your pottery painting design, they only require one coat.


CAN I DRAW A DESIGN ON MY POTTERY BEFORE PAINTING?

Yes, you can draw a design on to your pottery before you start but only with a felt tip pen. Felt tip pen lines burn off in the firing process.  Please do not use a pencil to draw on designs, pencil lines can leave a faint red line when fired.


DO I HAVE TO PAINT ALL OF MY BACKGROUND?

No, you don’t need to paint all of your background. Even without a background colour all of the pottery is still glazed and so even the unpainted areas will be shiny like the rest of the piece. An unpainted area will remain a warm white colour after glazing and firing.


HOW DO I COVER A LARGE AREA WITHOUT SEEING BRUSH STROKES?

If you have a large area to cover you can use a piece of sponge (either a sponge used to wash the car or a washing up sponge).  Make sure it is clean and dry.  When using the sponge it is not a wiping movement but a dabbing movement, you should gently bounce the sponge up and done until you have achieved even coverage.  Please ensure you use a clean dry sponge for each different colour.


IF I MAKE A MISTAKE CAN I REMOVE IT?

Yes, using a small piece of damp sponge you can remove paint.  If the area to be removed is only small, use a damp cotton bud. Please bear in mind that dark colours can stain the pottery and are difficult to remove completely.


CAN I USE ANY OTHER PAINT OTHER THAN WHAT IS IN MY KIT?

No, the only paint that can be used to paint your pottery project is the paint contained in your kit.  Please do not use any other paint. The paint in your kit is specialist ceramic paint that is compatible with our glaze and kiln.


CAN I PAINT UNDERNEATH MY POTTERY PIECE AT THE BASE?

Please do not paint the base of your pottery piece as this area sits on the kiln shelves and if paint is left on the bottom of the piece, it will stick to the kiln shelf.  Please leave the base paint free.


DO I HAVE TO FINISH MY POTTERY PAINTING PROJECT IN ONE SESSION?

No, you can work on your project for a while and then come back to it later on.  However, if you plan to take a break from you painting, please place the lids on all of your paint pots to stop the paint from drying out.


HOW CAN I ACHIEVE PERFECT DOTS?

You can achieve perfect dots by turning your paint brush the other way round and dipping the end of your brush handle into the paint. If you would like all of your dots to be the same size, you must dip your paintbrush handle into the paint every time you create a dot.  If you need the dots to be different sizes, dip the brush handle in and then keep dotting; each dot will get gradually smaller and smaller. The smaller the brush handles the smaller the dot.  If you require tiny dots (like the ones on our gecko sample) you will need to use cocktail sticks.  Take a cocktail stick and cut in half. Dip the blunt end into the paint to create your tiny dot. Dots only need one coat.


CAN I LAYER COLOURS ON TOP OF EACH OTHER?

Yes, but we recommend using a lighter colour for the background and your darker colours on top.


HOW CAN I GET PERFECT EYES ON MY POTTERY ANIMAL?

To create perfect eyes for your pottery animal use the same technique as outlined above in the achieving perfect dots section. Take a cocktail stick and cut in half. Dip the blunt end into the paint to create your tiny dot to use for your pottery animal’s eyes. Don’t forget to reload your cocktail stick with more paint before dotting on the other eye, otherwise your animal will have one eye smaller than the other!! Dots only need one coat. Please ensure that your base colours are dry before adding eyes.