Gary's top 10 tips on how to be a better scenic artist

The Paintshop pro's

I thought it appropriate to make a list of the most used advice given to us by our tutor Gary Fry.


If he's feeling the need to repeat, surely its gotta be important :P




In no particular order of importance :

1 - "Half squint your eyes" - this helps you to reduce the amount of light coming into your eyes and makes it easier to see tonal contrasts.

2 -" Hold your brush properly" - did you know... brush manufacturers included a good length of wood on the brush handle for a reason!!

3 - "The paint lies in a bucket".- It does actually tell you lies! So make it come out of the tin and see how it dries.

4 -" Get a bigger brush" - You're painting big so use a big brush. It's all in the wrist.

5 -"A bucket of water is your best friend"- always have a bucket of water with you. Handiest tool you'll ever have.

6 -" Pushing and pulling" - When experimenting, it's all about takin it too far and pulling it back.

7 -" If it's meant to be a straight line- draw it straight". - Use a lining stick. Nothing worse than jaunty straight lines!

8 - "The answer is in the question" - At school they used to say that and I didn't get it then... Basically the reference tells you all you need to know - Look at it with great attention and you will succeed.

9 - " It's only paint " - If you do happen to make a mistake it can be painted over, and you can start again.

10 - " Stand back " - When you put a bit of distance between you and the work, it will give you an idea of how it will look to the audience. You might be focusing too much on the smaller details; when they don't even show up on stage!

There you go!