Mica Powders
If you are looking to have a shimmery effect to your piece, mica powders are your best bet. They have a nice soft, shimmery effect and come in so many colours. But little tip, you can use eyeshadow and achieve the same effect at half the cost. Powders directly sold as "mica powders for resin" have a significant mark up and can cost you a lot. If you're new and starting out, try eye shadows. We all know eyeshadows come in a variety of colours, and can pretty much be purchased everywhere. Even dollar stores. They work great. I use a tiny metal stirrer and break up the eye shadow, then store in tiny plastic jars you can also buy at the dollar stores. A little goes a long way, so if you have eye shadow palettes laying around, be sure to dig them out and use them. Colour Shift/Chameleon Powders
If you're looking for something with more "wow" factor, try colour shift powders. These give your piece a new look at different angles and lighting. For best results, brush the powder directly onto your mold using an eyeshadow brush applicator. You can get packs of these little sponge applicators at the dollar store, or you may even have some laying around in your makeup drawer. You can also use normal eyeshadow applicators or soft paint brushes. It doesn't take much of the powder to colour your molds. It will work on clear molds and coloured ones as well. After you have brushed on the powder, use a dark tinted resin to achieve the best outcome. Usually dark navy blues, dark greens, or the best choice, black. The powders react much better on dark surfaces. You may not think they are working as they do appear white in the jar and even sometimes, after being brushed on white/clear molds, appear to be non visible, but once you pour the dark resin and then unmold, the magic happens. These pieces are striking to see in sunlight as they shift when you move them, or when you look at them from different angles. You usually have to order these powders from online sources, as not many stores carry them. Pencil lead sticks
If you have a sketcher in the house, you can also use pencil lead sticks for more monochrome coloured resin. My son had a bag of broken up pencil leads laying around when he sketched, and I just shaved off some here and there to add a bit of darkness to pieces, without using dark acrylic paint or alcohol ink. |
Acrylic paints
Why spend a fortune for resin marketed paints, when you can simply buy a bottle at dollarstores, Michaels, Walmart etc and get a nice rich, opaque resin for your project. These little bottles come in a rainbow of colours, including metallics, colour shift, glitter, glazes, etc etc. A tiny squirt into your resin can give it a nice shade for your piece. Like any other additive, DO NOT use too much. You've spent time mixing your resin properly, and too much colouring can throw off the balance, and result in your pieces being tacky, not curing right (or at all) and then not only have you wasted time on a project, but wasted expensive resin. Always better to add a little at a time, since you can add more, but can't take it out. Alcohol Ink These magical little bottles are wonderful for creating unique pieces. Trouble is, they can be expensive. Sure, there are Youtube videos on how to make your own, but if you check out Michaels, Walmart and Amazon, you can find bottles either single, or in sets. Many artists use these to create petri dish effects, where the inks run down sides of molds to create strange and beautiful cracks in the piece. It is good to note, that in order to achieve this effect, you will need a good white ink (sinker), to push the colours down that way. Buying the white on its own is usually frustrating, as it sells out quickly as all artists use much more of the white than other colours. Chalk Pastels
Another cheap option is chalk pastels for colouring your resin. Not to be confused with oil pastels, chalk pastels are essentially chalk sticks that you can use for drawing, sketching etc. (Oil pastels will not work with resin). Since the chalk comes in a variety of colours and sizes of boxes, it is easy to fit into any budget for resin artists. You can easily pick them up at Michael's and Amazon and most other retailers. A little goes a long, long way. I've had a box of 36 colours for over 3 years and you would never think they've been used, but oh they have. I use the tip of an exacto blade to scrape off the chalk from the stick directly into the resin. These are not too intense, so if you're looking for a darker tinted resin, then choose one of the other options mentioned on this page. The scraped chalk dust will colour your resin nicely and give a semi-translucent effect for any of your craft pieces. It is also wonderful to add glitters too and produce a more shimmery effect without heavy micas. |