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Virtual Art Night with

Kimberly Thornsberry


Kim, Alabama Deaf artist, will walk you through how to make a wooden reindeer on a pre-recorded instructional video with captions. 

 

Materials needed: 
14 x 48 wood or use 2 of 7 inches x 48 to make 14 x 48 wood sign
Paint 
Brush 
Pencil
Chalk 
Carbon paper

Afterward, send your completed project to info@adjacentspace.org

Adjacent Space will post (anonymously if you wish) everyones masterpieces to share with the community.

 

Join Kim on December 18th at 7:00pm for a LIVE Q&A on Zoom or Facebook Live! 

 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89922453026?pwd=djVLRFh3R0o2WVNQYlROWXRiUVlFQT09

 

Meeting ID: 899 2245 3026

Passcode: VirtualArt

Reindeer

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Reindeer Virtual Art Night

Reindeer Virtual Art Night

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Instruction Video Transcript:

 

[ID: a black background with white letters that read: VIRTUAL ART NIGHT WITH KIM (on the top) and REINDEER (on the bottom).]

 

[ID: two wooden planks are leaning on the corner of a house. The background shows a wooden wall, with cups of various art paraphernalia.]

 

[ID: two wooden planks with a white outline that depicts the right face of a reindeer signing “I love you.” The background shows a wooden wall, with cups of various art paraphernalia.]

 

[ID: a white woman is wearing a gray shirt and white apron. The background shows a white wall and ceiling. On the left of this picture shows two wooden planks with a white outline that depicts the right face of a reindeer signing “I love you.”

 

Hello! This is the third vlog. On the first day I showed you how to set up these planks. You can decide to paint colors or stain. I decided to go with stain. On the instructions in these stain cans, it’ll say you need 8 hours to let it dry. I was hoping that I could do the entire project in a single day, but I needed to delay for another day. That’s fine—it’s important that you make sure these planks are dried so that you can have an easier time painting over it. You can use a template that I sent/attached it for you. It’ll be easy to draw with a template. You don’t have to be perfect. Just follow the template and trace. Just focus on drawing a half of the face. Then you gotta draw the antler and ear, and then be done with it by drawing the hoover at the end. Use the template that I’ve attached, and draw or trace it by using the template. I use the chalk to outline the drawing. Once that’s been completed, you just paint the head, body, and hoover first. I’ll go ahead and paint it dark brown or tan. It’s really up to you! I’ll show you in the next video of what it looks like.

 

[ID: a white woman is wearing a gray shirt and white apron. The background shows a white wall and ceiling. On the left of this picture shows two wooden planks with a white outline that depicts the right face of a reindeer signing “I love you.” The reindeer’s hoof is now painted brown.]

 

Ok, see? Go ahead and paint the body, head, and hoof brown. Go with the first coat, maybe a second coating once it dries. Use your judgment. 

 

[ID: a white woman is wearing a gray shirt and white apron. The background shows a white wall and ceiling. On the left of this picture shows two wooden planks with a white outline that depicts the right face of a reindeer signing “I love you.” The reindeer’s hoof is now painted brown. The woman is now painting the reindeer.]

 

Follow the lines (outline). Now let me paint the body. Oh, painting is pretty fun.

 

Now let’s paint the head. Don’t worry about the nose and eyes. Go ahead and cover them up for now. See? The head, body, and hoof are now painted. Oh, I forgot the ear. Let me paint it up too. Just a small ear like that. Keep it round because we want to paint the inner ear with light pink or light tan. 

 

Ok, that’s completed! I think I’ll need to apply the second coating later on when it’s dry. Now you’ll need a can of water. This is important. Okay. I’m excited about this project. It’s my first time doing this! Okay, I need to paint the antler. I’m thinking off-white as the color. Maybe ivory. Let me check. 

 

[ID: a white woman is wearing a gray shirt and white apron. The background shows a white wall and ceiling. On the left of this picture shows two wooden planks with a white outline that depicts the right face of a reindeer signing “I love you.” The reindeer’s hoof is now painted brown. The woman is holding up two bottles of white paint.]

 

Maybe this will do! Or this. Okay, I’m gonna shut this down and show you the next video!

 

Okay, now I’ve finished the first coating. Now I am going to focus on the antler (she is pointing to the antler). You don’t have to be perfect! No worries! I want to show you the progression. I’m going to add a black outline to make it pop out. I’m going to use ivory color. Ready?

 

[ID: a white woman is wearing a gray shirt and white apron. The background shows a white wall and ceiling. On the left of this picture shows two wooden planks with a white outline that depicts the right face of a reindeer signing “I love you.” The woman is painting the antler with ivory color.]

 

I’m going to just draw it the best I can. A reindeer has various and different shapes of antlers. You can use a chair to elevate you up if you wish. If you didn’t cover it with chalk, that’s fine. When it’s dry you can wash it off with paper towel. I’m going to paint it again to make it feel more bold. Ok there it is. Now I’m going to take an opportunity and fill in the inner ear. Hmm. Light tan or light pink for the inner ear? I think I’m going with the light tan coloring. I’m going to mix it up with ivory to make the color even more lighter.

 

[ID: a white woman is wearing a gray shirt and white apron. The background shows a white wall and ceiling. On the left of this picture shows two wooden planks with a white outline that depicts the right face of a reindeer signing “I love you.” The woman is holding up the bottle of light tan and then twisting the cap of the bottle to dump it on the paper plate.]

 

I love mixing colors.

 

[ID: a white woman holding up the paper plate that consists of a small puddle of white paint, brown paint, and light tan paint.]

 

10:00

 

 A light tan color here. 

 

[id: Kim paints the inner ear of the reindeer]

 

See that? Looks pretty good! Now, for the hooves - those are typically darker. Maybe black.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, just so that it’s covered. Now, paint it, then look at how to draw the ILY shape - to show the back of the hoof. So i’ll start with black now

 

See here, the brown paint is drying up

 

[id: Kim kets black paint and fillis in the whole circle where the hoof is]

 

So fill that in.

 

Leave that, and let it dry.

 

Now it’s time to double coat the brown paint. Go ahead and take care of that. I’ll stop this video, and start another one after I’m done. 

 

[id: a picture of the two planks with the reindeer outline. Then, the video starts again with Kim in front of the painting - which now has outlines of the reindeer’s face and hoof dawn in white]

 

I added the second coat of brown, and I did the same for the inner ear, the second coating is done. Then, I got some chalk, and drew in the hoof. If you look at the template - copy the drawing of the ILY and the facial features. 

 

So, a reindeer with a red nose or a black nose - that’s up to you. I picked red because I love Rudolph! Rudolph was my favorite character growing up. I remember watching the movie, and it meant a lot to me. So I picked red, in memory of that. 

 

[id: Kim adds the red paint to the white plate]

 

Who loves paint!  Get your red

 

[id: Kim paints the circular half-nose red]

 

You might need a second coating. Use red or black - it’s up to you! 

 

Now, you see the smile, and the eyes. We’ll do white for the eyes

 

I’ve been using this size 

 

[id: kim shows a paint brush with bristles the width of an index finger, and paints the one oval shape eye completely white]

 

This may need a second coating as well. 

 

Now black for the eyebrows and smile. 

 

Black again. Let me test this line...I think this is too thick. I’ll use a thinner brush

 

[id: Kim gets and shows a much thinner brush]

 

I’ll  test this...it’s ok

 

[id: Kim paints the half-smile and one eyebrow black]

 

I know I might paint fast, but that’s me. You can take your time, and go a little slower. I’m pretty fast. I’ve gotten pretty confident in my painting! 

 

So the smile here - it’s up to you. You can paint it like this, or connect it up to the nose. It’s up to you - I included both in the template for you to choose from.

 

Alright, now the eyebrow. 

 

ALright? See that? 

 

I’m going to turn the camera off now, and in the next video, I’ll show you how to paint the hoof. 

 

CONCLUSION of the first half

 

BEGINNING of the second half

 

Alright - ready for the ILY part? We’ll paint it white, because the reindeer has been out in the snow, and has stepped on an ILY stamp, which is stuck to its hoof. Y’know? Like magic! Spreading the love. 

 

So we’ll use white - with a thin brush. Make sure the black paint is off first!

 

Here’s an idea - if you happen to have sparkly white or silver for this to shine - go for it! I don’t have it. But silver maybe! 

 

[id: KIm continues to paint the ILY with the thin white brush] 

 

Paint it so it’s fully covered 

 

I’ll get more. 

 

Make sure you show the whole shape - like this part/ 

 

[id: Kim pints to her knuckles on her own hand in the ILY shape]

 

Remember to brush the chalk off when the paint dries. After the paint is totally dry, brush off any residual chalk 

 

[id: Kim continues to paint the ILY shape with white - showing the outline of the fingers and knuckles] 

 

This may need a second coating 

 

Ok - to make it look 3D - to show how the hoof stepped down, and is now up and “pointing” to us, we’ll draw an outline. 

 

[id: Kim paints an outline around the base of the hoof]

 

Does that make sense? Around the base?

 

[id: kim continues to paint an outline, and includes a line just around the ILY shape]

 

See? That shows that it stamped down, and now is “pointing” the stamp towards us?

 

So let that dry, and fix it up later. 

 

Ok now I’ll show you what’s next after I finish some touch-ups. 

 

[id: Video stops and shows a picture of the two planks, now with a more details on the hoof, and more white paint on the head of the reindeer to show lighting] 

 

Kim: Hello! I realize that I made a mistake! I thought I had clicked “record” while I was showing how to add a white outline,, but I saw that it wasn’t recording! Rats. 

But what I did - see the black lines? 

 

[id: Kim points to the black outline and white lines around the top of the head, shoulder, and on the top left edge of the nose]

 

And a very thin line all around the nose? 

 

And I added to the mouth 

 

[id: Kim points to a small black line that connects the smile to the nose, and to the rest of the black outline around the head and inner and outer ear]

 

And then I added a little bit of white, to add depth and perspective. It looks good! Like here on the curve of the nose

 

[id: Kim points to the nose, and to the shoulder and chin, where she has added white lines]

 

Let me show you how I did it. Get white paint


 

[id: kim starts painting thin, white lines on the outline of the arm]

 

Very lightly

 

See? SImple

 

Ok let’s see…

 

[id: Kim starts painting thin, white lines around the outside of the ear] 

 

There’s black here too - hold on…

 

These are not perfect lines. It gives it that...rustic look. But it’s up to you if you want a more “perfectionist” look!

 

Now, what’s missing is this 

 

[id: Kim points to the antler]

 

The outline for the antlers. I need to find something to stand on so I can complete the outline for these. 

 

And then the eye. I’ll need to make the pupil.

 

[id: Kim shakes the black paint a few times before paint falls out]

 

I guess I need more paint! 

 

[id: Kim shuts the paint bottle, and hits it against her opposite hand] 

 

Ok. Hm…

 

I’ll go right in the middle. 

 

[id: Kim paints a small, black oval towards the bottom of the white oval of the eye. She then paints over the black outline of the nose again] 

 

I suggest you go back and look from a distance, and then return up close to paint, then move back at a distance, to look at your work to make sure it looks right. 

 

The hoof is still drying, but I’ll work on that later. 

 

Ok - I’ll turn this off for now and find something to stand on to complete the antlers. Alright? 

 

[id: Video stops and starts, now Kim appears taller than before] 

 

Alright! I found a step-ladder! 

 

Ok, now for this. And did you see the chalk from before? I wiped that away with a paper towel. So now that’s all off and clear. 

 

So now, a very thin line for the antler. It will help add perspective. 

 

[id: Kim paints a light, thin, black line around the antler. She steps up one step to reach the top. The black lines painted on the lower sides of the antler are thicker]

 

See that? 

 

Now...I need to work on that. 

 

[id: Kim points to the hoof, and steps down from the step-ladder]

 

Ok. So it occurred to me that hooves have a distinct shape - with a cleft in the middle? So I added that here

 

[id: Kim points to a small V shaped divot in the middle of the hoof]

 

So, I’m looking at everything, and you can inspect your work as you go along, and look at the ILY on the hoof. So we need more white here, obviously. Ok, I’m going to stop and paint some more here

 

[id: video stops and starts again, now with a more solid white ILY print on the hoof. And there is a stronger white outline around the hoof. 

 

 Kim: Ok I fixed things up and added more color here, to really show a bold white. And I added an outline to show the hoof shape. This shows the 3D hoof angled towards us. 

 

[id: Kim points to faint white lines at the base of the hoof]

 

So I thought about it, and maybe I want to add snow? Circles of snow around the board? 

 

I’ll need to find a sponge, something round...let me see what I have, and I’ll be back! 

 

[id: video stops and we see a still picture of the Reindeer without snow. Then the video starts back up, and 4 stamps of circular snowflakes have been added near the arm, and a thin line of snow has been added to the reindeer’s head]

 

 Hello! So now, I have this! 

 

[id: kim shows a paint sponge with a half sphere]

 

If you don’t have this kind of thing, you can use a cotton ball to stamp around the scene. 

 

[id: Kim uses the cotton ball to add circles on the ILY shape, and softly adds a faded white to the top of the hoof]

 

See? More snow! And here too

 

If you don’t have either of those, maybe you can use one of these, if you have it, and cut it so it’s round 

 

[id: kim shows a paint sponge with a rectangular shape]

 

That’s one idea

 

So now I’ll make the snow flakes

 

[id: Kim picks up the camera to show one stamp for each snowflake around the scene - some falling in front of the reindeer, some in the space to the side]

 

See the top? 

 

[id: Kim makes several light stamps on the top of the reindeer’s head]

 

The snow falls...and here, too! 

 

[id: Kim makes several light stamps with the edge of the stamp in the crooks of the antler, to show where the snow collects]


 

The snow falls and sticks on the antler. Know what I mean? 

 

Oh, on the ear too! 

 

Again, I recommend taking a step back now and again to look at your work - see where you need more, then go and add more. Alright? 

 

[id: Video stops and starts again with the reindeer facing Kim, and Kim is holding a large poster with writing on it]

 

So now we’re done painting, and you can add what you like at the top. Clouds, a picture, a bird, or stars, or more snow, or a word, it’s up to you. 

 

So, how to add a word here, if that’s what you want to do? I’d maybe print beforehand. Like here - “Joy”. That’s my word. 

 

[id: Kim shows a piece of copy paper with JOY printed on it, in a font that looks handwritten]

 

You can add different words if you like. It’s up to you. 

 

So - this word - how to get it up here? I’ll draw on the back. 

 

Hm - now I’m looking for black chalk. Or any color chalk.  

 

Ok here’s my chalk. Feels old-fashioned! Like how school used to be. 

 

[id: Kim gets a light blue chalk from a ziploc bag full of various color chalk]

 

So I’ll shade the back of the paper

 

[id: Kim shows that she has shaded in just behind the word “Joy”]

 

So now we’ll see

 

Hm...I need to find tape. I’ll be right back- 

 

[id: Video stops and starts, and now the paper is taped above the reindeer’s head. The word “Joy” is facing out towards Kim] 

 

Ok, I found it! Masking tape. 

 

Alright, I’ve got a pencil, and I’ll trace the word. It needs to be a little hard, but not too much. Good enough to transfer the chalk that we shaded from the paper to the wood. 

 

So i’ll test and see if it works 

 

[id: Kim outlines the ‘y’ in “Joy”, and then the paper falls unexpectedly. The chalk transfer is not visible to the camera]

 

Whoops! So I can indeed see the blue line. But it fell! Now what to do. I guess I’ll make it so the letters are up and down from each other? 

 

[id: Kim tapes the paper back to the wood, and then lifts one side to check underneath, and shrugs her shoulders]

 

Hm...oh well! Now I’ll go ahead with the J and the O

 

[id: Kim traces over the J and the O, removes the paper, and nods] 

 

Ok, I can see those. 

 

Ok, now that we can see those, go ahead and use any color. I’m going to use black to paint the letters

 

[id: Kim paints black paint over the lines. She holds the copy paper in her left hand and looks to it for reference. She then picks up the camera and shows the painted word] 

 

OK! 

[id: video stops and starts again. This time with the art facing the camera more straight on] 

 

Ok! Maybe I’ll add a second coating on the letters. Alright! That’s all! I hope this tutorial was helpful! You can skip forward or go back as you need. If you have any questions, contact me and I can clear things up! I’m excited to see your work when you’re all done! You can add different decorations - birds, a string of lights, or a different nose color? It’s up to you! 

Alright, bye now! 

 

[id: The last image shows a still picture of the top of the painting. It shows the word “Joy”, the antler, and the top of it’s head”]  

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