Topic: Multi-Purpose Props
I find piggy banks to be adorable, as well as a well-known symbol. However, locating a piggy bank where I reside has been difficult.
Local retail stores carry them from time to time, but they are often adorned in designs or are a shiny metallic silver color. While these can be nice, they are limited in their usefulness as far as photography. Searching online is an option, but you have to pay for shipping, which isn’t always worth it if the piggy bank you want is only 5 or so dollars.
So what have I done to remedy my situation? I have come across three sizes of solid white piggy banks at Michael’s Craft Store. This craft store chain is pretty wide spred, so there may be one near you. These guys are awesome because they are PAINTABLE!!!
You can see in the image at the beginning of this blog that the largest piggy bank in the middle back row is the original white color. This is how they come. The other two rows and sizes of banks surrounding the largest are ones that I finished painting today. I have many uses in mind for these, but I shall keep them a secret until they go up for sale. =)
Painting these little guys is fairly easy. All you need is a few paintbrushes, paints, and something to mix colors in if you so choose. I chose acrylic paints, as I find them to be a well-rounded paint and easy to clean up afterwards. For the medium-sized banks, I used a half-inch wide paintbrush to coat the body. I used an average of 2 to 3 coats of paint per pig, allowing each coat to dry between applications. How long you have to wait between coats depends on how thick each coat is – the thinner the paint, the faster it dries. The number of coats you will need to paint depends on the desired outcome. Try to keep your brush strokes all going in one direction, especially the final coat, so as to be more appealing to the eye after it dries.
After getting the body thoroughly painted to my heart’s desire, I repainted eyes on some and designs on the sides of others. Some of it was freehand while some was with the assistance of a couple of stencils. When using stencils, I have found that using a self-adhesive stencil frees up the other hand and will not remove paint like some tapes can. Michael’s has them as low as $1.99. The best part? They’re reusable!
Once I have exhausted by ideas with these newly painted pigs, I will rub them down with paint remover and start all over again. Not only are these adorable little guys inexpensive, they are also indefinitely reusable and help to further stimulate the artist’s creative drive.
