tortoise testing

the object:

to match the tortoise lucite handles from my gram's bedroom set.

the materials:

• transparent amber pigment
• transparent red pigment
• opaque brown pigment
• opaque black pigment
• resin ice

test 1:

• 6 drops of amber pigment added to 1/2oz mixed resin.
• almost all of the amber resin was poured into a mold (prepared with spray release).
• the tiny amount left in the cup was then mixed with 2 drops of brown pigment.

• the brown resin was dropped into the amber resin in the mold. the spots spaced apart by about 1/2".
• brown resin did not appear to sink to the bottom of the mold, and held it's shape.

• brown resin spots were then swirled with a T pin. bigger spots swirled with better effect.

results of test 1:

amber color and brown swirls are too light. too many swirls.

test 2:

• 6 drops of amber pigment + 1 drop of red pigment added to 1/2oz of mixed resin.
• almost all of the red/amber resin was added to the same mold as test 1 (bad idea- compromised the results)
• the small amount of resin left in the cup was mixed with 1 drop of brown pigment + 1 drop of black pigment.
• the brown/black resin was dropped into the amber resin in the mold. the spots spaced further apart than in test 1. spots were swirled with T pin as in test 1.

results of test 2:

closer to the original, but still off. swirls are too light, and appear to have sunk to the bottom. original handles are golden at both ends, and deeper red amber in the middle. scrap the opaque brown pigment and focus on getting the black swirls more accurate. next time, do testing in different molds! (DUH)