The base gold color and finish is drastically different than it would have been with just gold paint, so even with the weathering on top the richness and shine of the gold leaf still comes through.
As a DEV who worked on “Arena” I never thought I would ever see the Scroll personified. You have done an amazing job and did my heart proud. Thank you.
I'm playing through TES: Arena right now! It's really fun! On a related note, could you give the dev(s) who designed the Skeletons and Lizardmen a slap on the wrist for me? Heheheh.
You should try making an Apple of Eden from Assassin's Creed using the gold leaf, also a tea or coffee bath is great technique for aged fabric and paper.
I've done a bit of gold leafing, and it's very satisfying work. I've used it on a variety of surfaces, and gives a finish you just can't match with any other process. Trust me, I've tried. Thought I'd share a few things I've learned about it: It's actually common when doing complex shapes to do more than one layer of the leafing. For gilding artwork and lettering, usually you only need one layer. Real gold will also adhere to itself you use that. You can also use a felt 'mallet' to very gently help tamp it in better. Also, real gold is not terribly expensive if you want to use that. It's just harder to find. You can get it from places like Amazon or an online art store for about $35 for 25x3" square sheets. It won't tarnish and will have a little better properties for leafing. Also has the nice claim of being real gold! Though, for such a large project, it'd probably take several books of real gold to cover it. I've not done anything that big. Just look for one that's 24 Karat Gold. You can also get it in thicker sheets to help conform to complex shapes or heavily textured materials. Or you can just use several layers. Finally, you can use an agate burnisher to rub the gold in and get into all the textures and (assuming the underlying surface is smooth) get a nice shine to it. Just don't do too much or you'll wear through the thin metal. Also, test with your burnisher first, to make sure the gold doesn't adhere to the burnisher. Gold and other thin metals will actually adhere to lots of materials (ever rubbed gum wrappers onto your desk in school?), so agate is generally recommended. Traditionally it was jade, but that can be expensive. I'd recommend practicing with a burnisher on a test gilded bit to get a feel for how much pressure you can use, and how much you want to burnish before you wear through. Hope that helps someone!
I could see using gold leafing on a 75mm scale models weapon or something, and then coming back over top of it with weathering while preserving most of that high shine.
Gold leaf is real gold, most other metals would oxidise like crazy, when you punch them to a sheet only a few atoms wide. Try an agate polishing stone to really get the bling going.
@@xx51m0nxx Gold leaf is LUDICROUSLY thin and fragile. If you were correct about even the least amount of gold costing a fortune, you wouldn't be able to afford the computer you typed this on.
@@NieroshaiTheSable I've done a bit of gold leafing, and stuff from craft stores is not gold. Real gold will say very clearly on the box '24 Karat Gold'. It is also more expensive, but not as bad as you'd think. The stuff from craft stores is kind of like brass. It doesn't tarnish very easily, and has a nice color.
@@NieroshaiTheSable Amazon has 24k gold leaf sheets for $40 for 3.125" x 3.125" instead of 5" x 5" like Bill has. Assuming the price scaled linearly, that would put Bill's pack of 25 sheets at about $100.
As usual, fantastic video! Not only are yours some of the only long form youtube videos I'll watch but i genuinely enjoy every minute of them! Just a small handling tip for you, if i remember correctly since it has been ages since i have done gold leaf, but the paper in the pad should be torn out with the gold leaf on top. This way you aren't accidentally tearing or bunching it up. plus it allows you to apply a full sheet as flat as possible to a surface by simply turning it over, sticking it down and peeling up the paper afterwards.
kudos on your hard work! I enjoyed the detailed commentary on all your build decisions. this brought back memories of when I gold leafed the entrance to a 2 story Egyptian themed home theater. I worked for a faux wall art company right out of art school in Atlanta. I haven't touched the stuff since, *shudder*. glad this worked out well for you, gold leaf is such a temperamental medium!
The very little "flaws" that you can see in the closeups are the best thing ever. Just knowing they exist even in the work of people of such talent boosts my confidence a ton.
Super awesome! I like how the glued down crumpled up leaf by itself gives it an aged look. Gold leaf would look pretty rad on any prop from the Constantine movie! Like his lighter, brass knuckles or holy shotgun!
This Video and the foam Excalibur video Adam Savage made is why I ordered Silver leaf to finish the Hammer portion of my life Size Mjolnir I 3D printed. Thanks for the inspiration
This is such good timing, I used gold leaf a lot as a painting major in college and I have really been wanting to gold leaf some armor pieces with my leftover leaves but I've been worried on how to seal it and form it to complex shapes. I can't wait to try this out now!
As usual looks fantastic, I would use some strong coffee or tea in a spray bottle and even some areas put it on quite heavy, large areas and spots here and there then when it dries the parchment will look really old and weathered. I did this with similar cloth used on a project and have never used paint again. some weak tea, or coffee and some really strong and black lots of contrasts.
Really cool! If you mess around with gold leaf again in the future, get yourself a “gilder’s tip” to pick up and lay down pieces! It uses static to pick it up and it is much easier to pick up big chunks without wrinkling it. I would also recommend trying water guilding instead of using glue. It’s a steeper learning curve but you can get much smoother results. The smoother the surface of the object is before you apply the gold leaf, the better the results! Source: I do iconography.
also to work with it, pick a corner to be where you grab it and weigh it down on the opposite edge. then use an exacto knife to cute what you need. this will get you a nice smooth piece.
I've been sculpting masquerade ball-type masks out of clay. I see a half-angel/half-demon in my future with one side scorched and scarred, and the other side gilded...
@@eirikjenssen9169 I've never encountered brass leaf like that. All the imitation gold leaf I've seen and used was aluminum. Brass would have serious tarnishing problems, though I think that alloy is similar to 'NuGold' which they use for imitation gold, and may be a little better than most brass you encounter for tarnishing; I don't know about that.
@@timgchannel3328 The first giveaway is the size of the sheets. Gold comes in tiny sheets. The European standard is something like 8cm/3in square. Some are more like half that dimension. Imitation gold is often 12-15cm (5-6in). The second is the price. 25 sheets of 3in square gold leaf will cost more like $100 nowadays I think (I haven't bought any in a long time). The color is different, though you can't tell that from a youTube video, and it's subtle unless you are really used to comparing metal colors. But the handling is totally different. For all this leaf looks nearly weightless and easy to tear, gold leaf is much, much thinner, and way more fragile. The first moment he opens the pack, he touches the corner of the leaf with his finger. If he did that with gold, the gold would almost certainly have stuck to his finger, perfectly adhering to and outlining his fingerprint, and would have torn away from the sheet, unless he was unlucky and managed to pick the whole sheet up, in which case it would most likely have been a loss, getting on his hands and tattering away into flakes in the air. Real gold, you have to make sure there are no air currents nearby when you pick it up via the slight amount of skin oil on a brush called a "gilder's tip". It would not stay whole as it blew away, and some would stay stuck to his hand. And if you've used both real and fake gold leaf, the difference in its behavior and consistency and stiffness is clear at a glance.
Obviously, it's too late to say now. That is what we call in spanish "Pan de oro" (Gold bread), there is a bunch of videos about how to finish it smoothly, even better than you did, that is quite good. Awesome work as always Bill, you are mi inspiration, i have learned a lot of things at this channel, keep on it!
just 2 things, you can pick up gold using a brush and the static from your hair and i'm pretty sure that egg white used to be used as a glue for it. I didn't realise the elder scroll was that big. watching you work always makes me happy because you do it with a smile. Ray
Howdy Bill, Howdy Britt!! Just stoping by again to say I love what you guys are doing over at Punished Props and I cant wait until next weeks upload!!!
Got an idea for prep work: Before applying the gold leaf maybe paint the prop in a rusty sort of finish (or just a darker/more dull gold tone), that way any imperfections are instant weathering. (I know gold does not rust, but if it looks cool it *is* cool)
Hey Bill, you can just surround the sheet of plastic with led lights facing inwards that'll produce the backlight, against the window light that you need.
There is no need to weather it. The scroll is physicaly beyond time and space. If you put that shit in the back you will reurn the next day to find 3 of them.
Wasn't the scroll golden too, or did it had gold lettering? Well I know it didn't look like a mummies loin cloth. Also I'm pretty sure it's facing the wrong way.
Great prop! Just a few tips : If at all possible, prime or undercoat in a warm colour like brick-red, sienna or red ochre, rather than grey. This makes the smaller imperfections much less visible. You can cut the sheets more evenly with a fairly blunt knife (like, butterknife or back of a craftknife) basically by scoring them so they preferentially tear on those lines. Also, unless you have a gilder's cushion, it's OK to cut the sheets that way on the tissue paper in the "book" they're in, rather than first separating a whole sheet and then cutting it on the table. Basically, the less you manipulate each sheet, the less wrinkles build up and the more coverage you get for your buck. Also, it's a useful skill to learn to use a gilder's tip to pick up the leaf pieces for placement. Much less tearing and flying about that way than with tweezers. Lastly - this came out looking great, but I think it would have looked even better with some burnishing before sealing it.
Quick tip for gold leaf. Paint your object black first to get a really nice antique/weathered look and when you have a project like that with little crevices use spray size, it's much easier and faster.
By the way, you might want to look into "gilding wax" cause it gives a pretty good gold or metallic finish and it's pretty durable by itself (it's generally supposed to *be* the finish). I might just add some sweet runes to my big desktop speakers, would contrast their black wood and plastic nicely I think, maybe dremel out the shapes first for added depth/texture.
I have a good idea to make it look really ancient; before adding the washes and weathering onto the scroll cloth, burn the edges or parts that you want to make it look worn/old, throw a bit of dark red-brown to make a blood splatter on certain areas, to show that this scroll has been into some tough times~
WRT picking up and cutting the leaf without tearing it, bookbinders use a very long, very sharp sheepsfoot bladed knife called a gilding knife. Watching a skilled bookbinder manipulate the foil with it is mesmerising. I'm an amateur bookbinder and I've tried doing gold leafing a couple of times. I'm very bad at it. I've considered using brass and copper leaf on some of my steampunk projects to get a more realistic finish that metallic spray paint.
I did Inigo Montoya's Rapier from The Princess Bride a while back, and though I got a pretty good finish with paint, I think leaf probably would have gotten a shinier finish. I'd love to see you do that project, it's about the perfect complexity for one of your videos!
From what I've seen of gold-leafing, you have to use more brush-strokes than dabs and once all the surface is coated use a dry cloth to wipe any excess off, then go back to cover any missed spots and wipe again.
I feel like this is the same as many other prop projects in that there is a stage in the middle where it looks really bad like with the leaf frey all over the place and all of a sudden, when you have brushed it off, it looks really nice :) And I think this might be real gold, the leaf is so thin that it is not that expensive anymore.
I remember when Harrison was twitch streaming his Scroll build. While it's awesome the level of work he's getting contracted to do, it really sucks that it's all NDA and he hasn't twitch streamed in a long time. He's an awesome dude and great at communicating with (and teaching) his viewers.
The crown from the Conspiracy set of Magic the Gathering (You can see the crown on the artwork of Brago King Eternal, and Queen Marchesa) would be an amazing gold leaf project.
You should look up som gilded frame and art restorations. Historically you give the peace a red bace color, you cut the gold leave with a long sharp knife and you apply it with a special brunch.
If you put a tea bag in a bowl of water and then put the paper in it leave for a min then let it dry it makes it look like old scroll paper longer you leave it darker it gets
Have you thought about using a very concentrated solution of potassium permanganate? It's cheap and work really really well for aging something. Just an idea.
This reminds me of when I used to peel apart the foil and paper backing of Doublemint gum. I would stick those things eeeeeeverywhere as my budget version of silver-leaf.
Part of me loves the weathering process because the results look amazing. Then I remember I have OCD because I want to take a toothbrush and rubbing alcohol, and clean all the dirt and grime out of the cracks and crevices.
I would like to see one of your Blade Runner PDK kits done in gold leaf. One thing that volpin did to hide the crimes for where the grey primer showed through was he painted his gold first.
This looked absolutely epic (and also a royal pain to work with :D).....was curious if the interior of the scroll that is exposed (if you angle the scroll tube---did this just get painted or gold leafed as well?
This looks awesome! I had a quick thought/question could it be possible to hydro dip gold leaf/foil? Again, awesome video and it inspires new and current projects of my own.
Hmmm that's an interesting question - I'm not sure! I don't know how the leaf reacts to water before being applied. I think it might end up really wrinkly and might not work well with the adhesive, but I could be totally wrong!
You asked for ideas for what can be made with gold leaf as an element and the first thing that came up was royal armor or weapons. Like a lions head on a shield done in gold leaf with some jewels glued on would be not only pretty but a good use of A LOT of gold leaf
I'v been working on an Ordinator from The Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind for a couple years and I think this would be a great way to finish some of the armor plates, particularly the mask.
I half expected you to say that was filled with tea or coffee to give the scroll an aged look. I've seen others use those to give maps an aged look. Which they then dried and placed behind glass or acrylic.
With gold leafing you can make the infinity gauntlet, the eye of agamoto, the Crown of the golden army from Hellboy 2, Ironman's Face plate, pommels of swords from Narnia, Game of Thrones (also Jaime Lannister's Gold Hand), and World of Warcraft, the Dragon Egg from Harry Potter and the gauntlet of fire.
For the finish, Have you thought of trying the Allclad gloss clear coat that everyone recommends for finishing Molotow Chrome as it prevents dulling. Maybe it'd do the same for gold leaf.
I don't have much experience gold leafing, but my experience was just not to be that careful. At first I was doing everything I could to avoid the foil folding or crinkling, but the foil is so thin that anything that doesn't come into contact with the glue easily brushes away and you can't see the join. As long as your brush is soft enough, you can also really scrub it to get rid of excess and get it into the details. It's genuinely amazing how forgiving it is. by the end, if I had a bare spot, I'd just put more glue on it and mash a bunch of the excess I'd brushed off onto it, scrub and it was like the gap was never there.
It would be even more regal if you flocked the handle spiral in purple to make it like velvet! Love this gilding by the way! I was thinking about doing gold overwatch weapons this way :D
Not sure if you mentioned it and I missed it bu here's an idea for an upgrade. Put a blacklight under the lip, put some florescent white paint in another pattern on top of the cloth. Then you can blind people with your reality bending text 😉
Maybe like a blunderbuss or other pirate thingy? Something with a lot of brasswork - I can see the gold leaf working really well for that, with like how the process leaves something of a texture to it showing as the early stages of salt damage on something used on a ship that's constantly at sea. I dunno. It kinda popped into my head when I saw how the leaf took the weathering and yeah -
there's one more step to gilding with gold leaf: finishing it with an agate polishing stone, before applying the vernish. this evens out all the little creases, overlaps and imperfections, and gives you that rich, seamlessly prestine luster of a baroque picture frame. fair warning: once you've done this a few times, any gilding where this was skipped, is gonna look like tat to you.
indeed. if you're gonna do this with any regularity, the right tools make it a pleassure. particularly a gilding tip brush and at least a piece of sanded leather, to cut the gold on, plus a big old butter knife. saves a lot of time and costly material too.
A few gold leaf prop ideas. The Phurba dagger from The Shadow. The golden fertility idol from Raiders of the Lost Ark. A Starfleet communications badge from Next Gen. A golden coin from John Wick. An Aztec coin from Pirates of the Caribbean . Apple of Eden from Assassins Creed. The One Ring from Lord of the Rings. The Eye of Agamotto from Doctor Strange.
Hey, I wanted to ask. What did you prime the piece with? I've pulled out a significant amount of hair with a project that needed gold and copper leafing. The leaf would stick to non-glued areas and would love to know of a medium that gold/copper leafing wouldn't adhere to. Also fun tip, if you plan early enough on what sized pieces you need of leaf. You can cut out smaller squares when the leaf is still on that piece of paper in packaging. I found its easier than tearing it off.
Nice!!! But the text scroll still looks a little too markers drawn for me. Maybe next time try this: print it the mirrored image on a toner printer, or xerox it. Put over your fabric and pin it on the corners. Then wet it with thinner, clear gasoline or isoprop alcohol, and press the paper against the cloth with a roller. That way you will transfer the toner from the paper to the cloth. Be sure to wet the paper plenty so the toner is released from the paper and transferred to the cloth. It will kinda want to stick to the cloth, it is ok. Let the thinner evaporate and then remove the paper. The image will have transferred to the cloth. And then to protect it with a couple of layers of a Scotch guard stain protector to seal the tone dust in. Voilá, pressed text. It will be subtle, it won’t t be perfect, but it will look aged, stained, and it won’t look like bubblejet printed cloth...
You can make better, mirror-like coating if you adhere the whole leaf, while it is still on the sheet. Don't operate the sheet itself. Also less cleanup :)
See the full list of tools & materials used in this video plus some more photos at punishedprops.com/2019/06/03/gold-leaf-scroll/
it is real gold. but it's pressed so thin, that it rips easily. It's only about 100 nanometers thick.
Check out Adam Savages way of gold leafing. A lot less tedious, a bit messier. Starts at 6.45
m.ua-cam.com/video/8qvlpRBeMNY/v-deo.html
I'm confused with why you used gold leaf? If you were going to just cover up the sheen of the real gold with paint, why not just use paint?
The base gold color and finish is drastically different than it would have been with just gold paint, so even with the weathering on top the richness and shine of the gold leaf still comes through.
Is there a way you can make a costume for me?
As a DEV who worked on “Arena” I never thought I would ever see the Scroll personified. You have done an amazing job and did my heart proud. Thank you.
Thanks so much, Jeff!
I'm playing through TES: Arena right now! It's really fun! On a related note, could you give the dev(s) who designed the Skeletons and Lizardmen a slap on the wrist for me? Heheheh.
@@illogicalparadox That was me, Sorry about that. :D
You should try making an Apple of Eden from Assassin's Creed using the gold leaf, also a tea or coffee bath is great technique for aged fabric and paper.
Yes that would be cool
That would look neat!
Edible gold leaf on an actual apple.
I no lie would love that XD also commented it XD
@@punishedprops I used the 'coffee' technique to age my pages for a Necronomicon prop from Evil Dead.
I've done a bit of gold leafing, and it's very satisfying work. I've used it on a variety of surfaces, and gives a finish you just can't match with any other process. Trust me, I've tried. Thought I'd share a few things I've learned about it:
It's actually common when doing complex shapes to do more than one layer of the leafing. For gilding artwork and lettering, usually you only need one layer. Real gold will also adhere to itself you use that. You can also use a felt 'mallet' to very gently help tamp it in better. Also, real gold is not terribly expensive if you want to use that. It's just harder to find. You can get it from places like Amazon or an online art store for about $35 for 25x3" square sheets. It won't tarnish and will have a little better properties for leafing. Also has the nice claim of being real gold! Though, for such a large project, it'd probably take several books of real gold to cover it. I've not done anything that big. Just look for one that's 24 Karat Gold. You can also get it in thicker sheets to help conform to complex shapes or heavily textured materials. Or you can just use several layers.
Finally, you can use an agate burnisher to rub the gold in and get into all the textures and (assuming the underlying surface is smooth) get a nice shine to it. Just don't do too much or you'll wear through the thin metal. Also, test with your burnisher first, to make sure the gold doesn't adhere to the burnisher. Gold and other thin metals will actually adhere to lots of materials (ever rubbed gum wrappers onto your desk in school?), so agate is generally recommended. Traditionally it was jade, but that can be expensive. I'd recommend practicing with a burnisher on a test gilded bit to get a feel for how much pressure you can use, and how much you want to burnish before you wear through.
Hope that helps someone!
Thanks for the tips!
I could see using gold leafing on a 75mm scale models weapon or something, and then coming back over top of it with weathering while preserving most of that high shine.
Gold leaf is real gold, most other metals would oxidise like crazy, when you punch them to a sheet only a few atoms wide.
Try an agate polishing stone to really get the bling going.
This is definetly not real gold... 24 Karat would cost around 50 bugs for 25 sheets, not 10 bugs what he bought
@@xx51m0nxx Gold leaf is LUDICROUSLY thin and fragile. If you were correct about even the least amount of gold costing a fortune, you wouldn't be able to afford the computer you typed this on.
@@NieroshaiTheSable I've done a bit of gold leafing, and stuff from craft stores is not gold. Real gold will say very clearly on the box '24 Karat Gold'. It is also more expensive, but not as bad as you'd think. The stuff from craft stores is kind of like brass. It doesn't tarnish very easily, and has a nice color.
@@NieroshaiTheSable have you researched this?
@@NieroshaiTheSable Amazon has 24k gold leaf sheets for $40 for 3.125" x 3.125" instead of 5" x 5" like Bill has. Assuming the price scaled linearly, that would put Bill's pack of 25 sheets at about $100.
Concentrated coffee or tea makes a great stain for paper or
Fabric
Great tip!
I was about to suggest that. We use tea and coffee washes/stains to weather costume in our community theater.
As usual, fantastic video! Not only are yours some of the only long form youtube videos I'll watch but i genuinely enjoy every minute of them! Just a small handling tip for you, if i remember correctly since it has been ages since i have done gold leaf, but the paper in the pad should be torn out with the gold leaf on top. This way you aren't accidentally tearing or bunching it up. plus it allows you to apply a full sheet as flat as possible to a surface by simply turning it over, sticking it down and peeling up the paper afterwards.
Thanks really fantastic to hear, thank you so much! And thanks for the great tip!
kudos on your hard work! I enjoyed the detailed commentary on all your build decisions. this brought back memories of when I gold leafed the entrance to a 2 story Egyptian themed home theater. I worked for a faux wall art company right out of art school in Atlanta. I haven't touched the stuff since, *shudder*. glad this worked out well for you, gold leaf is such a temperamental medium!
Oh wow! Yeah I am definitely done with gold leaf for a while now, I can't imagine doing so much of it!
The very little "flaws" that you can see in the closeups are the best thing ever. Just knowing they exist even in the work of people of such talent boosts my confidence a ton.
EVERYONE makes mistakes and leaves their own little flaws! It's our signature as human beings :)
The Golden Idol from Raiders of the Lost Ark!
KyberChris why not the ark of the covenant
@@zappidos1678 That is also a good idea haha
Also the Staff of Rah headpiece and the grail diary from last crusade
All great ideas!
Have I just found some fellow fans of Indiana Jones
Super awesome! I like how the glued down crumpled up leaf by itself gives it an aged look.
Gold leaf would look pretty rad on any prop from the Constantine movie! Like his lighter, brass knuckles or holy shotgun!
This Video and the foam Excalibur video Adam Savage made is why I ordered Silver leaf to finish the Hammer portion of my life Size Mjolnir I 3D printed. Thanks for the inspiration
This is such good timing, I used gold leaf a lot as a painting major in college and I have really been wanting to gold leaf some armor pieces with my leftover leaves but I've been worried on how to seal it and form it to complex shapes. I can't wait to try this out now!
Fantastic! Share what you make with us on Twitter: twitter.com/chinbeard
I have never clicked so fast on a video??? I’ve been on a Skyrim-playing binge, so this is AWESOME!
Wonderful! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
As usual looks fantastic, I would use some strong coffee or tea in a spray bottle and even some areas put it on quite heavy, large areas and spots here and there then when it dries the parchment will look really old and weathered. I did this with similar cloth used on a project and have never used paint again. some weak tea, or coffee and some really strong and black lots of contrasts.
Man...that is pretty fucking awesome. The gold leaf came out great Bill. Keep up the good work.
Thanks so much! I'm quite happy with it!
Really cool! If you mess around with gold leaf again in the future, get yourself a “gilder’s tip” to pick up and lay down pieces! It uses static to pick it up and it is much easier to pick up big chunks without wrinkling it. I would also recommend trying water guilding instead of using glue. It’s a steeper learning curve but you can get much smoother results. The smoother the surface of the object is before you apply the gold leaf, the better the results! Source: I do iconography.
Oh very handy! Thanks so much for sharing those tips!
also to work with it, pick a corner to be where you grab it and weigh it down on the opposite edge. then use an exacto knife to cute what you need. this will get you a nice smooth piece.
I've been sculpting masquerade ball-type masks out of clay. I see a half-angel/half-demon in my future with one side scorched and scarred, and the other side gilded...
Oh that's a great idea!
In case you're still wondering, it's gold. Brass would not let itself be hammered that thin.
Not brass. Imitation gold leaf is dyed aluminum. This is imitation, without question.
If you just look it up it says that Imitation gold leafs are 15% zinc and 85% copper.
How do you tell by looking?
@@eirikjenssen9169 I've never encountered brass leaf like that. All the imitation gold leaf I've seen and used was aluminum. Brass would have serious tarnishing problems, though I think that alloy is similar to 'NuGold' which they use for imitation gold, and may be a little better than most brass you encounter for tarnishing; I don't know about that.
@@timgchannel3328 The first giveaway is the size of the sheets. Gold comes in tiny sheets. The European standard is something like 8cm/3in square. Some are more like half that dimension. Imitation gold is often 12-15cm (5-6in). The second is the price. 25 sheets of 3in square gold leaf will cost more like $100 nowadays I think (I haven't bought any in a long time). The color is different, though you can't tell that from a youTube video, and it's subtle unless you are really used to comparing metal colors. But the handling is totally different. For all this leaf looks nearly weightless and easy to tear, gold leaf is much, much thinner, and way more fragile. The first moment he opens the pack, he touches the corner of the leaf with his finger. If he did that with gold, the gold would almost certainly have stuck to his finger, perfectly adhering to and outlining his fingerprint, and would have torn away from the sheet, unless he was unlucky and managed to pick the whole sheet up, in which case it would most likely have been a loss, getting on his hands and tattering away into flakes in the air. Real gold, you have to make sure there are no air currents nearby when you pick it up via the slight amount of skin oil on a brush called a "gilder's tip". It would not stay whole as it blew away, and some would stay stuck to his hand. And if you've used both real and fake gold leaf, the difference in its behavior and consistency and stiffness is clear at a glance.
Obviously, it's too late to say now. That is what we call in spanish "Pan de oro" (Gold bread), there is a bunch of videos about how to finish it smoothly, even better than you did, that is quite good.
Awesome work as always Bill, you are mi inspiration, i have learned a lot of things at this channel, keep on it!
Thank you so much!
just 2 things, you can pick up gold using a brush and the static from your hair and i'm pretty sure that egg white used to be used as a glue for it.
I didn't realise the elder scroll was that big. watching you work always makes me happy because you do it with a smile.
Ray
That's so wonderful to hear and thank you for the tip!
The Elderscroll is a little bit bigger.
I think Loki's Helmet would look amazing with that
It sure would!
Wrong series!
And his sapter thing with the glowing blue thing at the end I think it's part of the tesrak but don't know
Howdy Bill, Howdy Britt!! Just stoping by again to say I love what you guys are doing over at Punished Props and I cant wait until next weeks upload!!!
Thanks so much!
Got an idea for prep work:
Before applying the gold leaf maybe paint the prop in a rusty sort of finish (or just a darker/more dull gold tone), that way any imperfections are instant weathering.
(I know gold does not rust, but if it looks cool it *is* cool)
Apparently this is similar to what people do when repairing antique gold frames or gold leafing furniture.
Hey Bill, you can just surround the sheet of plastic with led lights facing inwards that'll produce the backlight, against the window light that you need.
Ben Crowe from the Crimson Guitars channel, has some great videos copper leafing guitars and then oxidizing it with different methods and intensities.
including burning the wood before applying the gold leafe...
Amazing result! The Golden Gun from GoldenEye ahaha!
There is no need to weather it. The scroll is physicaly beyond time and space.
If you put that shit in the back you will reurn the next day to find 3 of them.
Wasn't the scroll golden too, or did it had gold lettering? Well I know it didn't look like a mummies loin cloth. Also I'm pretty sure it's facing the wrong way.
@@buddycraig5028 both: no.
Great prop! Just a few tips :
If at all possible, prime or undercoat in a warm colour like brick-red, sienna or red ochre, rather than grey. This makes the smaller imperfections much less visible.
You can cut the sheets more evenly with a fairly blunt knife (like, butterknife or back of a craftknife) basically by scoring them so they preferentially tear on those lines.
Also, unless you have a gilder's cushion, it's OK to cut the sheets that way on the tissue paper in the "book" they're in, rather than first separating a whole sheet and then cutting it on the table. Basically, the less you manipulate each sheet, the less wrinkles build up and the more coverage you get for your buck.
Also, it's a useful skill to learn to use a gilder's tip to pick up the leaf pieces for placement. Much less tearing and flying about that way than with tweezers.
Lastly - this came out looking great, but I think it would have looked even better with some burnishing before sealing it.
Great suggestions, thanks!
Quick tip for gold leaf. Paint your object black first to get a really nice antique/weathered look and when you have a project like that with little crevices use spray size, it's much easier and faster.
Great idea!
Great job on the gold finish... I appreciate you doing more with gold leaf or maybe other metals.
Thanks very much!
Great video. Gold leaf is a hard product to work with and takes a lot of time and patients
Thanks so much!
By the way, you might want to look into "gilding wax" cause it gives a pretty good gold or metallic finish and it's pretty durable by itself (it's generally supposed to *be* the finish).
I might just add some sweet runes to my big desktop speakers,
would contrast their black wood and plastic nicely I think,
maybe dremel out the shapes first for added depth/texture.
That would be way cool!
I have a good idea to make it look really ancient; before adding the washes and weathering onto the scroll cloth, burn the edges or parts that you want to make it look worn/old, throw a bit of dark red-brown to make a blood splatter on certain areas, to show that this scroll has been into some tough times~
WRT picking up and cutting the leaf without tearing it, bookbinders use a very long, very sharp sheepsfoot bladed knife called a gilding knife. Watching a skilled bookbinder manipulate the foil with it is mesmerising. I'm an amateur bookbinder and I've tried doing gold leafing a couple of times. I'm very bad at it. I've considered using brass and copper leaf on some of my steampunk projects to get a more realistic finish that metallic spray paint.
Oh wow that's cool! Thanks for sharing
I did Inigo Montoya's Rapier from The Princess Bride a while back, and though I got a pretty good finish with paint, I think leaf probably would have gotten a shinier finish. I'd love to see you do that project, it's about the perfect complexity for one of your videos!
A golden snitch would be class
@@toastsadventures2091 benefits of hitting "Join", early access
I acutally didnt join anything. It said something like early release so I clicked and watched
Oh that would be neat!
From what I've seen of gold-leafing, you have to use more brush-strokes than dabs and once all the surface is coated use a dry cloth to wipe any excess off, then go back to cover any missed spots and wipe again.
Very cool Bill! Came out great!
Thanks!
Try a sponge brush, it's softer then a normal brush and can do less damage
Edit: infinity gauntlet
This is for sure the way I’m going to finish my Loki horns now. I’d been looking for a good solution
Oh wow that will look awesome! Share what you make with us on Twitter: twitter.com/chinbeard
Yep. Skyrim was a good game. Way to go, Bill! You made a replica to remind the world how good of a game Skyrim was and still is to this day!
So true
I feel like this is the same as many other prop projects in that there is a stage in the middle where it looks really bad like with the leaf frey all over the place and all of a sudden, when you have brushed it off, it looks really nice :)
And I think this might be real gold, the leaf is so thin that it is not that expensive anymore.
Isn't it amazing how that happens? If you just keep pushing and working you can get past the funky parts :)
I remember when Harrison was twitch streaming his Scroll build. While it's awesome the level of work he's getting contracted to do, it really sucks that it's all NDA and he hasn't twitch streamed in a long time. He's an awesome dude and great at communicating with (and teaching) his viewers.
Can confirm, he is an awesome dude.
And now he is the first man being able to walk underwater
The crown from the Conspiracy set of Magic the Gathering (You can see the crown on the artwork of Brago King Eternal, and Queen Marchesa) would be an amazing gold leaf project.
Often wanted to add gold leaf edging to some of my leatherwork, specifically armor pieces. Always been too afraid to though lol.
How 'bout The Holy Grail from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?!
I made one out of wood and paint, but I'd love to how a professional does it 😁
You should try your hand at making he fertility idol from the beginning of Indiana Jones. Raiders of the lost Ark if I remember correctly. :)
It does look pretty gorgeous.
Right??
You should look up som gilded frame and art restorations. Historically you give the peace a red bace color, you cut the gold leave with a long sharp knife and you apply it with a special brunch.
also shellac dispersed in alcohol for sealing, not varnish
Oh cool!
ua-cam.com/video/vdAaPotUKkE/v-deo.html
This is a good one.
@@merlestegeman28 read your comment and immediately thought of this specific restoration video.
Brilliant
Slidaulth ua-cam.com/video/5SOsco_DA4g/v-deo.html this one is one i love.
If you put a tea bag in a bowl of water and then put the paper in it leave for a min then let it dry it makes it look like old scroll paper longer you leave it darker it gets
Great tip!
Have you thought about using a very concentrated solution of potassium permanganate? It's cheap and work really really well for aging something. Just an idea.
This looks better than the in-game Version, Bill
Thanks very much!
This reminds me of when I used to peel apart the foil and paper backing of Doublemint gum. I would stick those things eeeeeeverywhere as my budget version of silver-leaf.
Oh I totally remember that!
Part of me loves the weathering process because the results look amazing. Then I remember I have OCD because I want to take a toothbrush and rubbing alcohol, and clean all the dirt and grime out of the cracks and crevices.
I would like to see one of your Blade Runner PDK kits done in gold leaf. One thing that volpin did to hide the crimes for where the grey primer showed through was he painted his gold first.
Yeah that was a smart move for sure
This looked absolutely epic (and also a royal pain to work with :D).....was curious if the interior of the scroll that is exposed (if you angle the scroll tube---did this just get painted or gold leafed as well?
Just the underside of the lip that sticks out, as that's really the only bit you can see.
This looks awesome! I had a quick thought/question could it be possible to hydro dip gold leaf/foil? Again, awesome video and it inspires new and current projects of my own.
Hmmm that's an interesting question - I'm not sure! I don't know how the leaf reacts to water before being applied. I think it might end up really wrinkly and might not work well with the adhesive, but I could be totally wrong!
Would you recommend the gold leaf foil for armor builds?
You asked for ideas for what can be made with gold leaf as an element and the first thing that came up was royal armor or weapons. Like a lions head on a shield done in gold leaf with some jewels glued on would be not only pretty but a good use of A LOT of gold leaf
That would be neat!
@@punishedprops Glad you like the idea :)
I'v been working on an Ordinator from The Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind for a couple years and I think this would be a great way to finish some of the armor plates, particularly the mask.
I half expected you to say that was filled with tea or coffee to give the scroll an aged look. I've seen others use those to give maps an aged look. Which they then dried and placed behind glass or acrylic.
With gold leafing you can make the infinity gauntlet, the eye of agamoto, the Crown of the golden army from Hellboy 2, Ironman's Face plate, pommels of swords from Narnia, Game of Thrones (also Jaime Lannister's Gold Hand), and World of Warcraft, the Dragon Egg from Harry Potter and the gauntlet of fire.
Some really great suggestions!
I learned from an old school muralist to use a wide soft bristled clean paint brush to grab the gold leaf from the pad.
Thanks for the tip!
The infinity Gauntlet would look sooo cool with gold leaf! You should do that
For the finish, Have you thought of trying the Allclad gloss clear coat that everyone recommends for finishing Molotow Chrome as it prevents dulling. Maybe it'd do the same for gold leaf.
Totally worth trying!
Punished Props Academy let us know if it works.
Wow, that gold leaf thing is cool
I don't have much experience gold leafing, but my experience was just not to be that careful. At first I was doing everything I could to avoid the foil folding or crinkling, but the foil is so thin that anything that doesn't come into contact with the glue easily brushes away and you can't see the join. As long as your brush is soft enough, you can also really scrub it to get rid of excess and get it into the details.
It's genuinely amazing how forgiving it is. by the end, if I had a bare spot, I'd just put more glue on it and mash a bunch of the excess I'd brushed off onto it, scrub and it was like the gap was never there.
It would be even more regal if you flocked the handle spiral in purple to make it like velvet! Love this gilding by the way! I was thinking about doing gold overwatch weapons this way :D
Oooooh that would be pretty
Good to know my 5 gum wrapping paper is finally useful for something
Hah!
I’ve got one. In the movie Stargate the bad guy “Ra” had 2 minions. They both had retractable helmets. The Horus guard helmet might be a candidate.
Oh yeah! Those are super cool
some warhammer 40k related props, like on the edge of the shoulder gouards. or on the spikes and stuff
Oh yeah! That would be a great use of foil!
wowthats an extremely awesome elder scroll!
Gold leaf is real gold. I've used it in recipes. good job btw
Not sure if you mentioned it and I missed it bu here's an idea for an upgrade. Put a blacklight under the lip, put some florescent white paint in another pattern on top of the cloth. Then you can blind people with your reality bending text 😉
That would be pretty cool!
Awesome work, and that window shade mechanism trick is great! (Also, how have I gone so long without noticing Dick-butt on the band saw? 🤣)
Hah! Thanks!
I used to be a prop maker like you... then I took a staple to the knee
Haha let me guess someone stole your buz saw
The one ring from lotr. A nice quick thing to make that would look great
Oh that's a fun idea!
you can get lots of finishes in leaf not just gold if there a metal finish there is a leaf a soft makeup brush is great for applying the leaf
Good to know!
Maybe like a blunderbuss or other pirate thingy? Something with a lot of brasswork -
I can see the gold leaf working really well for that, with like how the process leaves something of a texture to it showing as the early stages of salt damage on something used on a ship that's constantly at sea.
I dunno. It kinda popped into my head when I saw how the leaf took the weathering and yeah -
Sounds cool!
there's one more step to gilding with gold leaf: finishing it with an agate polishing stone, before applying the vernish. this evens out all the little creases, overlaps and imperfections, and gives you that rich, seamlessly prestine luster of a baroque picture frame.
fair warning: once you've done this a few times, any gilding where this was skipped, is gonna look like tat to you.
Oh neat!
indeed. if you're gonna do this with any regularity, the right tools make it a pleassure. particularly a gilding tip brush and at least a piece of sanded leather, to cut the gold on, plus a big old butter knife. saves a lot of time and costly material too.
Thought of trying one of those ferro-conductive spray-paint/ elchto-plating deals?
I haven't
you have ultimate level patience
Years of practice!
23:23 best moment! Awesome video!
So glad you enjoyed it!
This is so cool! I make lightsabers and it would be really cool to 3d print a design and silver /gold leaf it
The map (globe/orb) from Treasure Planet would look really cool with gold leafing!
Oooh it totally would!
Would also look really cool to mix types of foil, like gold for the base and then copper foil or something for the major details, etc.
Problem with that is copper can only get so thin unlike gold that can go incredibly thin
why do i feel like that bread was just something you found in your shop XD
A few gold leaf prop ideas.
The Phurba dagger from The Shadow.
The golden fertility idol from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
A Starfleet communications badge from Next Gen.
A golden coin from John Wick.
An Aztec coin from Pirates of the Caribbean .
Apple of Eden from Assassins Creed.
The One Ring from Lord of the Rings.
The Eye of Agamotto from Doctor Strange.
Great suggestions!
Punished Props Academy if you make any, I look forward to seeing it.
you make it look so easy!
The magic of practice and video editing!
It is real gold, no other material could get so thin and still hold together, its real gold
No, it's brass... Just google "Dutch Gold Leaf"
If it was real gold, they'd tell you. Some of it is real gold but the majority isn't
It seems like there are sort of "craft" versions that are cheaper metals and more accessible, and then real gold sheets that are a bit pricier.
No it is real gold not brass.
Hey, I wanted to ask. What did you prime the piece with? I've pulled out a significant amount of hair with a project that needed gold and copper leafing. The leaf would stick to non-glued areas and would love to know of a medium that gold/copper leafing wouldn't adhere to.
Also fun tip, if you plan early enough on what sized pieces you need of leaf. You can cut out smaller squares when the leaf is still on that piece of paper in packaging. I found its easier than tearing it off.
This is the preparation I did on the kit prior to this video: ua-cam.com/video/_EboTPaslXA/v-deo.html
Nice!!! But the text scroll still looks a little too markers drawn for me. Maybe next time try this: print it the mirrored image on a toner printer, or xerox it. Put over your fabric and pin it on the corners. Then wet it with thinner, clear gasoline or isoprop alcohol, and press the paper against the cloth with a roller. That way you will transfer the toner from the paper to the cloth. Be sure to wet the paper plenty so the toner is released from the paper and transferred to the cloth. It will kinda want to stick to the cloth, it is ok. Let the thinner evaporate and then remove the paper. The image will have transferred to the cloth. And then to protect it with a couple of layers of a Scotch guard stain protector to seal the tone dust in. Voilá, pressed text. It will be subtle, it won’t t be perfect, but it will look aged, stained, and it won’t look like bubblejet printed cloth...
Oh very cool!
Ugg I wanted to do this for the triforce on a hylian shield I just finished but it scared me so much I just painted it gold. Wonder if I missed out...
You might be able to go back and apply it now!
Infinity Gauntlet is the first thing that comes to mind. If you've ever made an Iron Man suit, the gold trim would work too.
Oh that would definitely be cool!
You can make better, mirror-like coating if you adhere the whole leaf, while it is still on the sheet. Don't operate the sheet itself.
Also less cleanup :)
the assassin's creed apple of eden in gold leaf would look lovely