Ivonne Salazar-3-D Jewelry

There are many different techniques on learning how to paint 3-d jewelry. I’ve only done a couple of pieces and I’m still learning. I’d like to tell you what I’ve learned and is helping me make the designs POP.
The first thing I do is look through my jewelry for interesting pieces. You can start with a simple design and work your way to more complex depending on your skill level. I like to use actual pieces because this allows me to 1) try it on and see how it looks/falls; 2) take different pictures with different poses; and 3) find a light source that creates interesting highlights and shadows. Once I’ve chosen my picture and where I will paint it on I study the picture very closely. I then use a very small detail brush and use white to sketch it on the skin. This way if I make any mistakes it will be easier to wipe off. Once my sketch is complete I double check to make sure the the pieces of the jewelry match in size. Again, study your picture and jewelry and paint on the background colors from light to dark. I do that so that I can have more control over how much depth I add to the piece. Once the background is done, I go back and add the highlights that the light created. Take a look at your picture again. Does it look the same? Next comes the chain or links. This is done pretty much the same way. A very small detail brush will be your best friend. Now its time for the shadowing part. You may have noticed after staring at your picture that the shadows fall on the opposite side of of your highlights. This is usually true, but it also depends on how many light sources you have. For the shadow effect, many people use a washed out black aka watery black, runny black, etc…Unfortunately I haven’t mastered that effect yet. What I do is dip my brush in a little bit of black and swipe it a couple of times on my towel. I check to see the consistency by trying it on my hand/arm/leg, etc… It should look like a faded, almost-all-gone black. Begin to add the shadows as seen on the picture. Slowly continue to add the shadows until it is the right color/depth all along your piece(s). Again, take a look at your picture and make sure all the key elements painted correctly. A wise artist once told me, “For every 10 times you look at the object, you paint once”. The more you study your pictures and how the jewelry falls, the better you will get at being able to imagine a light source and see the shadows when you draw from scratch.

Thank you, Metina. That is very informational. I did not enter the jewelry contest, but I did take out a few of my bracelets and sort of did the same thing with them and tried to paint them. Next time I try it I will know more about how to add the shadows and get the chain and details to come out better.

I have never done jewelry...this is very helpfull!!

Thanks for taking the time to explain the ur process, it is so helpful