This topic has 1 reply, 2 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 5 months ago by 
.
-
Posts
-
I’m relatively new to scenic painting and I’m currently working on show where the designer would like the floor painted in a grid-like fashion. Normally, that would be pretty easy to set up, but the design does not have vertical and horizontal lines, the grid is rotated 45 degrees. The black squares are supposed to be 18″x18″ with 3/4″ gold lines running between them. I’ve attached an image of the elevation too (sorry that it’s not straight!). Is there a good/simple method to go about laying this down? The only way I can think of is a bit complicated and involves a protractor and chalk line? Any advice would be much appreciated!
Accept that this will be more time consuming than you would like. I hope the audience has a steep enough rinse that they get a great view of the floor.
A snapline is in your future.Use 3 people for the layout. A snapper in the middle will help keep it lined up over the length.
My initial impulse:
After I painted the floor black and it was really dry:
I would Iay out the largest square I could either inside the proscenium arch or outside the whole floor and measure the tick marks for the lines on the four sides.
Number or letter them on the elevation so the mark for the upstage and downstage end of the line was the same and match it on the floor.
Label the tape on the square and snap one direction at a time. I would paint one set of lines before I snapped and painted the other direction lines.
A square is not going to include all the apron, but once you are snapping that long a line you can stay at the correct angle carrying it those few feet to the edge of the stage. The snapper on stage can watch that it is on the tick mark on stage.
Test your gold paint on black – you may have to do an ochre base coat on the lines and then paint the gold.
Hopefully someone will have a better, quicker idea.
Ellen
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
