DIY: Painted Buffalo Skull

Happy Thursday everybody! So let me start off by saying that I am incredibly stoked to show you all this little DIY! I was out for a day of thrifting with a friend when we stumbled upon this little gem. He was a little banged up but nothing a little TLC couldn't fix! So we picked him up, brought him home and thus this is where his new life begins, and I mean how could I NOT buy this gem for only $18! So here we go, if you find yourself lucky enough as I to stumble upon a cute little skull gem (yes skulls are cute I swear) than please feel free to follow in my steps and send me your very own photos of painted skeletons! Right in time for Halloween! (hah!)

DIY PAINTED BUFFALO SKULL 

What You Will Need:
1. Buffalo Skull ***
2. Some sheets of newspaper
3. Four Prismacolor Drawing Markers, with a fine tip and a brush tip.
     *One color must be black, but the other three are yours to choose!*
4. Gorilla Glue (if restore of your skull is needed)
5. A cup of water
6. A small clean rag
7. Some sheets of paper
8. A pen or pencil

***(In reality we all cannot find a real skull, but I did spot a few ceramic human skulls at Michaels, anything clay/ceramic/ or any other animal skull will work just as great!)***

STEP ONE
Lay out all of your sheets of newspaper out to fully cover your work surface. (I needed about 8 sheets of paper.) Gently place your skull down and take a look for any cracks or broken pieces. The skull itself may be a little dirty so use the small rag to get off any excess dust or fallen bone.

STEP TWO
After spotting all your cracks and broken pieces, use the Gorilla glue to place your skull back together. BE CAREFUL, this glue is very sticky and strong. Before you place any glue on any surface, dip your small towel in a little water and blot the surface you are trying stick, (Gorilla glue becomes active from the water) then gently place the piece down.

STEP THREE
While you're waiting for the glue to dry a bit, grab the paper and pen/pencil and draw out a few ideas of what you would like your skull to look like. Remember, once you start drawing on the skull theres no turning back so you'll want a few practice tries!

hmm? yes? no? bigger?? smaller? more circles??

STEP FOUR
Once you've got a design you're really into, grab your prismacolor's!  Using the fine tip black marker draw out the basic design on your skull. starting from the center and working your way out, just to make sure everything stays symmetrical.

STEP FIVE
After you've got your outline done, begin coloring in all your empty space! Use the fine tip in small areas, for broader coverage switch to the brush tip, this side also works better if you're looking to blend two colors.

STEP SIX
Use the black fine tip again to fix any small areas and to add in some details. To achieve the plus symbols I added to my background use the brush trip on your pen and draw a line on your finger, than smear it onto the skull. This was the only way I was able to get the color to not be as vibrant as it was in other areas.

STEP SEVEN
Enjoy! Hang it on a wall or let it chill on a table, either way just let it be awesome!
Remember, don't ever become discouraged during the drawing process, everything is a work of art and you can't mess up art!

There you have it! Easy as pie!
I hope you all enjoyed this little DIY and hope you have a great weekend tomorrow!

Until next time,
Alyssa
xx