Alright folks, grabbed my coffee mug this morning and thought, "UFOs are cool. Artists paint 'em all the time. How hard can it be?" Figured I'd try making one myself today, just a simple guide kinda thing. Buckle up.
Getting My Mess Together
First things first, needed stuff. Rummaged around my space – found an old canvas board leaning against the wall, dust bunnies and all. Fine. Then the paints: mostly basics – white, black, a bunch of blues (sky, right?), some weird green I never use, and silver (gotta be shiny!). Brushes? Dug out a handful, mostly old and frayed, but one small pointy one looked alright. Threw down some newspaper because, yeah, I make messes. Splashed some water in a jar for cleaning brushes.
Setting the Night Stage
Okay, canvas down. Grabbed the biggest brush and loaded it up with black. Swirled that stuff on, thick, covering everything. Looked like tar. Good start. Then remembered, night sky ain't pure black, right? Dipped the brush in some deep blue, barely any, and swirled that into the wet black in some spots. Trying to make it look like, you know, space. Still mostly black.
For stars? Didn't wanna paint tiny dots. Too tedious. Grabbed an old toothbrush (cleanish!), dipped the bristles in watery white paint. Held it over the canvas and flicked my thumb across the bristles. SPLATTER! Tiny white dots everywhere, looked pretty decent like real stars! Let that dry a bit. Took a break, walked the dog.
Building My Weird Spaceship
Back at it. Time for the main event. Used a pencil, sketched super light. Wanted that classic saucer shape: flat bottom, round dome top, kinda squashed in the middle? Like a frisbee with a bubble on top. Drew a simple outline. Didn't fuss too much.
Started painting the saucer body. Mixed a bit of black into the silver to dull it down, not too bright. Started on the bottom part, flat circle. Used my not-so-great small brush, tried to get smooth edges. Yeah, nope. Bit messy, looked okay from far away though (artistic trick!). Did the top dome with plain silver, left a gap where light would shine later.
The gap! This is where the green came in. That weird, kinda radioactive-looking green? Perfect! Mixed it with a tiny bit of white to glow more. Painted the gap on the saucer with it. Then, took just a tiny bit of that green, mixed it with lots of water – practically just tinted water. Carefully brushed this watery green mix below the saucer, on the flat bit. Like a faint light spill, making the ground glow? Hopefully. Let it bleed a little.
Final Checks & The "I Think It's Done" Moment
Stood back. Looked... kinda like a UFO? Needed some details. Dipped a toothpick (fine point!) in black paint. Carefully dotted little windows around the dome. Took the brush handle end, dipped in pure white, dabbed little bright spots on the dome and bottom where lights might be – little highlights. Much better!
Stared at it for a good five minutes. Bottom glow was a bit too splotchy? Oh well. Overall, for throwing stuff at a canvas? Not bad! It actually looks like what I imagined, which is a win. Propped it up near the window. Sun hit the silver – kinda cool effect!
Honestly? Was simpler than I thought. Few shapes, weird glow, messiness allowed. Feels like anyone could give this a shot if they felt like making something weird and spacey. My kid came in, looked at it, said "Cool rocket!", close enough. Might try one with more glow colors next time.
