I've had a lot of questions lately concerning how I did the snow bases on my GD entry at Chicago this year. So, without further ado, tutorial!

The easiest and most effective technique I have found for snow involves baking soda. It is labor-intensive, but really easy and it looks cool.

What You'll Need:

* Baking Sode
* White Glue (PVA)
* Water
* Ice Blue paint
* Van Goh brand "Titanium white" super-high pigmented acrylic paint- can be found at most craft stores such as Hobby Lobby, michaels, Dick Blick, etc.
* Old paintbrushes
* A "spreading tool" of some kind - exacto blade or sculpting tool will work

The Method

First, paint the area you want to cover with snow white. I find the titanium white is great for this, because it is so high pigment that it usually takes only two layers of it over black before it is a solid white color, as opposed to MANY more with GW's white.

The next step is to mix up your baking soda snow-paste. For this, you want a mix of 2 parts white glue, 3 parts water, and 4 parts baking soda. YOU MAY HAVE TO ADJUST THIS. The past needs to be like the consistency of cream-of-wheat to look right.

To prevent the snow from yellowing, I mix up a slight amount of ice blue paint with water on the side. Add just a TOUCH of this to the baking soda mixture, as too much will make the snow look like someone spilled blue kool-ade all over it. Now, using you "spreading tool," which can be anything from an exacto knife to a sculpting tool- basically anything with a small flat balde on it- spread the paste on the base. Make sure to cover the main surfaces. Here is where it it good to have an old paintbrush. Use the brush to spread the mix to the hard to reach places (around feet, under robes, etc) so that you get total coverage. Now, let the paste dry for about half an hour.

The last and most crucial step (to protect your snow from damage) is to go back over it with a wash of paint and glue. This is where the titanium white is critical for preserving the color of your snow and making it look bright and clean. Mix up the glaze of 1 part white glue, 1 part titanium white paint, and 3 parts water. It should be the consistency of a heavy cream. Then, using your old brush, apply this over the entire surface of the snow. Let it dry, and repeat it 1-2 more times. The more you do this, the brighter your snow looks. This step is important because it gives it that dramatic clean white shine that makes it look like snow.

I usually finish this off with a couple of shots of dullcoat, just to keep the paint from fading or being dirtied by grimy hands.

The Results

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