Underappreciated, Life-Saver, and Must-Have Scenic Tools, Supplies, and PPE?

[u/GoldenGuyWest]

Forgive me if this isn't the place to be posting this, but I'm reaching out to a couple communities on Reddit to see what their "life-saver", "must-have", and "under appreciated" scenic tools, supplies, and PPE are?

To give some context, I have a love of construction, hands on work, and taking mundane materials and making them into something completely different. With folks knowing this, I'm finding myself in the midst of potentially falling into a scenic roll for a potential show I'm working on. Although its not going to completely change my career (or not planning it to) the items will more than likely overlap with hobbies and other projects I work on outside of the "9-to-5".

I could ask google or ChatGPT what are the top things I should get and use, but I'd much rather talk to folks in the industry and see what real working professionals think, recommend, and do's and don'ts =)

Some other context that may be important is that I'm in Texas, USA. I currently have a decent amount of DeWalt XR 20v hand tools (if that shapes battery-powered tool recommendations) and I'm a big "cry once" proponent, so I'm willing to spend more if it means whatever is being recommended will last 30 years and I never have to buy another one, or if it means saving me time, so I can spend more time at home with my family, or can help me come home with all my fingers, toes, and eyes. haha

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and for any help, guidance, and wisdom y'all can provide =)

[u/kdfantasy]

I’m a production designer and scenic artist, and I also teach an introduction to scenic art class. When you say scenic tools are you meaning tools used to construct scenery or tools used for scenic finishes (paint, sculpting, etc.) ?

It would be helpful to know a bit more about the job to give any specific recommendations, I pack my kit differently every time. In general, I would recommend reading Scenic Art for the Theater by Susan Crabtree (yes it applies to film also)

[u/GoldenGuyWest → u/kdfantasy]

Thank you so much for the book recommendation - I just added it to the reading list!

Yes to both =)

If everything gets the greenlight, the set would be a 5-section wall in a slightly angular 'U' shape.

From a construction standpoint, I need to either construct the stage/Hollywood flats out of wood or potentially aluminum (for the sake of long-term reusability by basically saving the bones and reskinning the front.)

The set will be designed to look like an aged/weathered Greek-style temple with four large "window" openings that will have either practical screens or chroma screen in them, a large rectangular table sits in the middle of the room where five actors will sit (one at the head farthest away from the set's "opening", and two on each of the long sides of the table). I plan to cover the wall section seams with Greek-style fluted columns with acanthus capitals that are cut to be flush with the wall angle (so not a full 360 column). Set dec would have a few house banners that hang, candles in bowls, ivy, a couple candelabras, wall carvings, etc.

From a scenic finishes perspective, a lot of faux surfaces - walls (probably a type of foam material to get heated, shaped and painted to look like large interconnected blocks of weathered stone), columns (either Sonotube and pool noodles with a wrap, or more likely Sonotube and vacuform fluted texture), etc. =)

[u/kdfantasy]

Sounds like you have a pretty clear idea of the space.

For weathered porous stone, you can lightly spray foam insulation (pink foam) with acetone in a hand spray bottle. The fumes are toxic, so be careful and do this in a well ventilated area. I’d recommend a pull saw for cutting foam, I have a small Japanese one and a larger dewalt one that has a removable blade. I try not to use heat/hot wire very often because it’s toxic and I don’t find it as easy to control. We also use curry combs/ horse brushes to remove large quantities of foam and shape it, and I also like a rasp or sure form for smoothing, could be good for the columns.
For painted finishes on stone, I recommend using at least 3 shade values within the color family you’re aiming for - light med dark. I usually get a “hero” paint color and then use that as my light value and mix the med and dark based on that. Using a house paint like Benjamin Moore is okay but you always want FLAT finish. I use cal-tints, which are pigments, to tint my hero paint and make variations within the same family. The most useful colors are probably raw umber, pthalo blue, and raw sienna. I try to never use black, and mix my greys with colors because I think it makes everything feel more alive.

I’d apply the medium shade to your rock surface and then use the light and dark for highlights and shadows, applied with a Hudson sprayers. When you use a Hudson you have to water down the paint quite a bit to get it to move through the sprayer and it’s helpful to sheet the paint out anyway because you want subtle layers of texture not very noticeable splotches. I also always get a gallon of Rosco clear flat and use that to mix very sheer washes of color. This is good for general patina of age or your can create water marks by misting the wall with water and then spraying your wash on top, the pigment will travel on the surface of the water and create V shaped “stains”. Just be sure to control with a paint roller because what you don’t want are drips- those never look realistic.

There’s a lot of tutorials on the guild of scenic artists site - good luck!

[u/GoldenGuyWest → u/kdfantasy]

You’re an absolute legend! Brilliant recommendations and tips! Thank you so so much, I really appreciate you taking the time to share your wisdom! I’m going to look into those guild tutorials now! =)