ONIEROS Mobile Lab props

In August 2024, after volunteering at the National Film & Television School (NFTS) as an Art Department assistant, I was asked to contribute to another student production, the sci-fi themed “ONEIROS”, to paint a set of props to give them a consistent “weathered” look. They were to dress the set of a mobile lab, disused for seven years on a distant planet. Here’s how I did it.

One storage tube had already been painted and provided by the Production Designer, so that was used as a reference to match the remaining props. Through discussion with them, we established how to keep the look consistent:

• Grey primer

• White top coat

• Some brown discolouring

• Scratches, scuffs, wear & tear around edges

Once this was clarified, the remaining props followed the same process.

The Canovision cases were primed in grey and painted in white. A thick brown wash was worked into all of the corners and crevices of the mouldings, left to partially dry, then gently wiped off with a damp cloth to leave mottled discolouring of the white. This was repeated with black, then scuffs and scratches were applied with blunt metal objects like hammers and other hand tools.

The same process was repeated for portable communication units. These were slightly more complicated as they had to be disassembled prior to painting to ensure proper coverage of the primer and white coats. Brown and black washes were applied once the units had been reassembled for the weathering & distressing to look as if they had happened to the units whilst in use.

Here is a collection of the finished props with consistent paint and distressing