I bought some cheap (maybe not so cheap) swimsuits off eBay to practice on. I painted a bluegill pattern on one last week that I took to a pond over the weekend. These things look so realistic in the water. I know there are some that are better than others, but it seems all of them look pretty good. This one I silver leafed and painted a shad pattern. Photo doesn't do it justice, cause you can't really see the foil.

That looks awesome. Any pics of the gill?

No. I'm not as happy with the results of the gill.

hah. I just saw the autocorrect in the original post. I assure you, I do not paint in a cheap speedo.

very nice. what kind of foil?

I'll have to look at what it's called exactly, but I got it at Hobby Lobby. It's VERY thin and tears easy. I think it's used for gilding. If that's even the right word.

Nice work . Gilding is very hard to work with, super thin.

I like that it just keeps flying around the room for hours and sticks to you with no ability to get it off.

i do that stuff in my desk top paint booth. just enough laminar flow to keep the leaf particles pulled into the filter. before i finish up i use the sticky side of blue painters tape to tack up all the debris while the fan is running.
you're right though, that stuff will float around for days.