Help with painting Clay

[ivory marsh]

Hii!!
So basically I have to paint these clay mask thingies I made for school, but I have no idea how to go on about it, as this is my first time really painting pottery. Im not sure about the colours yet, but I will definetly be using red for big parts of it. Do I have to start by priming it with white so the colours turn out more even? Or if not, should I use other colours as an undercoat or just start painting it how I am imagining right away?
(First picture is without flash, 2nd picture is with flash)

[oak scroll]

id recommend you just go right in with painting, the reason being that, based on the style of this mask, i think going for a more natural look with the painting style would fit better than a super clean painting style, so any natural variation that may happen will actually be a good thing
priming with white would mainly be needed if youre going for high value+chromatic colours, but you said youre main colour will be red, which is a valu that is similar/darker than the colour the mask already is, so i dont really see a need to prime with white anyway
something to note about painting pottery is that the surface is very absorbent (depending on the clay), so you may need to use a bit more paint than on paper for example. but the absorbency could work in your favour, like if you want to have a more dry brushed/natural looking paint job
id recommend doing a couple patch tests on the back of the mask to see how your paint reacts to the clay and decide what type of technique you want to use before going in to the final

[ivory marsh]

Thank you so much!! Is it still very absorbent if it has been fired (Sorry idk if thats the right word, I cant remember the english word for those things rn), I mean if it was like put through the special clay oven?

[oak scroll]

it is yes! its not as absorbent as it originally was, but even after being fired it is still quite absorbent , though itll depend how much water you mix into your paint, less water will make it absorb less (but then youll get more of that shiny/plastic-y look of acrylic paint, so itll just depend on what youre doing for)

[ivory marsh]

Thank you sm!! Ill keep that in mind