Thursday, March 31, 2011

The X-acto Knife (again).

A few posts ago I talked to you all about the x-acto knife. Well, today I am going to talk about it again.

The x-acto knife has a lot of benefits and is really the best tool in the stencilist's arsenal.

The x-acto knife comes in a variety of blades and handles. X-acto offers such an extensive selection to fit any needs you need met.

As I mention in my link in the first line of this post, the original x-acto knife is the best.

It cuts with great precision and more importantly it cuts with ease.

There are a few problems when using the x-acto knife: the first problem is that if you press too hard you may break the tip of the blade and there goes the best part of the knife, and the second problem is that, again, if you press too hard you may split the tip of your finger open.

So, go and check out my link and also check out other reviews about the great products from X-acto.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Choosing a stencil

Choosing what to stencil is easily the most important part of stenciling. This ofcourse should be of no surprise.

While you are thinking about what to stencil you should be thinking about whether or not you are going to draw it or print it out and just cut out the pre-drawn image.

A pre-drawn stencil is clearly going to be less time consuming. The only realy work will be to trace it onto poster board and just cut it out.

Pre-drawn stencils are fun and a great way to make a t-shirt look cooler. This ofcourse also works for your own art but putting a logo or drawing on your shirt that everyone knows is a fun way to attract a lot of attention.

All you have to do is trace the pre-drawn image on poster board, cut it out, and spray paint it on your shirt and voila an instant graphic tee.

If you decide that you would like to draw and design your own stencil; now, this is where the true art lies. Designing a stencil is a lot of fun and a lot of time.

For those of you out there with great artistic talent and have always wanted to have your art out there in the world, on buildings for all to see then this is for your.

There is a famous stencil artist named Banksy and boy is he damn good. If you have never heard of this guy you need to go and check him out right now before you continue reading any more about stenciling.

Seriously, the guy is incredible and very inspiring especially to a novice stencil artist like myself. Now, if you want to be that good then you better get started.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Chunking

Now, to chunk a picture is a very simple and useful technique to learn for creating stencils.

Let's just say for instance that you are wanting to create a letter H stencil, you would first break up the picture.

First, you section off pieces that make up the letter H. You will do the the middle as one section, and make each vertical piece a section as well. So, in the end you will have five sections.

The reason this is so helpful is because it will allow you to discard the excess. If you are cutting a big section at one time the part you have already cut will begin to droop and hang and get in your way and make cutting the newer sections, if not harder, more annoying.

Another perk of using this technique is that you can section off the stencil and if you can't finish the whole stencil in one sitting then you can come back to it later.

This technique is very simple. I urge you to chunk your stencils. It will make for a more enjoyable and less annoying time and it will give you the freedom of not feeling pressured to do the entire stencil in one sitting.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

X-acto Knife

The x-acto knife is a must have for stencil artists. This little tool will help make the stencil. This is the tool that will cut out the drawing and let it take stencil form.

The x-acto knife comes in a variety of blades and knives. Each knife is designed for a distinct purpose. The standard or classic knife is the best to start out with and more than likely you won't use any of the other knives unless you want to get super fancy.

When using the x-acto knife use extreme caution because they are very sharp. The classic knife is used for precise cuts and this is perfect for the stencil artist.

After you have finished drawing or tracing the picture you are wanting to create as a stencil then it is time to get your cutting board and x-acto knife.

Place the paper, poster board of what have you on top of the cutting board. Then take the x-acto knife in your dominant hand. Place the knife at a 45 degree angle on the paper. The tip of the knife to the middle of the knife should be on the drawing.

When you are ready to cut then cut. Just follow the lines. If you are guiding the knife with you index finger then be sure not to press to hard or you will eventually split the skin on your finger and will be unable to stencil until it heals.

Next time I will teach you a cutting technique called chunking.