 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
Woodburning? Ooohh, I can do that... You bet you can!
I am a self-taught pyrographer. Although, my aim is not to teach you, I would certainly like to show you how easy and fun it can be.
If you are the least bit interested in pyrography, I encourage you to try it. 
There are only a few things you need to get started:
1. A woodburning kit. Most department stores and hobby/craft stores carry the basic kits. These basic kits sell for
around $20 and come with several different tips and instructions on the use of those tips. While you are at it, you may want to pick
up a slab or two of wood and the few other items that you will need...
2. The wood available in craft stores or the craft section of stores is usually basswood and is ideal for wood burning
as it is soft, pale and even grained. If you are just starting out, you may want to choose slabs to practice on and get the feel of your
woodburning pen. As you get more practice you can experiment with different kinds of woods that are harder, provide knots or are heavily
grained, as well as begin burning on boxes and different shapes.
3. Go ahead and pick up a little bit of sandpaper to run over your burning surface to make sure it is nice and smooth
before you start. Fine grit of 320 – 220 should do it.
4. A hobby blade (safety razor blade) is a good item to have on had if you plan to make a mistake. I used to use sandpaper
to ‘sand’ away my mistakes but have found the end result is much nicer when I gently scrape it away with a hobby blade.
5. You'll need some transfer paper to trace your image on to the wood. Graphite transfer paper is better than regular
carbon paper as it is easier to erase wayward marks after you are done burning. If you find yourself using the same pattern over and over
again, I recommend using craft tracing film to make a template of your design. This tracing film is a durable plastic and as an added bonus
you can see through it, which allows the exact placement on your wood much, much easier.
6. After you finish your woodburning project, you will want to seal it with a coat or two of non-yellowing, matte acrylic or varnish.
7. You may want to pick up a pattern book or you can make your own patterns from your own pictures.
Okay, that is the bear basics of what you might need for our little woodburning adventure...
DIY Step 1 - Reference Material Take pictures of what you would like to woodburn. They can be of anything... Take a road trip
to the country for landscapes, animals, old buildings and farm equipment. Take a walk down a city street for pictures of people, modern
building and cars. Go to the airport, bus or train depot or off to the lake for boats or to the ocean for bigger boats. Go through old
pictures of past trips you took or simply stay at home and explore your own backyard, or make a creative still life display of your
favorite things on your kitchen table. Take as many pictures as you need, both overall and close up, as these will later be used for
references while you are woodburning your project.
Using your own pictures is just one way to get reference material. But if you are just starting out you may simply opt to buy a pattern book
from the store.
DIY Step 2 - Design TransferTo transfer your photos to the wood that you have selected, you must make sure that it is the
right size. It's easy to use a copy machine or scanner, to either make it bigger or smaller. At the same time copy it in black and white so
it will be easier to work with and you can use the black and white gradients as a reference to determine the light and darker areas while
you are woodburning your design.
Next use a sheet of graphite paper (placed between your photocopy and wood) and trace the
outline of your design and details of the important areas such as eyes, nose, mouth and direction of the fur. If your subject isn't posed
exactly the way you wanted it, now is the time to change it (tilt the head, raise the arm, etc,). You might want to use different colored
ink when you trace over your pattern to ensure you trace all parts and not get ‘lost’ in concentration. Also check once before you get
too far to make sure that you are tracing dark enough or (this is my trick) to check if you are tracing at all or have the tracing paper
upside down!
If you want to reuse the pattern many times, Trace the reproduced picture onto tracing film
(durable, see through plastic) by simply placing the film over the picture and tracing the outline and important details
(as described and pictured above). Then place the graphite paper between your plastic film and the wood. And start tracing,
taking care outlined above.
DIY Step 3 - Burning The WoodI recommend getting some practice in on a piece of the same kind of wood you will be using for
your project. This will allow you to get the ‘feel’ of the pen and help determine just how much pressure you need to use while burning, to
get the result you want. Practice also allows you to figure out just what your pen can do and what kind of burn can result from how you hold
and turn it while burning. The more you practice, the better you will become, if you do it with an open mind. Use the different tips that
came with your kit.
Use the universal tip for burning the fur and accent points such as the ripples, muscles, joints and even
the grooves in the tree. You can even use the universal tip to do the face, but just use the very top tip of it so you don’t burn so
much at a time or too dark or too deep. Keep in mind while burning the outline of the bear you don’t just make a straight solid line.
Use short slightly uneven strokes of the pen to indicate the growth of hair from the body. Then go ahead and start to fill in the
body, burning in the direction the fur grows. I don’t start on the face for two reasons: I like to get the feel
of the pen in my hand and the heat level before I do anything that intricate.
You can use the shading tip to give contour to the
outline of the bear and shade the inside of the opposite legs and maybe under his chin. You can also lightly burn over your fur, defining
your muscle groups to give contour. Also, use the shading tip for the body of the tree to give it a light brown color.
DIY Step 4 – Color and Sealing Pyrography
makes for a unique display with its varying sepia values. Adding color is
strictly a personal preference and has no rules. What to use? Oil, acrylic
or watercolor paint? Oil, or wax colored pencils? Stains,
washes or dyes? The interaction between the wood, the color and the pyrography
does have an impact as each entity within themselves react a different way
with the other in terms of absorbency, transparency and compatibility. This
would be another fun area in which
to experiment and practice. See what combinations you like best and go
with it. I just recently started using colored pencils and fell in love with
the result, so I have not tried anything else...Yet.
For the final step, I spray on a coat or two of an
acrylic, clear matte finish. This not only protects your woodburnings against fingerprints and dust, it also protects it against
mildew (which can be brought on by high humidity). Matte or satin finish is preferred because it doesn’t create a glare and
distract from your woodburning.
Pyrography can fade in strong direct artificial or natural light.
To help prevent this, place in indirect, diffused light. I also choose
an acrylic finish with UV-Resistance which definitely helps protect
against harmful ultraviolet light rays.
Thank you for visiting Scenicswitchplates and if
you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.
|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
Featured Designs!
|
|
|
|
Ordering help here.
|
 |
|
|
|
Great Gift Idea!
|
|
Unique Designs.
|
U.L. Approved.
|
We Accept:
|
 |
 |
 |
·Visa/Master Card
· PayPal
·Check/Money Order
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
