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So, the latest stencil-thread has got kind of huge again and a lot of people were asking for information and tutorials so I thought it would be nice to make a new one and try to include as much helpful information (and run-on sentences) as I can fit in here. Making the stencil image You can use any image to make a stencil, draw something, use a photo or what I usually do, a combination of the two and a bit of ye olde photoshoppe. Just keep in mind that a high contrast makes it much easier to cut out a stencil, up the contrast on a black and white photo and you've got a one-layer black-on-white (or vice versa) stencil image. Here are some examples:  Drawing I made a two-layer stencil out of.  Picture with upped contrast. I think I filled in the shadows/made them more pronounced by hand too. Watch out for 'islands' in your design. If you look at the stencil above you'll see that there's no white spot completely surrounded by black, all the white parts are connected so they don't fall out of your design when you cut it. If you come across an island in your design just draw a discrete bridge that will keep it connected to the rest of the stencil. The more bridges you use, the stronger the stencil will be. Making the stencil  Make a print of your image and slap it on your stencil-material, the material you're using depends on personal preference and how and where you're going to apply the stencil. Some sort of plastic acetate usually works for most things but you might want to use something less floppy, like cardboard, if you're taking it to the street and need to be able to hold it against the wall with one hand. If there's no rush and you're stencilling on a horizontal surface, I'm a fan of those printable overhead-projector sheets or just a simple laminated sheet of paper but thin cardboard, like a cereal box, is awesome too. Now cut out the parts you want painted, make sure there are no islands left. I usually use a scalpel because those are sharp bastards, an exacto will do just fine too. Keep some extra blades on hand, some materials wear out your knife pretty quickly. Supplies check! If you're painting a shirt I recommend using a thick flat-topped brush or a small roller. You'll also need spray adhesive for clean lines. For paint I use a mixture of regular acrylic paint and a textile medium (1:1) which is really just fabric-paint for cheapskates who already have acrylics in every colour of the rainbow, like me. If you're painting your city with pretty pictures spray-paint is in order. Any kind will do (some brands do react badly when you spray them on top of each other however) but I use Montana Gold because it's good stuff. I understand it's pretty expensive in the rest of the world, though. Don't bother with spray-adhesive, it takes too long and won't stick to most gritty surfaces anyway. A bit of tape might come in useful though and some latex gloves if you don't want to look like an evil vandal criminal when you make your getaway. Take a stencil-buddy with you for some extra hands to hold up the stencil and an extra pair of eyes to watch out for cops. Now for some picture tutorials so even the illiterate can participate! Canvas Stencil  Cutting the stencil. I used a big sheet of paper on which I projected the image and traced it. Don't rush this part, I've spent days cutting particularly detailed stencils. It's actually kind of a zen experience.  Rather than cramping up after an hour or two and accidentally cutting a bridge off I recommend taking a cigarette-break and watching Never Mind The Buzzcocks. Like so. NOTE: I have stopped smoking since then and so should you. Pretend I'm holding a joint in this picture. Also, I have a much bigger tv now, if you were wondering.  There we go, all cut up. As this design is rather complex I decided to go for two layers so I wouldn't have to make five trillion bridges. It's still only one colour though.  Spray adhesive is your friend, this is the brand I'm using right now. Spray lightly and wait a minute. If you don't wait long enough it stays all fluid and sticky and might leave residue.  Position the stencil on your canvas, press down gently.  Paint. Use the right cap on your can for the right stencil size. Spray gently and don't go over the same area too often. If you think the paint is going on too thick, wait a minute and apply another layer once the first one is dry, otherwise you'll only make it worse.  Yay, all painted. Let the paint dry at least a minute or so lest you smudge the whole thing when you peel the stencil off.  Hooray, it's done! Pat yourself on the back and start making plans for the next one. T-Shirt Stencil  Shirt and stencil. Not my design but I've loved it ever since I first saw it so I decided to make my own. Apply spray adhesive, wait and position stencil.  My tools. Acrylic paint, textile medium, brush and roller.  Mix the paint with medium, 1:1. Don't worry, the medium is completely colourless.  Daub a modest amount of paint on with the brush like so. Or gently roll it on with a small roller. Again, not too much all at once, you can always apply another layer once the first is dry and it'll prevent the paint bleeding underneath the stencil.  Gently peel the stencil off.  If you want you can touch up the bridges with a small brush now. Once the paint is dry, you need to heat-set your stencil so it won't come off in the wash. There will be instructions on your thing of textile medium or fabric paint. I don't have a picture of the hot ironing action because I'm lazy and will do that in the morning. I usually iron it on the cotton setting with a sheet of baking paper (butcher's paper?) in-between the iron and the shirt and then once more with the shirt turned inside out.  Rock your new t-shirt. I hope that clears things up for the people coming into the last thread with questions, feel free to post your own stencils and ask more questions now. 
InvisibleMonkey fucked around with this message at Mar 23, 2011 around 12:14 |
| # ? Nov 23, 2007 03:53 |
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| # ? May 18, 2013 13:01 |
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I'm a little confused on the spray adhesive part, that is just to keep the skeletal stencil down while you spray on the canvas. If you were to do this on concrete or just anywhere outside would the spray adhesive still be effective?
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| # ? Nov 23, 2007 17:53 |
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Khanstant posted:I'm a little confused on the spray adhesive part, that is just to keep the skeletal stencil down while you spray on the canvas. If you were to do this on concrete or just anywhere outside would the spray adhesive still be effective? I talk about this under the Supplies header. Using spray-adhesive takes time you might not have outside and transporting sticky stencils is a lot harder than transporting dry ones so I don't recommend it. Also, it probably won't even stick probably to the wall surface if it's gritty or dirty. When stencilling on a horizontal surface I use spray-adhesive to stick the entire stencil to the canvas.
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| # ? Nov 23, 2007 18:14 |
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InvisibleMonkey posted:Use the right cap on your can for the right stencil size. I think this may be where I'm running into trouble. Is there a general guideline for which caps to use for different sizes? So far I've just been using the default cap that comes with cans of Montana (which is surprisingly inexpensive where I live).
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| # ? Nov 23, 2007 18:17 |
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Qnonymous posted:I think this may be where I'm running into trouble. Is there a general guideline for which caps to use for different sizes? So far I've just been using the default cap that comes with cans of Montana (which is surprisingly inexpensive where I live). Yes, caps are kind of a big deal. Always get some extra ones when you get your paint, the salesperson should be able to pick out some different sizes for you. Obviously, a fat cap is better for a huge stencil you want to fill in quickly and a skinny cap for smaller work. Use a fat cap on a small stencil and you'll get too much paint on it at once and it'll probably drip and bleed. Apart from that you should spray from a distance to allow the paint to diffuse correctly and don't go over the same area over and over again. Then you should be fine!
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| # ? Nov 23, 2007 18:30 |
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InvisibleMonkey posted:Obviously, a fat cap is better for a huge stencil you want to fill in quickly and a skinny cap for smaller work. Use a fat cap on a small stencil and you'll get too much paint on it at once and it'll probably drip and bleed. Bouldercrap! You just need to use some can control. A fat cap is usually the best way to go in my opinion. Of course I only have experience using american brands like Rustoleum and Krylon and NY skinny and fat caps. But ny skinnies have a very high pressure spray while fats are pretty low (particularly on Rusto cans) and low pressure is good for stenciling. The only problem you might encounter is overspray when you're on the streets, but when working on canvas you should always mask everything for the best effect. What Invisible Monkey said about distance, though, is totally key. When I was new to stenciling I always sprayed way too close and overpainted the stencils. Keep your distance and never use too much paint, especially colors that don't want to cover. In my experience some colors are very runny and tend to gum up stencils; you need to do multiple light layers to get good results. Anyways here are a couple paintings I did over the week.   
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| # ? Nov 23, 2007 23:15 |
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Thanks so much for this thread, you are awesome  Going to work on my first stencil this weekend.
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| # ? Nov 24, 2007 08:22 |
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Great tutorial! It's convenient youre dutch too, so I actually recognize the brands you're using  Also: InvisibleMonkey posted:Apart from that you should spray from a distance to allow the paint to diffuse correctly and don't go over the same area over and over again. I bet this is what I'm doing wrong, time to try it out!
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| # ? Nov 24, 2007 15:54 |
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Thanks for the tutorial. I'm gonna jump right into this. I have access to a laser cutter, so no exacto for me...
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| # ? Nov 24, 2007 16:57 |
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rear end in a top hat Bicycle posted:Thanks for the tutorial. I'm gonna jump right into this. Haha, I have access to as much sheet metal as I need, and a 40 x 40 CNC Mill, so I could go the same way...but some of the satisfaction of a good spray comes from the fact that you can say "hand carved - 100%!". Ah well, you better make some kick rear end designs if you're going to go with the laser cutter.
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| # ? Nov 24, 2007 20:39 |
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I'm an architecture student, so I do quite enough hand cutting, thank you very much.
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| # ? Nov 24, 2007 23:22 |
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I was just about to buy platinum to search for one of these threads. I've been a big fan of stencils for a while, and wanted to show a few tricks I've seen. http://www.stencilrevolution.com -Big community that can be creepy sometimes, but their user-made tutorials are ace. http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator/ -An image enlarger I've used multiple times, as it's simple. Usually best below 3mm dots. http://www.stencilrevolution.com/fo...pic.php?t=17023 -Great street-minded method of putting up big stencils. http://www.bombingscience.com -Paint store for everybody living in some suburb deathtrap http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xu0f5_howto -quick wheatpaste tutorial, as an alternative. http://www.stencilrevolution.com/fo...pic.php?t=16199 -A multilayer photoshop tutorial I've used a-lot. Acetate and mylar rolls are the perfect material for street stencils, and can be bought online, but can also be found at certain industrial complexes by you for next to nothing. The thicker, the better.
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| # ? Nov 25, 2007 04:13 |
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for sale posted:
gently caress, I need some paint stuff but they dont ship paint to Canada....Even though the warehouse is in Montreal...
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| # ? Nov 25, 2007 05:01 |
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:mmhmm:
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They sell acetate at some office supply stores. Look for stores that sell architecture supplies. Craft stores like Michaels probably have it, too.
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| # ? Nov 25, 2007 12:31 |
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Whoa, that horse image really gets around.
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| # ? Nov 26, 2007 06:24 |
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rear end in a top hat Bicycle posted:They sell acetate at some office supply stores. Look for stores that sell architecture supplies. Craft stores like Michaels probably have it, too. Michael's does not have acetate. What we do have is art sleeves in the frame shop. if you're in the store ask the frame shop person if they're throwing out any of the white plastic sleeves they keep the art in. It's not often that we are, but the acetate on them is great.
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| # ? Nov 26, 2007 07:43 |
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Anyone have experience using spray paint on photo paper? I ask because I just randomly came upon this thread, and it inspired me to incorporate stenciling into my final project for photo. I plan on photographing pieces of street art (found object) for the final exhibition. At the center of my piece I want to have a photograph of a blank wall, which I'm going to stencil on. So I'll be stenciling on the photograph, in color, with the rest of the piece in black and white. Ideally I'd use spray paint for authenticity's sake, but I get the feeling that spray paint and my pearl photo paper may not mix. Any suggestions as to what other types of paint may work? I'm currently studying in Prague and have no idea what brands of paint they have here, so any suggestions on that front would be helpful too. EDIT: Here's a quick test stencil I made in maybe ten minutes with a random image from my pictures folder. Am I doing a proper job of converting an image into a stencil? Ignore the island in the eye and the tiny island between his hand and head. If I were to use this I'd sticker the eye or something because I couldn't think of how to make it work otherwise, and just forget about the other one. 
squidgee fucked around with this message at Nov 26, 2007 around 23:47 |
| # ? Nov 26, 2007 21:36 |
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Stencil Enthusiast checking in (: The only stuff that I can find right now is -- A) My first attempt ever -  B) My brother's first attempt ever -  God, I hate how he's so much better than me at everything artistic. Right now I'm working on designing some stencils for some home-made longboards that me and my friend are making. Haha endless doodles in class -> scanner -> I suck at photoshopping to make them look legit What I've learned -- Don't try and freehand your first stencil that also happens to be multilayer. It probably won't come out right. Buy spray adhesive. Taping poo poo down is NOT a great idea. Paper will bleed. You know those 1000s of manilla folders in your closet? Yeah, use those. Spray WITH DISTANCEEE! Take your time (yes it will take forever if you do it right) cutting poo poo out. If you are sloppy, your stencil will suck. Squidgee -- That looks about perfect. Personally, I think bridges are really overrated. Using multiple layers can be a MUCH faster/easier solution. Agentorange812 fucked around with this message at Nov 30, 2007 around 17:14 |
| # ? Nov 30, 2007 17:11 |
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Agentorange812 posted:Paper will bleed. You know those 1000s of manilla folders in your closet? Yeah, use those. Debatable. I find using something with a lower pressure, like a can of Belton or Alien can make spraying on paper work ok. http://www.workhorsevisuals.com <--- This guy (Logan Hicks) uses plain ol' printer paper almost exclusively.
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| # ? Dec 3, 2007 01:24 |
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http://vectormagic.stanford.edu/ An online vectorizer. I haven't used this for making a stencil yet, but it seems like a good start for people looking to make complex multi-layered stencils. Makes some pretty surprising results with photos. It's also pretty fun to just play around with as well.
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| # ? Dec 4, 2007 04:28 |
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Nicely done. I should really post some of my new stuff.
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| # ? Dec 4, 2007 11:27 |
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So I finished up my photo project, and it turns out that spray paint works just dandy on matte photo paper. It's my first proper stencil (I did a test design prior to this just to see if it was going to work), and going on display as of Thursday.  I'm missing two photos in this picture since they were still drying in the darkroom when I took it, but you get the gist of it: It seems pretty good for my first effort, and in light of the fact that I didn't have spray adhesive. squidgee fucked around with this message at Dec 4, 2007 around 11:33 |
| # ? Dec 4, 2007 11:30 |
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I was actually toying around with doing a nice bird stencil to add to the bottom of this thing here:
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| # ? Dec 5, 2007 01:41 |
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why not just use a silkscreen for complex stencils? I tried using thick paper and cutting like yourself, but i always ended up either cutting the wrong part off or the paper went to crap after the first print. Question: I tried to use white fabric paint on a black fabric, but it didnt even show up. (Michaels Art Store Brand). Does something from maybe a university art store show up thicker and better? Id like to use white, but after that first time, I wasnt even sure it would work.
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| # ? Dec 5, 2007 22:59 |
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 I dont think it turned out to bad at all.
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| # ? Dec 5, 2007 23:09 |
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3 lemons 4 a dollar posted:
that yellow is an example of the kind of thin spray paint I was talking about. If you want it to be opaque put the stencil down then spray a layer of white then a layer of yellow. Or alternatively you could have done a whole bunch of thin layers of yellow. Also make sure to completely shake up your paint before using it. strategery posted:I tried to use white fabric paint on a black fabric, but it didnt even show up. (Michaels Art Store Brand). Does something from maybe a university art store show up thicker and better? Id like to use white, but after that first time, I wasnt even sure it would work. With white fabric paint you have to do a whole bunch of layers to get a good result. On black fabric you have to do even more. Generally I don't even bother doing it because in order to get it to look good you have to layer the paint on so thick that it makes the shirt stiff and uncomfortable.
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| # ? Dec 5, 2007 23:59 |
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I got really bored today and made this and put it on my pc case. It came out how I wanted it to so I guess it is pretty good for being my first stencil and it was pretty fun to make/do. And I made the stencil by printing the design on normal paper then backing the paper with duct tape. Then I cut the design out. Works alright for poo poo I had laying around. Squirrel007 fucked around with this message at Dec 6, 2007 around 02:22 |
| # ? Dec 6, 2007 01:47 |
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i'm a massive fan of stencil art and stencil 'graffiti' and have done a lot of both in the past and still do carry on with it. At the moment I live on University campus and when I go out I tend to spray a lot around the area I am living (due to being too lazy to walk). I was just wondering if anybody here has had any trouble with security campus/the law with spraying things around anywhere really. I'm not trying to turn this into a graffiti thread but stencils is what I tend to turn to so I figured I'd ask fellow 'stencilers'
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| # ? Dec 6, 2007 06:50 |
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readyfuels posted:i'm a massive fan of stencil art and stencil 'graffiti' and have done a lot of both in the past and still do carry on with it. At the moment I live on University campus and when I go out I tend to spray a lot around the area I am living (due to being too lazy to walk). Yes. Cops generally don't like it when you try to spray poo poo on campus. However I have been putting nice little stencils in my buildings staircases
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| # ? Dec 6, 2007 07:27 |
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How does this look?
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| # ? Dec 7, 2007 05:24 |
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Squirrel007 posted:How does this look? Not very good. What's your source image?
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| # ? Dec 7, 2007 17:33 |
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Squirrel007 posted:How does this look?  The are some issues of islands with it and some little small pieces that are hard, but it should work out a little better. Also, it appears the one heart on the side is oriented a little funky.
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| # ? Dec 7, 2007 18:10 |
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clockwork automaton posted:How about something like this:
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| # ? Dec 7, 2007 18:16 |
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Squirrel007 posted:I got really bored today and made this and put it on my pc case. It came out how I wanted it to so I guess it is pretty good for being my first stencil and it was pretty fun to make/do. That looks really familiar. Is that the TSA Skateboarding logo? We had a big party tonight and I did a life sized stencil on foam board. It got stolen, so I guess that's a compliment.
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| # ? Dec 7, 2007 20:01 |
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I wanted to contribute a stencil I just made. Haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I've got the paint waiting for me. This is going up on the wall of a room in the youth building at my church. I've got it split into two separate stencils, one for white paint and one for black paint, with appropriate bridges for stencil integrity. I'll post a photo once it is up. Any critique is welcome. This is my first time working with stencils. EDIT - I want to be able to stencil onto tshirts (not with this design though). What kind of paint would I put on fabric that is supposed to be washed? Huis fucked around with this message at Dec 7, 2007 around 22:38 |
| # ? Dec 7, 2007 22:16 |
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Huis posted:
I put all of that information in the OP! I'm making a stencil for my Secret Santee and now I'm out of spray-adhesive.  I'm too impatient, once I've cut something I want to paint it immediately, argh.
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| # ? Dec 7, 2007 23:09 |
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Ghost Cockfighter posted:That looks really familiar. Is that the TSA Skateboarding logo? Its a Nine Inch Nails logo, "art is resistance". I think its pretty loving sweet. I printed and cut out the weighted companion cube. I realize it has some jaggy edges on the print but I think the stencil looks fine. Ill spray it on something to test in a bit. Can anyone link me to a photoshop tutorial for making stencils? I mean there are probably hundreds so im wondering which you found most helpful. Thanks clockwork, but to be honest I don't really like that one much. It is surely much cleaner than mine though. Edit: source image: http://www.hamsteralliance.com/wallpaper/cube-hotpink.jpg Problem is probably me and not the source image. Here is the stencil when sprayed, opinions? I think the circles/hearts need some help. 
Squirrel007 fucked around with this message at Dec 8, 2007 around 00:44 |
| # ? Dec 8, 2007 00:24 |
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Squirrel007 posted:Its a Nine Inch Nails logo, "art is resistance". I think its pretty loving sweet. It looks like it's in negative, try spraying in with a light colour on a dark background. I made these for you:   I would go with two layers since an extra grey layer would define the shape more. Definitely cut out the dark parts instead of the light and use a light-coloured surface to spray on, it allows you to keep the hearts intact too.
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| # ? Dec 8, 2007 00:46 |
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InvisibleMonkey posted:It looks like it's in negative, try spraying in with a light colour on a dark background. This didn't turn out too pretty for me, probably because I suck.(spent a while cutting ) I think I am going to stick with monotone stencils.I kinda like the stencil I made, so ill keep it for now. I guess I just need to learn how to make better stencils from images in photoshop.
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| # ? Dec 8, 2007 02:54 |
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| # ? May 18, 2013 13:01 |
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I hosed this up, but someone might be able to make something nice out of the svg file. It's a remix of the Eureka Flag which either radical trade unionists or batshit crazy nationalists have started spraying around my neighborhood. I composed the SVG out of two images from Wikimedia commons, which is a goldmine for this kind of thing. As a result, the final image is under the GFDL. I had a go at stenciling it, but it's got some problems. The cut I made was too small for the canvas, and it's just overall small, which makes the lands very finicky. I also hosed up something with the spray adhesive and got paint everywhere and had to spend a lot of time brushing in corrections, which look really weird without the colour profile ( which doesn't seem to work in Firefox? ).   I might just paint over the canvas and use it for something else, but at $1.80 a pop, maybe it's better to keep it around as a reminder of what can go wrong.
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| # ? Dec 8, 2007 07:49 |
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