Here's a bookmark I just finished. I wanted to mess around with making thin lines. The bodies of the dragonflies are acrylic from pen blanks and the heads are mother of pearl flakes.
1. Put a coat of shellac on the area of concern. This may not be necessary, but it's a little bit of insurance to keep the paint off of areas where you don't want it.
2. Cover the area with masking tape. I can see through the masking tape I have. There may be other tapes that will work, but I've had good success with masking tape.
3. If you can see the pattern lines clearly through the tape you can skip this step. Trace the lines on the tape to make them easier to see.
4. Use a knife to score a deep cut on each line. I used a box cutter knife. An Xacto knife might work, but I think it helps to have a deep line so you don't sand through it later. Be careful not to lift the tape anywhere. If you have a myriad of intersecting lines you might want to do this in multiple steps.
5. Smear black acrylic paint over the lines and try to jam it deep into the lines. I used an artist's spatula to help spread the paint.
6. Carefully lift off the tape and marvel at what you've just achieved.
Thanks much for the detail on how you add the lines. Sounds like a nice technique. Have you ever tried using a wood burning tool to do something like this? I bought a simple wood burner with that in mind, but haven't tried it yet….
Thanks much for the detail on how you add the lines. Sounds like a nice technique. Have you ever tried using a wood burning tool to do something like this? I bought a simple wood burner with that in mind, but haven t tried it yet….
Sorry it took so long. I just saw your post. I've half-heartedly tried a wood burner. It didn't work very well. Maybe if you had one of those really fancy ones it could work.