Questions tagged [medium-selection]

For questions about selecting the media to be applied to a project, such as what type of paint, pencil or adhesive.

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7 votes
1 answer
372 views

How do I paint hot glue so that it's slightly translucent?

I'm going to try to replicate the fire effect that you can see in the picture below using hot glue, to produce a ring of flames around a 3" model. What kind of paints and/or techniques should I ...
4 votes
2 answers
101 views

How could I make a twisted cuboid sculpture like this?

I saw a decorative vase or sculpture shaped like what I can best describe as a silver twisted cuboid, please see this 3D model for what I'm talking about: https://skfb.ly/ouSsD The horizontal cross ...
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5 votes
2 answers
315 views

Using an underpainting and painting a gradient on top of another, with gouache

Premise: When we paint with gouache, previously laid layers of paint will get re-wet, and dissolve again, mixing into and strongly impacting (usually, for the worse) whatever we are trying to create ...
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6 votes
2 answers
56 views

Paint for stencils on black fabric

I'm thinking of making some stencils on black fabric, but I'm not sure what paint would work best. On the internet tutorials say fabric paint is best, but I've painted with white fabric paint on black ...
6 votes
2 answers
535 views

How to paint a ghost with oils?

I'm a beginner, and I'd like to paint a ghost with oil paints. The effect that I want is something similar to this picture: The only difference would be that my ghost should be purplish. But that's ...
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3 votes
2 answers
226 views

Add support to large collage to prevent warping and tearing

I had been working on a huge painting made on about 15 separate sheets. After the work was finished I glued together all the paintings, but now after the paint has dried I find that the paper is kind ...
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2 votes
2 answers
383 views

Can I use wood glue to fixate poster paint?

With my son I made a wooden shield, glued canvas over it and then he painted the canvas with his sigil. We used poster paint (children's paint) because I remembered I could not completely wash it out ...
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4 votes
2 answers
125 views

Pastel fixative

I have used a Winsor & Newton fixative for my dry pastel works. However, when I touch it, the pastel still comes off. Is there any way I can completely fix my pastel paintings? I sprayed fixative ...
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2 votes
2 answers
380 views

Can I create a 'professional level' canvas weave, using a manual loom machine?

I would like to start weaving my own cotton yarn, using a manual loom, to create my own cotton canvas fabric. The fabric will be used to create canvas paintings, which will be stretched over the ...
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2 votes
1 answer
189 views

Create a head bust (maybe plaster or paper mache)

I got a new headset for Christmas and got the idea to create a holder for it. I was thinking of a bust, on which I can put my headset. I sculpted the bust in the 3D program Blender: Now there are a ...
5 votes
4 answers
9k views

How can I make a faux gold finish less garish?

I just purchased a cheap gold lamp. As expected, the gold is typically super shiny and yellow (see below). How can I make it look more like weathered/antique gold?
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5 votes
3 answers
253 views

Building an elliptic paraboloid

How would I build a shell of an elliptic paraboloid as accurately as possible (in terms of its mathematical properties (all parallel rays end up in its focal point)). Preferably it should be: Made ...
1 vote
2 answers
77 views

Looking to affix medals in a display case

I previously had medals in a display case. They were originally affixed in a very rudimentary way (I just stuck push pins through the back, which was a thin cardboardish material). I'm putting some ...
2 votes
2 answers
373 views

How can I recreate/restore small text and graphics on a painted surface?

I'm refinishing an old Bausch and Lomb Stereo Microscope and I am trying to recreate the graphics and text on the body, but I am not sure of the method used during manufacture. I would like a method I ...
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2 votes
2 answers
107 views

Dishwasher-proof way to personalize plastic lunch containers

So, I meal prep, and I use bowls like this to carry my prepped lunches to work: From another angle, showing the lip below the lid: The recycling mark on the bottom says they are polypropylene for ...
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2 votes
1 answer
77 views

Realistic tempered steel effect on aluminum

Im working on a project with aluminum Ive machined. I want to give it the rainbowy effect of heated steel known as the “heat affected zone”. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get the most realistic ...
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1 vote
3 answers
70 views

Easter crafts, any besides eggs?

Are there any home crafts regarding Easter besides eggs? Easter will be coming fairly soon calendar-wise after all.
1 vote
2 answers
3k views

What are the differences between different black oil paints?

Assuming they are all the same grade (let's assume professional grade to simplify the question), what makes one better for one purpose or another? I understand that there are a variety to choose from: ...
5 votes
1 answer
1k views

Can an oil painting be finished with wax to create a matte finish?

I've heard of paintings being finished with a thin wax coat, but I didn't know if this could be done with oil paintings specifically. If wax is not compatible with dried oil paint, what other ...
4 votes
2 answers
185 views

What is the equivalent to niello for brass?

I have some brassware with nice engraved designs that I'd like to bring out. If it were silver or gold, I'd use niello, but that apparently doesn't work on brass. I could try and do something to ...
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4 votes
1 answer
100 views

What is the best mix to make chalk paint at home?

I have a table to distress for which I need chalk paint in bulk. What would be the best and cheapest way of making this at home in large amounts?
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10 votes
2 answers
1k views

Best materials for a long-lasting scroll

I'm trying to make a scroll to document life events. The important requirements are: approximately 30cm wide by 2m tall relatively easy for other people to sign their names on it can be rolled up and ...
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4 votes
1 answer
207 views

How to make adjustments to a PVC raincoat?

I have a raincoat made of PVC that I’d like to make some adjustments to: adding more buttons or other ways of attachment (it is full-length but it has buttons only to the knee); adding a string at the ...
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9 votes
2 answers
2k views

What kind of paint marker will work for flexible vinyl?

I'm making a mini cape out of flexible vinyl, like the kind used for window clings. I need to leave light blue, permanent marks on the vinyl that won't peel or flake as the cape is flexed. I'd really ...
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5 votes
2 answers
787 views

Using Rice Paper

I have ordered rice paper with which to make butterflies. It is so delicate though. Is there a way to coat the back with something like clear gesso and still have the look of translucent water color ...
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1 vote
2 answers
103 views

Advice on transferring technical drawing/line art to dark paper, possibly metallic or white lines

I have a vector file of technical drawing consisting of detailed line work that I'd like to transfer to a dark paper or card stock. Tracing, making stencils, etc. won't work due to the fine, complex ...
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1 vote
2 answers
1k views

What types of large plastic sheets can I draw/paint on?

I typically draw on Stonehenge paper from rolls, cut size: 48" x 60+". I like working big but it's horribly expensive to frame anything that large so I have been looking into various plastic drafting ...
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7 votes
1 answer
418 views

Water based ink durability on canvas

I have been drawing on canvas using Posca, Molotow, Montana Cans and MTN markers. I like to draw using black markers and applying colors afterwards. For the background colors, I use Ecoline, both with ...
13 votes
5 answers
8k views

What kind of paint best adheres to doll/barbie bodies?

Does anyone have experience with full-body repaints for plastic dolls? I'm working on a repaint/restyle and I need to paint the doll's entire body. I'm creating a fantasy creature but acrylic paint ...
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4 votes
1 answer
112 views

Should 300 GSM toothed water color paper be used for pencil colors?

These seem to be toothed as well as they have a great GSM. But, it has been mentioned there that they are for water colors. Since toothed paper is required for holding pencil colors, will these be ...
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

What glue can I use for glass and polycarbonate bonding?

I need to glue round glass (20 mm) inside a round hole in polycarbonate (tight fit). Only the glass edge (1 mm thick) and polycarbonate edge (1.5 mm) are surfaces that will hold the glue bond. ...
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6 votes
2 answers
186 views

Distressing purchased wall art

I purchased some wall art and I'd like to darken it with a tea stain or synthetic stain but the canvas has a plastic coating. Any ideas?
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4 votes
3 answers
732 views

How to paint paper mache rose

So I created this paper mache rose. As you can see, it's not very large. As you also can see, it still has the colour of newspaper. Now, roses in newspaper colour aren't very pretty, so I'd like to ...
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7 votes
4 answers
736 views

What should I use to connect my empty toilet paper rolls?

I'm building a pyramid made out of empty toiler paper rolls. I'm creating the pyramid as a bunch of rows, with the first row being a singe tube, the second one has two tubes connected, etc. (When it ...
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6 votes
1 answer
986 views

How to get velvety soft finish on hard toys?

I would like to know how to get the velvet-texture soft furry finish that is seen on some toys. A good example of this would be the Sylvanian Families toys (as pictured.) What materials and techniques ...
9 votes
2 answers
4k views

What kind of paper to use for airbrush practice?

I'm just getting started with an airbrush and I plan to spend some time practicing basic techniques (dots, straight lines, curves, etc.) using cheap acrylic paints which I will dilute down to airbrush ...
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5 votes
1 answer
64 views

How can I select suitable leaves for hammered leaf art?

Over the summer I tried to do some hammered leaf art. Since I had never done it before I was just grabbing random leaves and plants that I thought would look good if I beat them on some watercolour ...
  • 11k
6 votes
1 answer
74 views

Looking for a (non-yellowy) white chalk pencil for marker illustration highlights

I am looking for a powdery, dry medium similar to a chalk pencil. However I notice that not all chalk pencils are pure white and often exhibit a yellowy tinge. I have seen "white charcoal" products ...
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6 votes
2 answers
6k views

Can I use sunflower oil in oil paint?

Usually when I paint there is enough linseed oil. However, in the kitchen there is always some sunflower oil, for cooking of course. It appears to work well but I wonder about a few things. How is ...
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6 votes
2 answers
495 views

How to avoid / deal with rough edges after painting plywood?

I want to make a plywood owl lamp similar to this one. After sawing the pieces and polishing them, I tried painting them using watercolours. The colour looks good, but the wood has become rough on the ...
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4 votes
1 answer
44 views

Is the canvas used in pre-made packs the same as plain canvas pieces?

The art stores generally have pre-made white canvas on small wooden frames. They're not the cheapest, but they're easy to deal with. I want to know if this canvas is different than buying canvas by ...
user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
3k views

Is regular "wood glue" suitable for lighter woods (e.g. balsa)?

My daughter's dollhouse, after years of fairly rough use by many enthusiastic children, needs some fixing up. In particular, the staircase has split in half. Luckily it's a clean break, and I should ...
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7 votes
2 answers
659 views

What paint to use for outdoor plastic chairs?

I would like to paint my (garden) plastic chairs with nice designs. These are very standard chairs like this one: I don't know their exact composition but a google search make me thinking that this ...
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3 votes
0 answers
51 views

What paints can I use on glass? [duplicate]

On this website, they propose some "bottle-lamps", e.g. this one: I like the idea and would like to reproduce something similar. I think the product can be improved by painting the bottle. So here'...
  • 1,205
6 votes
2 answers
3k views

What paints could I use on nylon fabric?

What are good paints for painting on (thin) nylon fabrics? The goal is to paint an umbrella so there are some additional constraints. The paint should: be waterproof. keep the flexibility of ...
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15 votes
10 answers
4k views

What are some waterproof materials that meet my criteria for folding origami stars and cranes eggs?

One of my future projects involve folding A LOT of origami stars and crane eggs and turn it into a curtain. However, I want to insure that my hard (and very tedious) work do not go to waste by making ...
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10 votes
2 answers
2k views

To do direct animation on clear super 8 mm film, can i just bleach some old film?

I have a direct animation project I want to do using super 8mm film, but I'm struggling to find the right kind of film. I am wondering if I can buy some super 8mm film, leave it in bleach so it ...
12 votes
4 answers
397 views

What material can I use to dye paper to look older?

My son wants to have a treasure hunt themed birthday party (we'll be geocaching at a local park). For the invitations, he wants pirate treasure maps to tell guests where to go. I'm going to be typing ...
  • 4,306
12 votes
4 answers
3k views

What paint works for "mock" stained glass?

I am pondering a project to make candle holders from wine bottles. I'd like to paint a "stained glass" style pattern on the outside, so it looks like a much more complex project than it actually is. ...
  • 4,306
13 votes
3 answers
31k views

What type of paint should I use for stone painting meant for outside

Not too long ago, my family’s dog was put down and we spread the ashes on one of her favourite (or so we assume) walkies routes. I want to create some kind of tombstone for her. I was thinking of ...
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