Sublimation Printing

This is something I thought some folks might be interested in, Sublimation Printing. It is really unique, my son has the equipment to do this type of printing and I really got into it. The affects you can achieve with sublimation printing are different than any other kind of printing.

But it is limited to one background base that you can print on and that would be a polyester base background . You can print on T-Shirts that are polyester etc. Auto tags and similar things you might print on can be purchased, such as mouse pads, Coffee mugs  with a polyester base or you can apply the base yourself. If you count your time for anything, it would be cheaper to buy them.

GENERAL PROCESS  of sublimation printing is fairly simple.

Things you will need are really not that many, but relatively expensive. The heat transfer ink cost about as much as the printer it self, but goes a long way unless you get to having fun and print a bunch of stuff experimenting with it. ( like we did) So you need computer software for fonts and graphics , such as Serif or Photoshop, there’s many available. you will also need a sublimation printer which prints on special heat transfer paper. then you will need a heat transfer  press for flat surfaces. they are heat transfer wraps for mugs, plus others for various applications.

The affect you achieve using sublimation is akin to a ceramic glaze on plates and other flat objects you transfer on an last much longer than traditional printing or painting.

You can put anything on them and my favorite is cutting an image from the background inserting it into a different background or framing it in frame  and printing on solid color background.

Just remember to to flip it horizontally before printing on the paper so when you put it face down on the material your using it will print right and not backwards.

 

Thanks, hope you enjoyed this topic

http://www.signpaintingbasics.net

Silk Screening Overview

I did a lot of screening through the years for multiple copies of the same sign, It was much faster and they were all identical. When I first started, I really did it the hard way compared to the methods used today.

I used a lacquer based film, which was two layers, one was just a backing and the front green film was vapor thin it seemed. Ah it was thicker than that, but really thin. It was also transparent, so I would hand draw my pattern and put it underneath the film. Then I would start the pains taking process of cutting out the letters or logo with a sharp point xacto knife. I would remove the part where I wanted the screening ink to go, whether it be positive or negative copy.

I goofed up often and had to patch or redo my efforts, but after a while got good with it and had less problems.

After I had my film cut, I would build a 2×2 inch wooden frame to stretch my screen on, lol this was really fun.(yeah right) When the frame was constructed, I would use a double x dynex synthetic mesh cloth and would use a staple gun to fasten it to the frame with 1/4 in staples. I would get it square on one corner, usually the top left corner and put couple of staples in it and take a hammer and drive down tto be tight and be sure to hold . Then I would stretch it over to the other corner and fasten there. After doing all four corners, I would pull the middle of one one side in line with the corners and fasten there, repeating the other sides the same. when on the opposite side from an already fastened side , I would pull it and stretch the waves out as tight as I could. The screen should be very taunt for the screen to work properly

Now the real fun begins and that would be adhering the film to the screen. So what you would do is be on a good smooth flat surface to work. Lay your film down face up or the side you cut, not the back side. I kept it in place from moving by using some masking tape on the edges. Then set your screen down on top of  it and secure it where it will not move on you. Using a special adherring solvent you take a lint free cotton cloth  (I liked baby diapers for this) and dampen it with the solvent and rub it through the screen onto the film, being careful to not saturate. To much and you would dissolve the film and lose your efforts thus far.

After it has dried, usually about 15 or 2o minutes, you could carefully remove the backing. If everything was done correctly, whammo you have your silk screen. But there is couple more things needed to be done before actual useage.    I used a 2 inch wide brown paper tape , one you had to wet the glue side on, kinda like a stamp. Putting it around the film on the back all the way over on the wooden frame. Then on the inside, I did the same and in the corners where mesh met frame i would fold the tape an apply there. This would keep the ink from oozing through and making a mess.

Next step is actually screening now, I mounted a set of hinges on the top of the frame and then onto my table, where it would raise up and down from the bottom end. By putting a small strip of wood on the side that you could fold down to hold the screen up was useful as well. Now take the stock you’re going to print on and lay it underneth your screen, when you have it in registration with the screen, raise the screen up and ron a strip of masking taps along the sides of the stock. This ensures that each time you print a copy and put new stock under it, it will be in the same place. The squeegy you use should be just a little shorter than the inside of the frame, this way you just make one pull, if not you will have to make two pulls and this usually creates bleed under.

After making a few test runs on a slick paper etc. and getting the right consistance in your ink, your ready to turn out some work.

Note, this method will work, but they are easier and better methods for screening now. This was used in the early stages of silk screening.

Coming soon,  I will explain the latest techniques of screening.

Laterz  James Chastain

 http://signpaintingbasics.net

 signlessons@yahoo.com

There’s a Demand for Sign Artist!

I have met quite a few sign men and I haven’t run across one yet that was caught up. They were all booked well ahead of their work schedule and always had plenty of work.

What I enjoyed the most in the sign business was that every time someone wanted me to paint a sign for them, it was a new challenge . Every sign had it’s own personality, unless you were painting  several of the same sign.

Unlike most 9 to 5  jobs, you could be creative and let your talents flow. You could design a sign or signs with an array of colors and letter styles to conform with the business or personal needs of the consumer.

The one that had the problem here was the person needing a sign. To find someone to actually paint them one, because the actual sign artists ( sign painter) were far between. But if they wanted a computer generated one, these shops were on every corner and the signs that each made looked about the same. No character to them at all, least wise that was the way I saw them.

If anyone was ever considering this trade, now would be an opportune time to get involved. There is no-one training for this specialized art feild to speak of.  It is truly a dying art form, as  many old timers in the biz like myself has observed. If you have a full time job and can’t afford to just quit is understandable, but you could learn and earn while working at your primary job to supplement your present income. Once you become known as a good sign artist, you won’t need that 9 to 5er with the sign work that will be coming to you.

If you want to learn this rare trade, I can help you get started with basic training and it cost you hardly anything. I will share my link to my website and you can see what I have for you. So visit and look around, you are not obligated in the least and I would love to have you as my guest.

While there leave a comment in the guest book and tell me what you think about the sign business and how you would fit in maybe. By the way you don’t have to be a great artist to be a sign painter, but it really helps you to grow faster in the business.

Visit  me here at     http://www.signpaintingbasics.net

Until next time regards,

Plastics Rejecting Paint

I remember my first experience trying to letter on plastics. was that ever a mind boggler.  A friend of mine wanted me to paint the name he called his 4×4 pickup truck on the bug deflector on the hood.

I hadn’t been painting but a few years at the time and had never painted on plastic before. What happened was funny after I thought about it, but at the time i got really frustrated with the crazy acting paint.

After I cleaned the bugs and road film off of it, I gathered the paint I was going to use, snap  a couple of lines to keep my letters uniform. I was using the same graffic arts or bullentin paint I used for most all my projects and started, and i wiped it off and started again.

After about three or four times I realized this wasn’t going to  work, so I just sat down and thought to myself, what is going on here. Then it dawned on me the problem.

When I cleaned it I used an old hand towel (cotton of course) to clean it with. When i cleaned and rubbed it dry, I created a charge of static electricity to build up on the plastic. So what happened was every time  I got my lettering brush close to the plastic the paint actually leaped from the tip of my brush and went like a cobweb  every which way. The reason it did this was because the paint had lead in it and the static field was like a magnet that drew the paint  to it. In fact after that I would tell people i could paint the plastic and never touch it with the brush and yes I had to prove it.

If you use acrylic enamels or lacquer base paint though, this doesn’t happen. Using these paints is hard for beginners though because it dries way to fast. You can use regular enamels once you learn the right paint consistency to use. If you get your enamels to thin they will surely give you a cobweb.

Just thought you might get a laugh from this, but if your trying to make a dollar or two, it isn’t so funny at the time.

To your Sign Painting success, James Chastain

It is a real heartbreaker!

I visited a large number of sign shops and to my disappointment, I never had the opportunity to chat with anyone old or new in this unique art field that even knew what a quill brush was. These sign shops thrived on software, vinyl and masking tape.

The real sign painters are all but extinct, it appears. I have seen some neat signs turned out by computer, but they lack the touch a true artist gives them. Since no two people do things exactly the same, all the sign artist had their own techniques  and manner of doing things, this added great variety and an array of colorful eye catching signs on businesses and road sign everywhere you looked.

I know starting in the 70s neon signs all but faded out, except maybe Las Vegas and a few places like that. The plastic internally lit signs replaced them, but now neon is coming back along with led lighted signs.

I am just hoping that the sign painters that are left are training someone to carry on the trade. Because the demand for hand painted signage is on the rebound and there will be plenty of work for those who can paint a  sign.

I would love to hear your comments on this, let me know  what you think!

COMMENT HERE

Please visit my training website for more information

http://www.signpaintingbasics.net

until next time James Chastain

PS: While your there sign up and grab the free lessons!

Brush-Eye Coordination

I was just thinking what someone learning to paint signs run into, because I know I had this problem in the beginning stages.

I remember that when following a layout or pattern that people have a  tendency to either look where they’re going with the brush or look where they have just painted.  But in reality you do both, mainly in front of where your headed with the brush first and sort of a split vision watching the painted area second . If you spend more time looking behind you, you will spend a lot of time starting over.

One other thing is to thin your paint so that it flows smoothly without dripping or running. Most of the time straight out of the container, the paint will drag on you and not spread as it should.

That’s all for now, but I will continue to add tips often. So come back or comment at bottom of post and check email notifier to catch all my new posts.

Thanks James Chastain

www.signpaintingbasics.net

signlessons@yahoo.com

Three Dimensional Letters

Hi  first of all, I want to personally thank you for reading my tips and hopefully you can apply them and shorten your learning curve. Sign Painters, while learning the trade often get discouraged, because of the expanse  of the art. But as so many worth while skills it takes time, so if you love sign painting stick with it, you’ll get there!

Enough of that, I promised something about dimensional letters, so what you say we get to it.

When you put your basic letters on your sign, you can dress them up various ways. You can put a band around the letter or you can shade the letter or you can do both. Another thing can do is have a banner, strip or cloud or really whatever you choose behind the letters. Now I will give you some examples of this using basic color combinations.

1.  Say your using a light blue overall background, the letters you want are about six inches tall. Paint eight or nine inch high strip across the sign all the way to the end or leave a space at the ends, which ever you prefer using a darker blue than the background. this would be optional to use the darker strip.

2. Paint your letters in much lighter color than the background, then after this dries you can apply a compatible band around the letter. at this point your lettering has taken on three dimensions from the original background color.

3. Now if you want you can put a drop shade on the letters for even another dimension and this can be done in many different ways, which are explained in my sign painting basics course.

Remember that black and white is not considered color and are neutral or a combination of them  will look good with most other colors.

I hope these tips I share with you are helpful and if you have any questions send me an e-mail via signlessons@yahoo.com

Be sure and visit my website and please leave a comment, your feedback is needed so I will know what your needing to become a sign artist.

I will post more tips and how tos  very soon!

Thanks James C.

http://www.signpaintingbasics.net

Reverse Glass Painting

I have so much information, I want to share with you and today I am gonna touch bases on reverse glass painting.
Reverse painting is exactly what is implied here. First you only need to do this on clear glass or glass that is slightly tinted, noting that the tint will alter your colors somewhat. The darker tinted glass makes it impossible to see at a distance from the front. deeming it not worth the effort.
So with that said, let’s explore the process of this method of painting. First always clean the glass on both sides to remove any residue. I used white vinegar for this, it removed oily film and tar from smoking etc. better than a regular glass cleaner.
If you have a pattern like mentioned in my last post, you place and tape in place and pounce it onto the glass. If you do not use a pattern, you can use a china marker (grease pencil) to actually draw your letters and art on the front of the glass.
Once this is done, you can then move to the inside and set up for the painting. Depending on the affect you want for example,you paint the main part of the copy first and any secondary color, trim or bands around letters next. If you want to shade the letters, draw this off on the front, after the primary paint has been applied or before if you so choose. Let your base paint that you first applied dry completely before adding ant more paint.This is because when you add a drop shade, you apply it over the whole letter, this makes the letters and art not have transparent areas, giving it a nice smooth affect. This also gives the art a longer lifespan.

I hope this gives you a general idea of how reverse painting is done on the inside of glass.
If you ever have a question about this or any other tip I share with you, please leave a comment and I will answer it, as soon as possible.
Let’s keep sign painting alive, because it is fading very fast.

To your success, James C.
www.signpaintingbasics.net
signlessons@yahoo.com

Tags: art course, brushes, freehand, hand lettering, how to paint, online art course, sign basics

Copying Logos or Trademarks

Just a quick update concerning trademarks and logos. If you want one of these on your sign, you can simplify the process easily by making a pattern. If you do not have access to an opaque projector, usually one can be obtained through your local library. Once you do have access to a projector, put the letter head or business card in it and adjust to the size you desire. you can magnify the image as large as you want by placing the projector further back from whatever you projecting upon. The darker the area is that your working in, the clearer the image will be. Use white paper or standard pattern paper, obtainable through a sign supplier to make your pattern.  Use a soft leaded pencil #3 or better and trace the image you have projected.

Okay, now you are ready to finish the pattern by once again tracing your just drawn outline with a pounce wheel. ( pattern cutter ) You can get one of these at most cloth or dress shops. They use them also for dress making and so on. Place you drawing on something fairly soft to get a good cut. I have used a thick piece of pasteboard for this.

Once you have completed this step, get an old cotton sock and pour about half a cup of builders chalk in it. ( blue works best ) Same chalk that is used in a chalk box or chalk line.

Place your pattern where your design is precisely where you want it and tape in place with masking tape. Then gently pounce the chalk laden sock, know as pounce bag on the paper pattern filling the holes made with the pounce wheel, gently rubbing it as you go.

Once you complete the above steps, remove the pattern, you should have an outline just like the ones in a coloring book to follow.

Check back often for more tips about sign painting.

Until next time, I wish you success in your art endeavors.

James Chastain,  signpaintingbasics.net /  signlessons@yahoo.com

Tags: art course, brushes, freehand, hand lettering, how to paint, online art course, sign basics

Sign Painting Basics.net

Just about sign painting and why it is fading away!

Hi, my name is James Chastain

Like many people around the world, I love art in about every form imaginable. But the one I really hung my teeth in was sign painting. I was amazed at working with paint and brushes to create so many different types of letters and art on an old piece of plywood or metal, at the early age of about 12 years old.

Today when you walk into a sign shop to get a sign for your business or whatever, you do not smell the aroma of paint, mineral spirits or turpentine like you used to. Now all you see is a rack hanging full of assorted colors of vinyl, ready to be cut by a plotter, powered by a brain box called a computer. How sad, there is not so many true artists who enjoys using their own imagination and skills to create a sign. Even though the computer will do all the layout and letter forming for you, it is up to the  programmer to know good layout formats, colors that are compatible  or overall sign basics to make an attractive sign without cluttering it to the point it is not legible twenty feet away. There is a lot more to sign painting or freehand lettering than just paint and brushes. It is a form of art that is cultured and nurtured  over years of trial and error.

There is no-one training for free hand lettering now days , I think mainly because a lot of the old timers, such as myself has moved on to the happy hunting ground and there is not anyone to teach them all the basics and fundamentals of the art. Not only that the younger generation is in the fast lane and don’t won’t to take the time necessary to learn, even though they have God given talents just going to waste.

I have designed a basic sign training package, that would help anyone who is inspired and would like to get involved in this dying art form. After 50 years in the biz, I pretty well covered all aspects for the beginners to get started. Even if you do not use my training lessons, please get help if you are new and want to learn. Don’t let your talent fade with the fading out sign artist.

If you need my help, Please check out my website at www.signpaintingbasics.net

JameChastain

Royston,Ga-

signlessons@yahoo.com

Tags: about sign painting.freehand, art of painting signs, dying art form, how to paint, learn freehand lettering