Should I consider lightfastness scale while choosing artist grade watercolor? I just started to use watercolor and got a set of 6 Schmincke Horadam watercolors. I decided to get some more and looking at a color table I found out that colors have a lightfastness categorization.

I thought that all artist grade watercolor was at top of lightfastness grade.

However, it says "The rating of lightfastness as a 5-star-system is based on blue wool scale. This allows a more precise differentiation especially in the more lightfast categories."

Few colors have a 1/2 star on lightfastness scale and some new colors have "Without evaluation of lightfastness."

Should I consider the lightfastness star when choosing color or bottom line is more than enough?

What's the minimum star rating I should look for to make sure it has durability over time if kept indoor and not direct sunlight exposition?

Here is a link to the color table with lightfastness stars.

Watercolor is especially susceptible to fading under light. This can be explained by the binder for watercolor and the way watercolor is used. The binder is usually a mixture that contains mostly gum arabic. Due to the usage of watercolor in thin layers the binder will not be able to coat the pigment properly leaving it exposed to light. Lightfastness should therefore definitly be considered when using watercolors. However, it depends on your aim for your drawing.

If you only want to practice to get better at watercolor you might want to look at inexpensive watercolor pigments that might therefore lack in lightfastness. Those works can still be durable if kept in a dark environment such as a folder. Displaying paintings with colors of low lightfastness will result in quick fading (a hint at how quick the fading will appear is given in this table). If you still want to hang a drawing in a well lit place you can use Aquarell-fixatives to improve lightfastness. Those Aquarell-fixatives or finishes come as a spray and allow to apply a UV protective layer that also protects from dust, moisture and other bad influences. Going one step further you can also frame your image behind UV-protective glass to ensure longevity of colors.

On the other hand, if you plan to display or sell your drawing (from the beginning) you should opt for the (more expensive) lighfast pigments and take the above measure in addition.


Determining a station point for a perspective drawing For simple perspective drawings, you don't really need to get into having a station point (or vantage point, not vanishing point) at all. As I'm looking at more complex methods, a station point becomes necessary to map your plan to to perspective layout.

Are there guidelines for determining where to place the station point? Is it arbitrary? I found a tutorial that explains that it relates to how far the viewer is from the object, and that moving it vertically adjusts that apparent distance. Yet, it says to always place directly below a certain point, which I'm not sure is necessary.

I'm wondering how its vertical distance from the horizon line and/or picture plane, or its horizontal distance from the vanishing points, might affect the level of distortion of the object in perspective.

One or two vanishing points are placed on the horizon. If you're drawing with 3 vanishing points, the third will be above or below the horizon.

Just like the position of the horizon, the vanishing point(s) depend(s) on the perspective, and at what angle you are viewing the object you are drawing. In case of the one-point perspective, the upper and lower edge are parallel and horizontal, so any extra vanishing points would be at an infinite distance away.
In case of two-point perspective, vertical lines are parallel, so this is actually a simplified case of the three-point perspective.


Should I spray my graphite drawing with fixative before shipping it or should I advise my customer to spray it when it arrives? I'm about to finish up a graphite drawing I was commissioned to draw and my customer doesn't live close enough to give them the drawing in person. So, I need to roll it up and ship it to them. Will rolling a drawing that has been sprayed with a fixative cause any problems?

There is no reason to assume it will cause problems as long as the fixative has had sufficient drying time (as indicated on the can or bottle).
You will likely face more problems without fixating it, as the graphite will smudge, especially with the drawing rolled up.


Oops! Rubber cement on wood cleanup? My son was making a birdhouse. He asked if he could use the rubber cement (Elmer's), and I said it was okay. I didn't know he was going to use our dining room table as his workspace.

Everything appeared fine until I lifted a piece of paper the next morning and a puddle of rubber cement had fully dried in a flat, clear sheet about 5 inches in diameter with the thickness of about 4 sheets of paper.

The table: hardwood, sanded, stained, dark finish. I polish every week or two with Old English.

Is there a safe way to remove the rubber cement without hurting the table?

The rubber cement should just peel off the wood with gentle rubbing, provided it is dry. Using a piece of soft sticky rubber, and there are special rubber erasers specifically for picking up rubber cement, will help. Some shoes have gummy soles that are a similar material.

The use of rubbing alcohol may help remove any remaining residue but do not use it until you get most of the solid rubber off first and definitely test it on the finish somewhere not visible first. Starting with a solvent like alcohol without getting rid of the bulk of the rubber glue will leave you with a sticky mess.

fyi - This is actually a main feature of rubber cement. It is (was in this digital age) used in doing layout and paste up of text sides in photolithography. By only gluing one side, and letting it dry, the piece of paper with the type could be repositioned without problems. To make a more permanent bond, both sides were coated and then attached. The excess glue was then picked up with the above mentioned eraser


What tool or technique is best for cutting circles in matte board? I am laying out a frame where I will have to cut approximately 200 aligned 35mm circles in a matte board or foam core board. I will be putting plastic coins into the holes and backing with another board (exposed foam board or something with a little give to mould to the piece) to secure the coins from sliding or rotating.
I purchased a Fiskars Circle Cutter but have discovered through testing that while the device can make the circles, it lacks the depth to cut through the whole board.  I checked to see if they sell a replacement blade with more exposed length but they do not appear to.
This then resulted in me fiddling about with an Exacto knife trying to make a clean completion cut.
If I had to do a few holes I would  accept this method, but I am somewhat nervous at the thought of repeating the process 200 times without scoring or marring the matte.
Is anyone aware of a simpler technique?
I believe a punch is probably the correct tool, however I am reluctant to invest too much for a one-off project.  I also considered using a bore saw and my hand drill but am concerned that it would just make a horrid mess of things.

A hole saw should work fine if you can find a fine tooth model. They are not as easy to find as the common coarse teeth models meant for wood. One with a thin kerf would be best.
I have also used the sharpened steel tubing trick mentioned by @fred_dot_u. An alternative to punching is pressing the sharpened tube against the board and spinning it. The spinning action makes it work like a circular knife, cutting the fibers cleanly. If you can't find a 35 mm steel tube, you can get almost as good a result by wrapping thin aluminum from a soda can around a 35 mm thick piece of plastic or wood.
To align the holes perfectly, it will help to make a template. Cut three holes in a smaller piece of board, align two of them to existing holes on your workpiece and then put your cutting / drilling tool in the third hole to keep it in correct position.


Tungsten Carbide Ring Sizing This probably isnt even the proper area of StackExchange to ask this, but I looked at some of the questions and seemed like it would at least be passable. If this is not the correct area, please refer me to a better one where this question could receive a proper answer.

I was at a jewelry store earlier today looking for engagement rings, and they sized me at a 7. However, they also told me that if I planned on buying a tungsten ring, which I am very interested in, that I would need to buy a size smaller, or at least a half a size smaller, because tungsten rings don't fit the same as normal rings. However, after looking online, I came to the realization that tungsten rings simply don't come that small. The smallest I found was a 7, but according to the jewelers who sized me, this would not actually fit.

My question is, are the jewelers correct? If I'm a size 7 would I need to get a 6 or a 6.5 tungsten ring?

According to a site that specializes in Tungsten rings, they corroborate the jeweler's story and provide an explanation:

  The size you are given is the size you would wear in a traditional fit ring. A traditional fit ring is flat across the inside of the band. Both Tungsten and Ceramic bands have a comfort fit inner band. All Tungsten Affinity rings have the comfort fit feature. Comfort fit bands are domed on the inside with the tightest point being the center of the ring gradually expanding in size towards the edges. *IMPORTANT Comfort fit tungsten rings generally fit 1/2 size larger than traditional bands. We recommend you order a 1/2 size smaller than the size you were given at the jewelry store.

So, yes, you will probably want to go with a half size smaller than your measured size. Though, I think you need to look a bit more. That same site that I found the explanation on seems to sell rings as small as a size 4. I'm not endorsing them as a company - they merely had the information I needed and, while there, I decided to see what their sizing looked like. They seem to be emphasizing that these rings are appropriate for both genders, not only men (who have been the traditional owners of these rings), so it makes sense that they would offer "extended" sizes as women's fingers on average are smaller in diameter.

Please note, as Tungsten can not be resized, you should be sure to find a seller with a liberal return policy in case the size you purchase is not good for you. Particularly if you're considering a wider band, you may need to go back up a half size to accommodate that. You haven't noted your gender so I'm not sure what sort of sizing ring they used. From that same page:

  The second part to sizing is the band width. Band widths are measured in millimeters (MM) and for tungsten bands generally range from 4mm to 10mm. The width of the band will effect the how a particular size fits. The wider the band the tighter the ring will fit, whereas the more narrow the band the looser the fit. When sized at the jewelery store women are sized for more narrow bands, so our standard women's width is 6mm. Men are sized at a slightly wider 8mm band width.

Congratulations and I hope you are able to find a ring that works for you.


Can One Use Nylon Thread to Embroider on Chiffon I wish to embroider my own stole by hand.

A Phulkari to be exact.

Plan to purchase 2 yards of chiffon fabric.

Nylon thread seems thick and shiny.

Would nylon thread embroidery work on chiffon? Otherwise, what material can nylon be embroidered onto?

This question hasn't attracted answers, yet.  I don't know much about sewing, but I've used nylon thread for other purposes and maybe some insight from that will be helpful.

It is much stiffer than regular thread.  It doesn't like to make tight angles or loops.  It might have a tendency to distort  really thin, soft fabric.  You can get very fine nylon thread that is similar in flexibility to regular thread, but it is almost invisible in most fabrics (it's used for invisible stitching).

If the thread you're looking at is thick, like regular thread, it will probably be too stiff.  If it is very fine, you might be able to embroider with it, but you will need a lot of adjacent threads on the surface for patterns to be readily visible and to fill the space.

I'm not familiar with the art of embroidery, but you might be able to use thick nylon thread just for the surface pattern if you can capture it to the fabric with regular thread.  Those areas will be much stiffer than the fabric, so you might have trouble getting the fabric to fold and shape naturally (it would be like sewing a stiff patch to the fabric).

Also, if any of the embroidered fabric will be in contact with your skin, it will probably be very scratchy.


Do I need safety equipment when working with epoxy resin? I saw a lot of Youtube videos about people creating jewelry and artwork with epoxy resin. Most of them do not wear any gloves or other safety equipment, but some do.

Recently I saw a video of a former Youtuber who stressed that any epoxy resin is a health hazard and that working without safety equipment made her chronically ill.

I want to know which kind of safety equipment (if any) I really should use when working with epoxy resin. What other safety measures (not equipment related) should I take when working with resin?

First, you need to make a distinction for epoxies intended for an industrial environment.  There are some kinds of epoxy, and some handling methods (like spraying epoxy for finishes), that are hazardous and need a respirator and skin protection.  Epoxy sold for home use is much safer, and products sold as art supplies are covered by regulations that require them to be pretty safe, including being non-toxic, at least when used as directed (ingesting the stuff can be harmful).

There's mainly two kinds of exposure to protect yourself against.

Skin contact.  The epoxy components can irritate your skin.  People can even develop allergies to it.  Solvents you might use to clean it off your skin can be more harmful than the epoxy, itself.  It's generally a good idea to protect your skin from accidental contact by wearing gloves.  It can be hard to get out of clothing, and the components remain a sticky liquid for a very long time (which can lead to skin contact), so protecting your clothing is common sense.  It's also common sense to wear some form of eye protection.  There may not be much chance of getting a splash in your eye; but if you did that would really ruin your day.
Respiration.  Epoxy doesn't generate much in the way of fumes, and the fumes aren't labeled as poisonous (a technical distinction, see footnote1).  Using small amounts in a well ventilated place is safe, and you generally don't need a respirator to occasionally make some small castings.

But concentrated fumes can irritate your respiratory system, and repeated exposure can cause chronic problems.  If you make huge castings, work in a small space with little air circulation, use epoxy frequently, or have a compulsion to get your face close to the components or the uncured casting to continually inspect things, it's better to use a proper respirator (one designed for fumes, not a dust mask).  It's a matter of how much excessive exposure and how often.  People also vary in their sensitivity.  Someone with a chronic condition like hay fever may already have inflammation and be much more sensitive to the fumes.

If you generate fine dust, especially from freshly cured epoxy, which might not be 100% reacted, like by sanding it, you should wear a respirator, or at least a good dust mask.  If you get those fine particles in your lungs, they can be harmful.

West System, an epoxy manufacturer, has a really good safety guide available as a PDF link: West System Epoxy Safety.  They also have a great broader discussion here: Epoxy Safety - Using WEST SYSTEM Epoxy safely.

1 Note that "poisonous" is a technical distinction related to the nature of potential harm.  "Poisonous" seems to be reserved for materials that cause harm by chemically reacting with your body rather than materials that cause physical irritation or interference at the area of contact (which could potentially still result in your body producing harmful changes).  "Non-poisonous" doesn't necessarily mean not potentially harmful.


Does this type of hemming have a name, and is it fixable by hand? Both sleeve ends of a jacket end in this type of stitching, which after a decade, is starting to come apart. The jacket itself is Tyrolean, made of loden, which is a type of melton wool. I don't know what the yarn used for the hem is, but the thicker one is almost certainly a wool.

How could a novice sewer like me go about replicating and fixing this by hand?

The "Stitching" on the edge of your sleeve, is actually a strip of fabric, that was folded around the raw edge of the loden cloth, and sewn to the loden cloth.

This strip of fabric is called "Binding". (it's not piping, because there's no cord running through it. The puffiness comes from the thickness of the boiled wool loden cloth inside it).

The binding on your coat has a knit construction, making it flexible.

If I wanted to fix this coat by hand, I would find some yarn (worsted wool, cotton, or synthetic) that matches the binding (yarn comes in a great range of colors and weights) and sew it over the binding with a close-set blanket stitch. The blanket stitch creates a binding, because it wraps around the edge of the jacket. So it will cover the frayed part of the old binding.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/0a/d3/91/0ad391d598c823cf864f51ff6f30edfc.jpg

Blanket stitch is easy to learn - find a youtube video. Use a heavy crewel embroidery needle.

Fiber choice - For durability, avoid rayon. Nylon and polyester are strongest. Choose yarn or binding that is smooth/firm/tight rather than fuzzy/soft/loose, for dirt and abrasion resistance. (cuff is subject to dirt and abrasion). Avoid eyelash, chenille, and other novelty yarns. Worsted (tightly twisted) wool sheds dirt.

Binding examples

Jute foldover braid
http://www.dritz.com/quilting-sewing-supplies/home-decor/decorative-accents/trims/44220/
Foldover braid https://www.vintagetrims.com/collections/braid-flat
Knit wool binding
https://www.etsy.com/listing/485483369/12-wool-ribbon-126-yard-knitted-ribbon?ref=market
Worsted wool twill tape http://www.wmboothdraper.com/TapeLace/indexwithnav.html?tapelace.htm
Bias tape http://www.joann.com/wrights-x-wide-double-fold-bias-tape/prd34710.html
One way to attach bias tape http://sewtospeak.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-to-attach-bias-tape-with-mitered.html

Yarn examples

https://www.craftsy.com/knitting/supplies/patons-classic-wool-worsted-yarn/46556
http://www.knitpicks.com/yarns/Brava_Worsted_Yarn__D5420219.html


What is this texture called? What is this type of texture on a fabric called? I've seen knit fabrics with these tiny specks with a contrasting colour.

Nep

  Generally, a nep is defined as an entanglement of fibers, that can be caused by environmental factors during growth, processing or are inherent to particular varieties.

abtexintl.net

hm.com

indiamart.com

taylorstitch.com

asos.com

Fleck Nep

superdenim.com

realmccoyslondon.com

Flecked Corduroy


Dressmaking and pattern layout: folded vs open fabric? I've bought the Wilder Gown pattern from the Friday Pattern Company and the layout instructions seem to suggest you don't fold the fabric before cutting the pieces, instead keeping the fabric open/flat (see picture). Am I interpreting this correctly?
I've only ever folded fabric wrong sides together before cutting so haven't seen this before. Wouldn't folding the fabric ensure accuracy between matching pieces?

I'm fairly new to sewing so any help would be much appreciated!

When given pieces that are too wide for the folded fabric (see piece E in your diagram), pattern cutting layouts will show cutting on a single thickness of fabric, rather than a folded piece. This is very common when the pieces won't fit the standard width of fabric in the correct orientation without unfolding it.

"Precise matching" of pieces isn't particularly critical in most patterns; the size of the pieces is sufficient to compensate for any small differences in the cut pieces. It's also more likely to have minimal differences in the two pieces when they're cut separately, as fabric can shift or be wrinkled on the lower layer, leading to a misshapen piece.


What is the purpose of an underpainting? As I got interested in painting in oil and acrylics (and other covering techniques), I came across the term 'underpainting', i.e. a painting under the actual painting, that sometimes exhibits color, and sometimes only the tonality of the image to be.

It seems that the underpainting is almost always completely covered once the painting is finished. So what is the purpose of an underpainting when you could also directly paint on the real image (supposing that I sketched out my design with graphite or charcoal)?

The reasons I like to use underpainting when doing art in oil or acrylic are:

Sometimes having small/subtle areas where the underpainting shows through can add interest to the painting. Some of the underpainting my not be so subtle, it can be vivid or even bright.
More layers of paint help the finished look. It can make your painting look cheap if it seems you are being skimpy with your paint.
It is a good way to build texture.
Cheaper, unappealing, or leftover mixed colors can be used up first, which means saving money and is more environmentally conscious than throwing it away.
Depending upon your support (canvas, wood, etc.) and its finish, meaning how porous it is, can determine how much paint will be sucked up. If you don't or can't add a layer of gesso, the underpainting can help seal the surface.
Once a painting is blocked in with an underpainting, details are easier to imagine and build on. This is especially true when it comes to the composition, shadows, and proportion.
You should regularly step away from your art to take a break and see it from a good viewing distance, which depends on the size, but at least 10 ft or more and the underpainting is easier to see, then the first step of a simple outline drawing.
It's good to practice, helps to figure out which brushes are working for that particular painting, and is way easier to make changes to both.


Are there any tips as to how to set the tightness of my stiches? I am an amateur when it comes to crocheting. I was making some simple king's crowns for my kids and myself of course. I had planned on making changes to the pattern to adjust for the different sizes however my inconsistency with my stitch sizes made it so that was not a problem.

I was following the same pattern without adjusting for size. I ended up with Goldilocks problem as the first one I made too loose and it fit my head. To compensate I made my stitches tighter on my next one. The end result was small enough to fit my 3 year old's head. I then compensated and made one that was in the middle of the two.

Since I made 3 of the same thing I got a decent gauge of what I was doing but if I was making something from a pattern with no concrete concept of the end result I worry that I will make it too tight or too loose.

Are there any general tips in this regard? At a minimum I will assume it is a matter of experience but perhaps there is more to it. Most of the things I do will be in the size range or 4.5 to 6 if it matters.

Good quality patterns, especially for clothes, have information about 'gauge'. These numbers will tell you the tightness that the creator of the pattern intended: how many stitches fit horizontally and vertically in a square of 10x10cm (4x4 inches) or 1x1 inch (2,5x2,5cm). Before you start working on the piece itself, you should crochet a sample: a small piece of fabric using the pattern. When you reach a bit more than 10x10cm in size, measure the gauge of your sample and compare with the pattern. Crocheting a sample is especially useful if the pattern calls for a certain brand of yarn and you want to use a different one.

The gauge is partly determined by the weight of your yarn and the size of your hook. All yarn skeins should have labels with information on suggested hook size and expected gauge. This page has a table of all commonly used yarn weights descriptions and their adequate hook size and gauge.

A gauge information may look for example like this:

Suggested yarn is the brand the creator used, but you should be able to use this pattern with any other Aran weight yarn (checking the page mentioned earlier you can see that it's also called Worsted, 4, medium etc.) and a 6mm hook. Your sample should have 12 stitches horizontally in 10cm (4in), but there is no information on vertical gauge. In this case you can just crochet 4-5 rows of single crochets and check if the tightness is good.


Can I turn this cast iron grill into a usable firepot with possible tuyere? I have bought a cast iron grill or furnace and saw the top part had a nice shape for a possible firepot. The bodywork under the pan and grill is entirely hollow and looks like a pot. The hollow bodywork could help construct a tuyere inside. For airflow I have created a separate system that outputs an adjustable airflow through a 3.5 inch tube.

I'm wondering how feasible this is in terms of efficiency, as I am worried this will be as effective as a brake drum forge, which I don't find a good choice. The top bowl and grill can also be removed separately. Would it be possible to construct an efficient firepot with this or is it just not the right design or shape? If it's not the right choice, would that mean this is completely unusable as blacksmithing implement?

Will this be mounted inside a larger 'table' made with firebricks, refractory, or something else or do you intend it to be 'free standing' as is?  If free standing it should be suitable for light use (demonstrations and such) but I would keep to hand crank blowers as an air source.  I knew a smith who used a cast iron frying pan as a demonstration forge (he cut a hole in the bottom for the tuyere) and what you have looks similar in thickness.

It certainly could be used as the basis for a blacksmithing forge and IMHO would be no less efficient than a brake drum.


Should I use a graft or a seam when attaching sweater shoulders? I'm putting together a knitted sweater. Should I graft the shoulders together or seam them?

Seam. The shoulders of a sweater are a high-stress area; the entire weight of the sweater hangs from them. A nice, solid seam gives a sturdy structure for that hanging. A graft - which is designed to be stretchy, just like the main fabric of the sweater - can result in droopy shoulders and stretched necklines. The excellent Techknitter wrote an illustrated article about the importance of seaming sweater shoulders, with lots of detail and tips for different types of necklines.


How do I fold step 3-4 in Maarten van Gelder's caterpillar model? I have spent several hours trying to decode steps 3-4 of Maarten van Gelder's caterpillar model. Can anyone shed any more light on how to make that fold and the next one in 5-6? It feels like they left out some steps there...

That portion of the instructions:

Diagrams 4 and 6 are very misleading and diagram 2 isn't to the same scale.  The end isn't as shown, so don't try to make the end look like the diagram.  Also, the diagrams don't use line formats to indicate mountain and valley folds, they just show sequence.

Actually, steps 2 and 4 aren't needed.  Make the creases in Diagram 1 then Diagram 3.  Diagram 3 will add perpendicular creases to accordion fold the strip, and additional diagonal creases (you can identify exact locations by intersections of prior creases).

Note the 6 small diamonds running across the center of the strip.  Those will create the peaks at the top of diagram 6.  The outsides of the diamonds are mountain folds; the lines dividing the diamonds in half are valley folds.  Focus on getting those diamonds folded and that will force the rest into the general "house" shape of diagram 6.

Basically, the perpendicular folds between the diamonds (the even-numbered creases) are valley folds that swing down and meet in the middle to separate the segments.  The odd-numbered creases that divide the diamonds in half are valleys inside the diamond, and mountains outside the diamond, where they form the sides of the house shape.  Just fold all the segments the same and don't worry about making the ends look like diagram 6; you just need the outline of the segments in the "house" shape.

Starting with the crease pattern in Figure 3 (just the first four diamonds, I replicated this on a short scrap of paper), this is an overhead view of the shape of the folds that produce the house shape:

There's a bit of an optical illusion; those are valley folds bisecting each diamond.  Above and below the diamond, they change to mountain folds.

To get to diagram 7, fold each segment side in half in both directions to get a good score line where diagram 6 shows the dotted lines.  Open up the segment a little and you'll see the rectangular crease lines shown in diagram 5 for each segment side. Push the side in to invert the rectangle on the fold you just made.  When you're done with all the segment sides, it should accurately look like diagram 7.

That last step added the rectangular creases on the segment sides, shown in Diagram 5.  If you compare Diagram 5 to Diagram 3, there are also some dotted diagonal creases between the sides that will be missing on your model.  Those are where the legs are reverse-folded in step 7.  Since this is a continuous sheet, it will be hard to reverse fold the legs without manually adding those fold lines.  Open and flatten the model again, and add those missing creases.  It may also help to create the row of reverse folds to train the paper as you add those creases.


Seats - Principles for comfort I am considering using algorithmic design to design seats. However, I also want the result to be something people would actually want to use. So, I have to ensure that the result is comfortable.

Besides copying and looking at seats I find comfortable, are there any resources I can use to find design principles for comfortable seating?

are there any resources I can use to find design principles for comfortable seating?

Here are a few to get started:

Must-Have Measurements for Comfortable Seating

With a little work the drawing above can be turned into an algorithm.
The key variable will be the dimensions of the person sitting in the chair.

Another useful drawing:

I found the picture here but I don't think this is the original source.

From Concept to Comfort: Build a Casual Chair
Good article describing the process from ideation to finished product.

Summarizing:
 1. Ideation
 2. Sketches
 3. Prototyping
 4. Testing
 5. Adjusting (iterate steps 3, 4, and 5 until happy)
 6. Build final version

The steps are not unique to chair creation. This process should allow you to build experience, gather data, and derive the information you seek.

Other resources:
Standard Dimensions for Furniture Design


How can you tell if an oil painting is dry? As discussed in an answer to the question about putting an oil paint behind glass

  The reason for the delay after the painting is finished is that it can take this long for the painting to fully 'dry'.

And another answer

  Believe it or not, oil paintings actually take years to fully dry.

It was also mentioned that there is no consensus about putting it behind glass while it is drying. Waiting until it is dried could be a safe bet.

Of course there are factors beyond time that would affect this e.g. environmental factors, thickness of paint used etc. If the painting being dry is important for whatever reason (like storage) it would be useful to know when the painting is free of moisture.

How can I tell if an oil painting is dry? Or perhaps it does not really matter.

Before providing a way to test the oil painting is dry, it's useful to know how the drying process works and why it is important.

How does oil paint dry (cure)?

Oil Paint doesn’t really dry, rather it cures. The pigment is dispersed in oil (typically linseed) and generally contains a solvent (methylated/white spirit). The solvent evaporates away leaving the oil and the pigment.

Then over a period of time the oil & pigment slowly become less malleable through a process of oxidisation. The oil hasn’t evaporated away (dried) it has become hard (cured).

What can cause differences in the drying time?

As you have mentioned in your question there are several things that can affect the curing time of the paint.

Application thickness of the paint
Pigment colour:

Earth colours require less oil (ochre etc.), so cure quicker

Primary colours require more oil (crimson etc.), so cure slower

Brand/type of paint
Environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, airflow & sunlight

Most paint suppliers offer good advice on how long their paints take to dry. But some general guidelines are that most paints will be touch dry after 10-14 days and should be fully cured within 6 months. However, for those pieces where the artist has used a liberal impasto technique, then upto 2 years is possible!

Why wait?

If the artist intends to varnish, and there are several reasons for this:

Protection
Bring richness & vibrancy to colour
Ease of cleaning

Doing so before the paint has cured could lead to cracking and also it might not allow the paint to fully cure, and this can lead to weakness between layers. And, therefore, flaking.

When framing it is less important that the painting is fully cured. But there are risks as the piece could be knocked during the process and cause indenting, or squashing, of the paint. Also, it can slow down the curing process.

So to answer the actual question:

How do you know that the oil painting is dry?

There is a very simple test.

Take a lint-free rag and dip it into white spirit. Pick an inconspicuous area and gently rub. If any colour shows on the rag, it requires further drying time before varnishing or framing.

But I wouldn’t suggest doing this on your newly acquired Gerhard Richter.


What kind of dye or paint for t-shirt design? I'd like to create a t-shirt with colour blotches on a plain black t-shirt, a bit similar to:

The t-shirt is cotton. Now my question is what type of colour to use. I'm considering synthetic resin varnish, do you think this would be durable enough?

Do you want the shirt to actually be wearable? If so, then "synthetic resin varnish" is entirely the wrong option.
For wearable clothing, you need a color that bonds with the fibers to endure wear and washing, but also remains soft to allow for comfortable wear. The best option for something like this would be a standard acrylic paint with a high opacity mixed with a fabric medium. The paint will provide the color, the opacity will allow it to stand out brightly against the black background, and the fabric medium mixed correctly helps the paint bond with the shirt's fibers instead of sitting on top. You could also use a dedicated (pre-mixed) fabric paint, which is often available in brighter opaque colors. Both these options are widely available at craft stores.
An additional option for adding designs to shirts is silkscreening ink, but fewer opaque pigments exist (bright colors on black are usually a double layer printing with an opaque white base). Because you're looking for bright colors in a splashed pattern, this is less likely to get the result you're looking for.


A stronger material than paper for Kirigami or papercraft-inspired designs? I would like to create some sculptures using papercraft & kirigami techniques, however I am looking for an alternative (stronger) material to paper with some/all of the following properties:

Easily cut
Flexible/foldable
Stronger/more durable than paper
Heat resistant (in the case of lampshade designs)

All comments/suggestions are welcome!

One strong contender is tyvek.

It can be cut like paper, but is much tougher, water resistant, and has a class A flammability rating, according to Wikipedia. The problem is keeping it folded.

The kirigami-made-of-tyvek links I'm finding are scientific papers that mention bonding the tyvek to a heat-shrink plastic (presumably on the valley fold side of each fold), and then baking.

See:

http://scientific-kirigami.blogspot.com/p/movies.html
Making the Cut: Lattice Kirigami Rules (PDF link)


How to prevent the paper from getting damaged due to a steel compass? I intend to draw nested circles for a Mandala drawing. When the compass point is placed on the paper, it creates a tiny hole.

How do I keep the point from damaging the paper?

You will need to rest the point of the compass onto some other object first i.e. one that won't damage the paper.

Some sort of disc

A felt or rubber disc comes to mind. Something thin with enough friction so that the point and disc won't move about.

You could also just take a cut of eraser and jab it on the point as well. This has a small disadvantage of erasing while you rotate but could have it place in your techniques.

There is a product called a center disc that also serves this purpose. It has the added bonus of being transparent allowing you to center the point on its target and not damage the paper.

Image from art-design-glossary.musabi.ac.jp

Clear plastic has the added advantage of letting you see your work and centering your circle easier. So using a sufficiently thick plastic and cutting some small shapes would work just as well.

If you do make your own practice with them first to be sure the compass does not penetrate it as well. Or enough that it makes the plastic stick out as a point either.

Consider a different tool

A tangential answer to your question would be to use a plastic flat compass that bypasses this issue completely.

Image from amazon.ca

This protractor compass has many holes littered along its length. You just need to grab your drawing implement of choice and insert it into the desired hole. Then rotate around like a normal compass.  Pressure from your opposite hand (as seen in the photo from the users left hand) will ensure the tool remains rotating from a fixed point.

Look at the below zoomed in image of the above tool. You will notice the measurement markings which denotes the precise nature of the tool.

Click image to enlarge


How can I prevent my pom poms made by fork method to not look separated in the middle? I tried making a pom pom with a fork method several times now, experimenting with different amount of yarn/string and different thicknesses. No matter how I do it, even after trimming they look kinda separated in the middle, like an apple core. Two semi-spheres with a core in the middle. How to prevent that?

I googled 'fork made pompom' and now understand better what you are asking about. This is the random site I used, (as I prefer still pictures over videos.) I have no connection to this site.
There are four options for mistakes I see:

Not enough windings for the size of your yarn compared to your fork.
Not pulled together enough when tying the middle.
Too many wraps of the tying yarn compared to the size of the pompom.
Not cut right when the sides are cut open.

The instructions I found mentioned '50' times wound around the tines of the fork. No adjustments to the size of the yarn or the fork. If you use a bigger fork and thinner yarn, you may end up with a 'thin' pompom, which will not fill out to a full ball. You can experiment with more winding before you cut and tie off the pompom.
So the improvement solution is to add more windings to the fork before tying off.
When you tie the yarn together in the middle, you have to pull very hard, getting all the air out of all the strands of yarn and from between them. It is not easy to get that right the first time you try, and when you do not tie tight enough the resulting pompom will not form right. It will also be easy to pull yarns out of the ball, likely resulting with completely destroying the pompom in a few yarns picked out. When tied tight enough you can improve almost every pompom into a good ball, by cutting it short enough.
The improvement solution here is to tie tighter than you have done before. Going to the level where you are afraid of breaking your yarn. Or even by replacing your pompom yarn with a stronger kind of yarn which you can pull on more.
Even while you have to tie tight and strong, you should not have a wide strip of yarn around your pompom before you cut it.
Switching to a stronger yarn may help you to use less wide strips of yarn.
Cutting your pompom into a nice ball is important but if it starts with a good filled tightly tied center, you can easily see how to improve the final shape.
When just cut open at the sides you will likely have tufts sticking out which might look like 'divided in the middle' but this is the least likely reason.
But if you made a mistake here, cutting into a smaller ball should result in a better pompom.
You can improve the results of pompoms by brushing out the yarns but when properly made, you should not need to.
If you can not get your fork pompoms to work, there are several other methods, like simple card rings which you can make yourself and plastic rings where you have two halves which you combine into a ring later and likely some more. With all of those you have more options for sizes and often more control on the quality of the pompom. (And you will likely have less to cut off when you make it into a nice ball.)


How can I safely prepare bones for crafts? Out in rural country, it's pretty easy to come across animal bones, especially skulls.

If I wanted to have them on display, or carve them, what's the best way to make sure they're safe to have out? That is, to make sure they're sanitary and won't rot over the years.

Any bones which are obviously clean and free form any residual soft tissue shouldn't be too much of a problem. With skulls you obviously have more cavities to work about but if the outer surface is clean when you find it it is reasonable to amuse that the interior is too.

Once the bones are cleaned of any soil etc a wash with dilute hydrogen peroxide should effectively sterilise them without damaging the bone.

Obviously with any organic material of unknown origin you can never say it is 100% safe but equally it is ether practical or desirable to attempt to live in an aseptic world. For carving bones sensible precautions wold include wearing a dust mask (if using abrasives or power tools) and maintaining sensible hygiene in you work area. Similarly sealing your finished carving with oil, wax or lacquer should be effective in making it safe to display.


Which of these pictures is more abstract? Let's consider the two following illustrations from the NASA posters collection:

N°1
N°2

Click images for larger version

My questions are:

Would it make sense to state that one of these picture is more abstract, in an artistic meaning, than the other one?

If so, which one would be deemed more abstract?

(Optional) If none of the above makes sense, what would be the best categories to use to distinguish these two styles?

Neither of these are abstract, but the second one is definitely moreso than the first.

The first has clearly defined objects and flow; it simply looks like a stylized art piece.  The second one, though it has clearly defined objects, lacks flow and is more open to interpretation.  It has some abstract elements, but overall, it is not.

Keep in mind that the term "abstract" is used to define art that does not resemble any other visual references in the world.  It is a bunch of baloney that leaves the viewer to be the one to interpret it.


Precise microwave oven control I use a microwave oven for a lot of crafting projects (heating, curing, and drying materials).  This often needs to be very precise and controlled.  I experiment with times and power levels.  However, I run into situations like these kinds of unexpected results:

I heat a material for 15 seconds at 50% power level and discover that it needs substantially more time.  I repeat the experiment, doubling the time to 30 seconds at 50%, and get exactly the same result.
I heat a material for 30 seconds at 20% and discover that it needs just a tiny bit more time.  I repeat the experiment, increasing the time slightly to 35 seconds at 20%, and find that the material is overheated and destroyed.

This isn't flaky microwave oven performance; the results are perfectly reproducible.

What's causing such big discrepancies from the expected results?

Just for clarification, a microwave oven is really the right tool for the applications I use it for.  These are generally "interactive" requirements to add small, controlled increments of heat.  The issue is that when power level settings are used for short durations, the results can be radically different from what is "logical".

Only a few microwave ovens control the microwave power level on essentially a continuous basis.  That is, if you set the power level at 30%, the oven runs at 30% power output.  Most are based on turning the microwave power on at 100% for a given portion of a fixed time increment, like 30 seconds or 1 minute.  Then the microwave power shuts off for the remainder of the time increment, and the cycle repeats.

My microwave oven is based on a 30 second cycle, so the power level setting translates to 10% increments of 30 seconds.  At 50% power level, there is microwave power at 100% for 15 seconds, none for the next 15 seconds, then the cycle repeats.  If the time is set to less than the resulting power-on time, the oven stops when the time runs out.

So in my first example, with a 50% power level, the material gets 15 seconds of full power whether the timer is set for 15 seconds or 30 seconds.  In the second example, with a 20% power level, the material gets 6 seconds of full power at the start of the first 30 seconds, then another 5 seconds of full power before it shuts off at 35 seconds (almost double the energy despite the small time increase).

To get precise amounts of microwave power using the power level setting, you need to base it on the cycle time of your oven.  You can tell what the cycle is for your oven by listening to it cycle the power on and off and check the oven's clock to see the time between power-on cycles.  If you need brief bursts of microwave power, you may need to use a very low power level (and the process may take a long time).

The way the power level actually works makes it not particularly useful for short-duration requirements.  For those, I typically do what Chris H suggests in the comment -- do it manually at full power to get exactly the duration needed.  The main benefit of the power level setting is when you need a lot of cycles of short duration, and doing it manually would be tedious.  Understanding the cycle action lets you ensure that the duration at full power doesn't exceed a certain number of seconds at a time.


What make-up techniques could be used to achieve the watercolor effect shown in this image? I'm a filmmaker who would like to recreate a makeup effect similar to what is shown in the image below. I want to know the best techniques to turn the skin into a surface for a watercolor painting. The more details, the better.

The performer(s) with this makeup will then act and dance in a movie, so the makeup art needs to be stable under heat, sweat and movement.

The photographer is Alexander Khokhlov, and the makeup artist is Valeria Kutsan.

I suggest a basic sunless Tanner foam ( lightest tan)dispensed mixed with some color agent that won't dye the skin permanently, like a children's bathtime paints.
   Or, possibly use party streamers then either get wet to apply(an oil perhaps) or spray with body glitter for eye-catching gleam!
   Good luck!


Can I replicate this "bumpy" fabric on a pillow? I saw this pillow for sale and would like to make it with my own fabric, in a different color. How can I replicate this look? I have a sewing machine and moderate confidence in my by-hand skills as well...

You can't sew fabric like that from normal flat fabric.  If you have the fabric, you can sew it together as a pillow.  But your question seems to be about making the fabric itself.  To make fabric like that, you would need to weave it on a loom.  (If you have never woven, my answer will make no sense at all.)
Here's how to do it.
Cast on a very sparse warp; about 3 threads per inch by the looks of it.  These are the thin threads running horizontal in your picture. The weave you would do is called a log cabin weave.  For your weft, get two different kinds of bulky yarn.  You will alternate in a pattern like this:

A pedal: go left with the first color.
B pedal: go left with the second color.
A pedal: go right with the first color.
B pedal: go right with the second color.

Repeat this pattern throughout the whole fabric. Make sure not to beat the weft down too hard.  This is a very loose weave.


Disassembling a vintage coffee grinder I'm trying to disassemble a vintage coffee grinder, so I could clean it and put back together. It is probably made in the first half of last century, mostly or all manual work. There is a joint that holds the crank in place (zoomed on photo) and I do not know how it is built. Its rather soft metal so knocking it with hammer in wrong way will disfigure it. Can anyone guess what it is? Some kind of wedge, a screw or something else?

Try holding the blades stationary while turning the handle in the direction opposite of the direction it turns during grinding.  That will possible unscrew the blades section from the top, leaving you with three easily cleanable and re-assemble-able pieces.


what is best used to "contour" a flat artists canvas I want to make 3d shapes of my own making to stick onto a canvas as a base for a mood board.  Does anyone know what is the best way of going about it?

One option you have, considering that one of your tags is papier-mache, would be to cut cardboard of suitable thickness into shapes which could be stacked to form the contour you require.

A resource directly related to this concept is software known as Flat Fab. Even though the software is directed to laser cutting of cardboard and other flat material, one can use it to create prints that can be managed in a manual manner (craft knife, scissors, etc.) if access to a laser cutter is not possible.

Even though this particular image may not fit your requirements, it shows segments of the results of using the software.

Your question is tagged with adhesives, yet has no question related to that tag. That would be best addressed in a separate post, if you require adhesive related information.

Another option would be to use molding clay to form your shapes. It would require to create a scaffold or armature within the clay that extends to the back of the formed clay, allowing for a surface on which to apply adhesive to bond to the canvas.

It is probably easier to form clay than to cut cardboard, unless you have a laser cutter and you may have greater flexibility with clay.


How can I make a regular corner punch from a fancy one? I'd like to make rounded corners. Unfortunately, the only ones available in my country punch additional patterns besides rounding the corner. I purchased a punch that has the following result:

It looks like this:

The hearts are solid pieces of metal:

How could I modify this to make a regular corner punch? Or how might I bypass the heart feature in another way?

If you are just trying to remove the hearts feature, or any feature for that matter, from the punch then you would have more luck disassembling the punch and cutting off those portions. I don't know how your particular one comes apart but some are designed to be reassembled. Consider the following one where you are able to remove the cutter:

What you could do now is use a hacksaw or rotary tools to remove the areas that you do not need. Vises or clamps can help keep the cutter stationary while you are cutting. Be safe and use eye protection when doing metal work.

You might risk small indentations from the heart recesses but I don't think, if it does happen, that it will be significant.

I suppose you could just use a rotary tool while the cutter is depressed but that would be more difficult and would damage the surface of the punch as well.


What techniques exist to create larger sheets of origami paper from smaller ones? What techniques (if any) others have used to join smaller squares of paper together to create, as seamlessly as possible, a larger one to work with?

According to this thread on the Origami Forum, you probably want to use some form of adhesive, such as tape, glue, spray adhesive, or methyl cellulose to join the sheets.  It will create double-thickness at some points and texture differences (tape, for example, doesn't fold the same way paper does), and of course seams, so you do want to make sure those seams won't show in a prominent area of the finished model, or that you only used the joined paper for practice, and not a display model.


How to avoid painting SD card pins I want to fully paint SD cards in mass quantities, but my problem is trying not to paint the pins in the process. What would be the most effective way to cover them or go about this.

Also what kind of painting process would be the most effective?e.g.: spray painting, silk-screening, etc.

More details regarding your objective would be useful, but one can expect certain commonalities irrespective of your final goal.

First off, unless you are inclined to excessive labor, expect to not-paint the area of plastic between the contact areas. More on this later in the dissertation.

The easiest way of masking out the contacts is just that, masking tape. Consider to use some of the new-tech tape which uses a liquid-absorbing powder to increase the tenacity of the tape edge to repel paint. One brand name is Frog-Tape™ although I expect others are available. You could align the cards in a simply-made jig and run a strip of tape over many at one time.

The above suggestion is valid if your intention is to paint the cards in a single color or a multi-color scheme of reasonable simplicity.

As with many painting tasks, masking is key. If your project is simple shapes of various colors, creating a mask for each color, with spacing to match a jig holding the cards, you would be able to apply the paint in sequence, alternating masks and spraying.

Consider the following: your image is the common yin-yang symbol, two colors and a neutral background.

Mask the contacts as noted above, which would also secure them in the jig, and apply the neutral background color. It is critical that this base color be allowed to dry thoroughly, to prevent peel-up from the following steps.

Your masks would have to be created from an adhesive material for best results. Vinyl sign material comes to mind, although you may get away with wide masking tape cut on a hobby cutter. Using transfer tape, the mask is applied to the jig containing the cards, leaving opening for the desired color. The masking is removed when the paint has become tacky, but before fully cured, to prevent peeling at the edges.

Repeat with the second mask and the third color.

The tricky part for multi-color designs is registration, also known as alignment. You would want the jig to contain clearly visible points to match up with mask one and mask two.

Silk screening uses similar concepts for multi-color, although the contact masking would be simpler. The screen has openings for the ink to be applied and is solid in locations of no ink. Photo-sensitive screens allow for accurate and easily created masks for simple artwork such as the symbol. The construction of the silk screening platform usually includes registration/alignment if done properly.

The area between the contacts could be painted using the silk screen method and even possibly using the vinyl cutting mask method, but requires very careful attention to registration as well as mask creation. Considering how small those areas are makes it a better idea to leave them in the original state.

The precision you engage in creating the jig will make the rest of the task all the easier. One could consider a 3D printed jig or perhaps laser cut acrylic. Laser cut plywood may be practical, but the organic nature of wood makes it susceptible to humidity and temperature changes. If you have access to a CNC resource, aluminum or acrylic becomes practical for making accurate jigs.


How to cut a pinewood derby car to look like a super car Most of the pinewood derby cars I've ever seen have very crude designs and simple shapes that can easily be cut with a saw. I thought it would be cool if I made a pinewood derby car that looked like a super car, like the LaFerrari, but I have no idea how to approach something like that.

I know of CNC type machines that can carve wood, but getting a single car cut from a service would cost hundreds of dollars, way out of my price range. Any cheap ideas?

Ryan, if you're not already done...one thing that hasn't been mentioned here is a "Dremel" tool (that's the most popular brand name, for a handheld rotary grinder.) They're pretty inexpensive and come with multiple bits/heads for different uses (like, wood versus metal.) It's a faster, easier way to do soft wood shaping (versus carving and hand-sanding.)
When we made my sons' Pinewood Derby cars, both won for "Best Design"... one looked a lot like the original Batmobile.


What is a dye based ink? Camlin ink
Are inks based on something else also? Why have they specified that their ink is dye based? What does dye based mean anyway?
What other bases for ink are there?

Inks are largely divided into two categories: dye-based and pigment-based.
Additionally, there is invisible ink, which usually consists of a variety of other ingredients that need to undergo a chemical reaction in order to become visible.
Dye is a soluble colourant, which means a dye-based ink is a solution, whereas pigments are colourants that consist of small particles, making pigment-based inks chemical suspensions (see also here).
Why the difference is important, is because both have different characteristics.
Without going into the chemical differences too much, the benefits of dye-based inks include:

Beautiful color quality
Easy to spread and paint with
Affordable and easy to find
Adheres to almost any surface

And the disadvantages are:

A tendency to fade out fast
A lack of resistance to external factors
More prone to bleeding

For pigment-based inks, the benefits are:

Resistant to most exterior factors
Can last for decades in paper
Doesn't fade out over time
Dry and adhere fast to surfaces

And the disadvantages:

Color can be a bit dull
Pretty expensive & difficult to find

Lists mostly copied verbatim from here


Is there a way to emboss paper without using any tool or machine? I want to try paper embossing at home but have no clue how to start with it.

Weight. Like a flower press.
You could put the paper you want to emboss between books with the motif or design touching the paper. You could use wood to protect the books.


Biodegradable adhesives When I travel, I like to walk around, collect some natural objects (shells, coconuts, leafs, etc.) and put them together to produce some kind of "sculpture". I always have in mind that the object should be as much biodegradable and natural as possible. So, to stick stuff together I use some wax (it has also the big advantage that candles can be found more or less everywhere). However, it is difficult to get a neat result because 1) it isn't very strong and 2) it's hard to canalize.

What are alternative adhesives for such projects?

Some examples made in India:

Taking "India" into account, you could surely find jackfruit or mango tree. I would suggest you could use the white sticky latex of jackfruit/ green mango. While eating, I find extreme difficulty in removing the gum like plant excreta from hands,  I am sure it would work as a mantra as far as natural gum is concerned.

Secondly, in Indian villages you could see loads of mud house decorated with cow dung. Natives throw the just released cow dung to the mud wall even half roasted bricks wall to dry them. So that later on, they could easily take it from there, break it and use it as fuel. As it has a sticky power, I believe it could easily stick with something. If you're joining two halves of coconut shell, use the just released cow dung and symmetrically spread it over the edge. Then simply put the other one over that and let it rest. It will work as a very natural adhesive.


Is it possible to darken a pencil drawing to match the colour of charcoal? I am busy sketching the Mona Lisa using pencil and charcoal (unfortunately I cannot add the picture).
I used pencil to do her face and head in the beginning and then used charcoal to start doing the dress. The problem I ran into was that the dress was way darker than the head because of the use ofcharcoal.

Now I need to make the head darker as well, to match. Is there I way I can do this? Is it even possible? The detail looks just like the original but now the 2 different tones on the artwork make it look pretty crap.

I think that there are a couple of ways of dealing with it.

Rework the head with charcoal, possibly using an eraser and add some pencil marks to the rest so that you have a bit of cohesion everywhere
Leave the skin as it is (with pencil) and use charcoal everywhere else
Use fixative (or hairspray) to knock back the darkness of the charcoal
Use a mist of white spray paint to subdue everything
Take it in stride as a learning experience and make another drawing


Ways to cast a rod shape out of resin? I'm looking for a way to cast a rod out of clear epoxy resin. (I want to make a fake lightsaber.)
The most obvious way would be to use a hollow cylinder-shaped mold, but I'm wondering if I have options.
I can imagine there might be some process involving a spinning object that currently eludes me, that would result in a rod with a perfectly smooth surface—smoother than could be achieved by using a mold, due to centrifugal forces and or gravity and such. ("The Force" exempted.) Submerging in some sort of liquid, maybe? Out-of-the-box-thinking.
As for molds, suggestions for good molds are welcome too! I was thinking about PVC plumbing pipe, but have no idea how to retrieve the rod (intact) after the epoxy has set. Maybe I could grease the pipe with baking spray prior?

So assuming you want it solid and not hollow. I really think the comment Chris H made about the pre-cast acrylic rod would be a much better option financially and structurally.

If you do want to go down the route of casting however, the pipe option is one you could do with. If you ensure there's mold release all down the inside of the pipe, giving it a push at the end providing it doesn't decide to fuse with the pipe - lots of people de-mold with air guns too. However, you have to allow for the fact that when resin is curing, it heats up. So even if you make sure you buy the straightest pipe imaginable, you can still run the risk of it warping and trying to fuse with the pipe.

Heat and general casting also create the other issue - air bubbles. If this is a life size model, then you probably wont find a vaccum chamber to remove the bubbles. You Might get away with it if you have a lot of time to let the air bubbles out - like a resin that cures over a few hours, but if any remain, they will catch any light you throw up though the saber and will stick out like a sore thumb.

I cast a huge chimney before for a giant replica of the Battersea Power Station. To do this, the blank was made - originally turned by one of the woodworkers on the team, and then detailed ribbing was added. This blank was then cast in silicone rubber using a large pipe it could sit into. This also involved a plug being made too, as the top half was hollow on the inside to reduce weight. Once the silicone jacket was made, before removing the chimney, we removed it from the pipe and created a 3 part (two sides and a bottom) fiber glass jacket which could be bolted together to make sure it kept it's shape. Something that large will not stay straight on it's own. This is the kind of method I think you'd need to use if you want a smooth rod that will be straight and usable.

The other thing you need to consider is the structural integrity of the rod. A lot of clear resins would not be very shock absorbing if they're cast that long and thin. One bad smack could cause it to break at the hilt - which if you make the mold wouldn't be too bad. An Acrylic Rod would be able to stand up to a bit of abuse, and you can chose to frost it if you want to catch the light better. You can also shape the top so it has a nice dome finish like lightsabers would have.

Lastly, if it's something that's going to take a lot of abuse, no just for display etc. I would recommend getting a Ludosport saber, or at least looking into what kind of polycarbon their lightsabers are made of, as they can withstand a lot and still look rigid.

I'm sorry I know it sounds fairly negative, and I don't mean to put you off casting if that's what you want to try. I'm just trying to highlight what you're trying to cast is not normally something that would be done when there are other cheaper less time consuming options available. If you want me to go into more detail of how you could use a silicone jacket to make it I can do.


How do you choose a stitch length when straight stitching an arbitrary fabric? When looking to sew a piece of fabric, what factors are looked at to determine the correct stitch length?

Stitching lengths:

  2mm is the short stitch length that should be used for lightweight
  fabrics, for satin stitching, and decorative stitching.

  2.5 - 3mm is the average stitch length range that should be used for medium weight fabrics.

  4 - 5mm is the long stitch length range that should be used for
  basting and topstitching.

Stitches for Dummies puts it this way:

  The average stitch length for mid-weight fabrics is 2.5 to 3 mm/10 to 12 spi.
  The average stitch length for fine fabrics is 2 mm/13 to 20 spi.
  For heavier fabrics, basting, or topstitching, use 4 to 5 mm/5 to 6 spi.

Personally, I baste by hand and use a shorter length stitch for strength when necessary. This video explains where I am coming from!


What is the name of Japanese printing which uses hammered leaves on white cloth? I once saw on TV a type of craft work that used the shapes and colours of leaves arranged carefully in between folded white canvas cloth and beaten with a small hammer. The result was a beautiful copy of the leaf, showing the intricate detail of the veins. Not to mention the colours.
I recall on the TV programme that it was some type of Japanese art/craft but I cannot remember the name. Does anyone know of this type of hand craft?
Would like to find out more about it.

This is a hammered leaf print, or sometimes called a transfer. Flowers are also used. The Japanese name for this art is called hapa zome. It's categorized as a type of dyeing process, and hapa zome roughly translates to "leaf dye" (according to the Internet. I don't know any Japanese).

The technique is similar to the classic nature printing, which uses a roller to press the leaf into the plate receiving the transfer. For hammering, you are applying the pressure much more manually, and aren't creating an engraving that's used make additional copies.

You can find a cheap way to do this on Instructables. Here is a picture of such are done on watercolor paper:


Are GSM and teeth related to each other when the paper is cold-pressed? If the paper is cold pressed, should I assume that 300 GSM paper will have more teeth than 200 GSM paper?

Does higher GSM mean more teeth for cold pressed paper?

The GSM level does not necessarily dictate the tooth of paper.  GSM stands for Grams per Square Metre and refers to the quality of the paper in terms of thickness.  A 1m x 1m sheet of paper at 300 GSM will weigh 300 grams as opposed to 200 grams with 200 GSM.

The tooth is down to the compression method used to produce the paper. Cold Press paper is rougher than Hot Press and you would need to try different brands to find your desired tooth.

If you have paper which has a higher tooth than desired you can follow the advice given in the second link.

  Using the finest sandpaper at your local art store, gently sand the paper until it arrives at your desired smoothness. Be careful to pause in between vigorous sanding sessions, and check that you are not sanding a hole into your paper.

As you probably guessed, for the opposite (to get more tooth), use sandpaper which is more coarse.  Be very careful with this thought as the tooth in patches can become uneven and you won't need to rub much for this.


How can I precisely and quickly tie loops of line? I need to tie together about 58 strings of variable lengths with loops on each end (see pic)

The problem that I'm having is cutting the length consistently. I need to cut the lengths accurately to about +/-2.5mm. With tying loops on each end, it's very very difficult to get the length correct.

The loops will be bearing about 30 lbs (13.6kg). I'll be  tying roughly 52 lines with loops.

What techniques are there to tie two loops in a line, such that the ends are an accurate distance apart?

After a brief search using "diy knot tying tool," and mostly coming up with fly-fishing helpers, I think your best option would be to create a jig with pegs in the right locations. What are the right locations? That's a trial and error project.

Picture a board of suitable length for your longest set of loops. Cut it in half and create a means to adjust the length over about a 30 cm distance. I'd use threaded rods and brackets along the side of the board, perhaps with wingnuts for ease of adjustment.

At each end of the board, a series of pegs representing the loops in your selected knot around which you would wrap your lines.

Your drawing does not show it, but for loops that will not collapse, a bowline knot is a good choice.

The main portion of your line would wrap around two pegs spaced far enough apart to pass the line through, then continue to loop (1) around the peg at the far end of the board. Add a peg, or extend the far peg as needed to adjust the size of the loop.

Once passed between the pegs (1) and wrapped back on itself, the pegs can be removed to tighten the knot.

This will result in a consistent length of line being used for each knot, based on a reference point in the general area of the first two pegs. Excess line at the end of the knot can be cut, but over time, you'll develop a feeling for how much is needed.

At the other end of the board, duplicate the pegs and the steps.

The threaded rod in the middle allows you to adjust the end-to-end spacing to get the precise distance needed.

If a knot other than a bowline is used, you may need more pegs.

EDIT: In the case of 58 different lengths, you have a different task, but need only one board of pegs. Provide at the base of the board a marker or a clamp to which you will reference your line length. Initially, you will place your line at the marker, tie the knot as above and then remove and untie the knot. This will give you a reference distance to determine the length of line "consumed" by the knot, as well as a known distance from the end of loop to the marker.

For example, you place a marked line at the reference point, tie the knot, remove the knot and measure the loop distance to the reference. It's 4 cm. and consumed 10 cm of line. If you need a total of 180, you know that you have to have 180 - 4 - 4 = 172 between the markers and 172 + 10 + 10 = 192 cm of line.


Type of adhesive to use to attach seashells to a frame already glued to a wall Some of the hot glued shells have fallen off the frame.  I didn’t sand the frame since it has the color/finish I like and I don’t want to “cover” the frame entirely.  I used Tacky craft glue but it took too long to dry.  Crazy glue didn’t work because not all shells have a smooth surface to attach to the smooth surface on the frame.  Gorilla glue didn’t work because I had to apply water to one surface and then “clamp” it - impossible to do.

There are two challenges to your project as I understand it...

The frame (and maybe even the shells) has a nice smooth finish which glues don't adhere to well.
The frame is mounted on a wall, making clamping difficult.

Abrading the backs of the shells with a wire brush may roughen them up, allowing glue to hold onto them better.  Drilling small holes through the frame finish in spots which will be covered by shells would serve the same purpose for the frames.

As for clamping, use painter's tape.  After you glued a shell where you want it
on the vertical frame surface, secure it with tape to give the glue time to dry.  The tape may not be able to supply much pressure to the drying joint, but immobility alone can help form a strong bond.

With those challenges behind you, the choice of glues is based solely on the materials involved.  I've always had luck with gorilla glue which comes in a gel version for flow-challenging uses.


Winged Sonobe octahedron assembly I can make a winged sonobe cube and the winged sonobe piece. I learnt to do this from our origami book. The book states you can use twelve pieces to make an octahedron.

We have spent quite some time trying to puzzle out how to do this without success. I then tried to google a tutorial but can only find tutorials for the normal sonobe piece octahedrons.

Does anyone know how to build an octahedron from the winged sonobe pieces?

Image is mine. I took it for this answer.
As you have stated you can make a cube expect you can get to the point with the three pieces together.
Which for me shows where to put the next 6. Is the adding the last 3 units the point where you get stuck?
If so i find assembling the last three pieces together and then putting them in easier.

I don't know the terminology I do know how to make a octahedron.

Make sure all your sonobe's are the same. It doesn't matter if they all 'lean' left or right but you need 12 the same.


How to Alter Dress where Bodice is joined to Gathered Skirt WITHOUT Cutting Garment At Seams So far, I have seen tutorials where Kurtas (these are long Indian dress-like shirts worn with palazzo, skirt or leggings) have been altered by sewing along the seam.

Note the pattern is straight (Don't worry about the language barrier, the marking action starts around 3:50)

https://youtu.be/szCynXS9FwA?t=230

However, I see tutorials to alter bodice attached to skirt where it is cut at the seams.

Lady goes from Size 18 to Size 8 and alters dress

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNN1U1WpymE

Lady gets dress from Thirft store and explains where to cut (she doesn't demonstrate though) - starts at 1:05

https://youtu.be/huRAJJ_IxzA?t=65

Please tell me if there is a way to alter bodice attached to gathered skirt WITHOUT cutting seams.

I am posting this because I have seen tutorials to alter kurtas (long Indian dress-like shirts) that involve cutting seams that I don't believe is necessary.

Instead, I would have stitched along the seams.

This actions starts at 1:26 - I would have simply marked off the excess area behind the seams and then sewn

https://youtu.be/6xgshbHnxwM?t=86

By the way, I create seams with left-over fabric by cutting it open. On one shirt I altered I created weft seams. On another shirt, I created clean seams.

This lady has straight-forward tutorial on seams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5gvlzwhP0Q

The answer depends upon several things:

the features of the dress you are altering, such as, sleeveless vs sleeved, types of sleeves if present, gathered vs fitted waist, presence of side seam fasteners or pockets, etc...
the fabric the dress is made of
how much you are altering the dress
how persnickety you yourself are about things like seam finishes and drape of the finished product (as noted by @SueC and @Stefan in the comments above)

In the first youtube video you site, the front and back pieces of the bodice and skirt are each one continuous piece of fabric, so reducing the circumferences of the body and sleeves a small amount by simply stitching along the side seams and underarm seams (what my Mom calls “taking in the seams”) would probably work “well enough”. However, Kurtis are made of woven fabric, and the sleeves are quite fitted, making alterations of anything more than a small amount potentially unforgiving; one would need to proceed with caution, the explanation of which will take up most of the rest of this answer...

So yes, this scenario could possibly apply to your alteration of a dress with a gathered skirt, from the standpoint of re-fitting the basically-tubular shapes of bodice and skirt in a relatively straightforward manner. That is, and here’s the tricky part, “unless” your dress has sleeves, is made of a woven fabric, and / or there will be a large amount of fabric left in the new seam allowance, in which cases the ability of the shoulder seam to lay nicely and articulate normally could be hindered.

This is because the armscye is one of the most complex places to alter on a torso garment (dress, shirt, jacket...), as both the size and shape of the wearer, and motions of the arm and shoulder in actions such as reaching forward or overhead, are involved.  I would consider this an advanced skill in the alteration realm.

Certainly this depends on the dress you are altering.  If it is sleeveless, and / or made of a knit fabric, you will possibly have less of an issue altering at the armscye.  But even on a sleeveless dress, it is easy for an armscye to become too small or too gaping during the alteration process.

The second and third videos you site demonstrate cutting the too-large dresses apart first at the waist, then at the side seams, then reassembling them to a smaller size. In the second video, the dress has to be trimmed down extensively at the sides because the original dress had pleats, as well as being 10 sizes too large. A sheath dress such as her finished product is meant to fit just right, conforming to the figure, so cutting away a great amount of material is necessary, which obviously leaves raw edges for seaming... She wisely uses a pencil skirt that she likes the fit of as a pattern for cutting away the sides of the skirt, which also allows her to confirm that the amount she takes off of the side seams of the bodice is correct, since the two circumferences apparently match.

The lady who alters down a thrift shop dress basically cuts all the pieces apart, which is somewhat like starting from where you would when cutting out a pattern on new fabric. The difference being that from there, she needs a method to know how much to take in, and where, which she doesn’t explain. She had to either use her own measurements, taking positive ease into consideration, or she used a dress she likes the fit of as a pattern, or she used an actual sewing pattern. That dress is of knit fabric, so I assume she is using a serger or a stretchy stitch on a regular sewing machine; both methods would lend a lot of forgiveness to the fit, if the reduction method she uses is less than perfect. Also note, it is a sleeveless dress, which obviates most of the potential complications of fitting the articulation of the shoulder joint.

So, the fourth video seems to express your question most directly. Wouldn’t she have saved time and effort by merely “taking in the seams”? Possibly yes, but in my experience, I don’t think so.  Notice that at 3:09, she trims the armscye.  She feels this is necessary as evidenced by her statement there that she determined how much to trim “from the shoulder seam” (while the cut she makes actually affects both the armscye and shoulder seams) by measuring “across from one shoulder to another”.  She did shorten the length of the shoulder seam, which makes it a smaller size, BUT although she states that this action has not changed the size of the armhole, it actually has: it is now larger and deeper, which counterintuitively makes it less articulating. This website, “Parisian Gentleman”, explains this phenomenon well:

  ...if the armscye fits close to the armpit, then movement of the arms will not be restricted and the front of the jacket will not move when your arms move. Conversely, an armscye positioned too low, leaving too much space between the armpit and the bottom of the armscye will cause a small sartorial catastrophe which includes discomfort, strain on the mid part of the jacket when the arms move and riding up of the back of the jacket when seated at a table with arms forward.

I have made this mistake myself, and believe me, it is very uncomfortable, you feel like your upper arms are tied to your torso!

So again, could you take your dress and merely “take in the seams”? Very possibly, depending upon these many factors, chief among which is that pesky armscye. The gal in the last video certainly could have made all of her changes, except the alteration of the armscye, by merely “taking in the seams”.

One simple strategy to test your theory that cutting apart the seams doesn’t always seem necessary, would be to baste the seams you intend to take in, about 1/16th inch outside of (that is, closer to the edge from) where you want the seams to go. (This way the basting can be easily removed later, as it will not be sewn over, OR you could perhaps choose to leave it in...) When you try the basting-altered garment on, move your arms forward and upward, in reaching motions, to test the armscye fit. One caveat: the seam allowance in the armscye area might be pulling things tightly even though the seam is placed correctly, in which case some very strategic and careful notch placement would be in order, which might also require you to finish that section of the seam...

The last “depends upon” factor to mention is, your personal standards and preferences for finishing seams. In some situations this is strictly personal preference, but sometimes the way a seam is finished does affect the outcome of the garment so strongly that the finished garment is either the best thing you ever wore, or it is never worn again after trying it on. This is because things like waving or puckers in the seam allowance, or, pulling or twisting of the garment around constricted areas like the waist or arms, can occur to a surprisingly severe degree, simply due to an improperly finished seam. It has to do with the behavior of fabric that is stitched.

Understanding this personality quirk, which is different among each of the fabrics you will sew with, comes with study and experience. The best place to start is what you are doing: follow your instincts and try things. It sounds like you are experimenting with some interesting seam finishes (although I have never heard of a “weft seam”, except with hand-woven fabrics?) There are many ways to any given result in sewing, and no single right way to do anything. Go forth and try what your mind is suggesting, and see how it works out!

Since I have talked about a couple of important and specific sewing skill sets, here are some links for further study:

Fitting Armscyes:

“How to Re-Shape Armholes}, at Fashion Incubator
“How to Adjust the Bodice and Sleeve Pattern When Armholes are Too Large”, at The Daily Sew
“Armscye, Front & Back”, at Sempstress
“Armhole Adjustments You Might Never Have Considered”, at Bluprint
“To Get The Right Armhole, Fit The Bodice”, at Threads Magazine

How Seam Finishes May Affect The Finished Garment:

“Standards of Quality”, at Sewing Professionals: This excellent article describes standards for Seam Finishes on page 3:

  SEAM FINISHES - A seam finish is any technique that is used to make a seam neat, to prevent the seam allowance edges from raveling and/or fraying, to prevent seam allowances from rolling, to prevent stretching and rippling in some seam allowances, and to give the inside of the garment a more pleasing appearance. Examples of seam finishes are pinked, overcast, Hong Kong, turned and stitched, and serged.
  1. The seam finish is appropriate to the garment fabric, the garment design, the intended use of the garment, its quality, and garment care.
  2. The finish is applied securely so that it remains in place during normal wear and care.
  3. The finish does not add bulk to the seam.
  4. The selected finish prevents the fabric from raveling, rolling, or
  stretching and contributes to the overall neatness of the garment.
  5. The finishes’ binding or thread color is appropriate to the fashion
  fabric, unless used for decorative purposes.

“Pretty on the Inside”, at Emily Hallman Designs
“Seam Finishes 3 Ways”, at We All Sew
“The Best Techniques to Finish Your Raw Seams”, at DIBY Club
“Seam Finishes”, at The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
“Seam Finishes”, at The University of Nebraska Extension
“Seam Types, Bulletin 17”, at Coats


How should a child first learn to draw? I am wondering what are some good ways for children to learn to draw. Is it best for them to start by trying to copy things they see in front of them, like simple things such as cups or windows, leaves, trees... Are there any gold standard books which are used in good art schools for kids to help kids increase their skill in drawing? Is it best to just use blank paper? I am just unsure of how to best help a child learn to draw cause I am myself not very good at it. Please recommend some kids drawing books written by real artists who wrote the book with the intention to show the true essence of learning how to draw. I'm not sure what common wisdom or what most art teachers do at the best art schools but when I read things like this Copy?...Real Artists Don't Copy I wonder if there are some common methods in use today at good art schools.

The biggest problem in this question is the age of the child.
If we're talking pre-teen, then I see no chance that the child will spend regular time practicing pen strokes or how to draw straight lines, because that simply isn't fun.
Children want to have fun. Coloring books are fun because you can achieve a pretty result without putting too much effort in it. Drawing mom as a stick figure an declaring that "it looks like mom" is fun because it's quick and sufficient to express what the child intended. Indeed, this art of reducing the real-world information to the minimum required to recognize the object can still be helpful as an adult if you happen to design graphical user interfaces for computer or phone apps.
What you need most is listening to what the child wants. Do they want stick-figure-mom to look more realistic? Or do they just want to express their phantasy by creating colorful blobs on paper? Are they interested in drawing comics or mangas? Or do they want to create cool tribal style tatoos? The only thing they will practice voluntarily are the things they truely want.
Since all of the above examples require very different techniques, there is no one book or one art class we can suggest. But there are many different books and online sources that cater to teens and young adults and teach them how to (better) execute one single art style. One of the all-time classics is figure drawing where you start drawing a cat by linking a few circles together, and in each chapter the circles get more and more pronounced until you only need them as guidelines for the finished cat. The same is true for comic and manga drawing books where you're shown how to simplify the human body by linking circles and rectangles.
My suggestion is to observe what kind of art the child is creating now and asking them what they love drawing the most. Then translate that to adult terms like "figure drawing", "landscape drawing", "still lifes", "comic art", "water color" or whatnot and go looking for one very short beginner tutorial (either as book or online; I personally prefer books because you can easily find them again and reread a chapter if you forgot. Printing an online tutorial is a cheap alternative). Give it to your child and let them explore without any pressure. They might forget about it for a year and then suddenly be in the mood again.
Don't give them more than 2 books at once, it might feel overwhelming. Don't go for the thickest book available, those are usually intended for older and more advanced students. Don't be discouraged if your child finds a particular book unhelpful, they might not have the required skill yet, but will probably return to it once they acquired the skill level. If your child tells you that a certain book doesn't help them at all, listen to them and ask them what they expected / want to read about, then go looking for a different book that covers those topics. Even if you have no idea about drawing at all, you probably are able to recognize those topics if you see them in a book.

To the question of copying:
Copying reference images is the first step for almost all professional artists, because it's the best way to produce encouraging results and learn the required technique.
Portrait artists spend countless hours copying photos of peoples faces. Landscape artists spend countless hours copying landscape photos. Comic artists spend countless hours copying photos of people in different poses. It's the best way to learn.
Granted, the step away from reference photos to your own imagination is a hard one, but forcing a child to take this step even before they learned things like shading or body proportions (by copying photos) is extremely discouraging.
And by the way: The full title of the article you linked is

"Copy?...Real Artists Don't Copy!" but Maybe Children Should.

The article talks about how children are discouraged from copying artwork from their peers and teachers in an attempt to encourage originality. But how is a child supposed to create "beautiful" original art if they were never allowed to learn the technique by copying existing beautiful art? If a child can only compare their own stick-figure cat with a real cat, their judgement of their own skills will be devastating. If they can compare their drawing with a stick-figure cat of another child, they will see their own skills in a much better and realistic way.


Where to find stencil fonts? I'm looking for uncommon fonts resources to cut stencils.
They musn't have isolated parts that would be detached from the main stencil.

On google fonts, I can only find 3: https://fonts.google.com/?query=stencil

Can you guide me to a greater choice resource?

Other resources I can suggest are these:

http://www.1001fonts.com/stenciled-fonts.html
https://www.urbanfonts.com/fonts/stencil-fonts.htm

Try out which suits your design best.
Check out sites that have "free" download option for flexibility.

If not free, you can redo/recreate some letters you need in Adobe Illustrator/Corel Draw, just get the letters you need.


How to draw a head from all angles from imagination? I've been drawing portraits for some time, both realistic and stylized.  I can draw from imagination for profile, 3/4 and face-forward views.  But I want to be able to draw from imagination all views: from below, from above, etc.

Currently I have a little plastic head maquette that I use for reference when I do this.  How do I learn to do this from imagination?

I've got some manga art books that are helpful - they give guidelines for drawing heads/bodies at all sorts of angles, whether by using skeleton frameworks, or just drawing freehand.

Also, if you're happy taking a sketchbook around with you, try doing 20-second speed sketches of real people (using pencil, biro, or whatever medium you prefer). Real people don't tend to stand still that long, so you'll have to be quick, but it's a great way of practising natural head positions. (Places like shopping centres or looking out of café windows can be helpful - some places put you below head level, and other put you a storey or two above where people walk).


How do I effectively blend with Artist's Loft colored pencils? What is the most effective way to blend Artist's Loft colored pencils? I have tried using my fingers and also bathroom tissue, but my colors never look very smooth or well-blended.

A common technique for pencil blending is to use either a colorless blender pencil (they make one for this brand) or to use solvents to blend, normally something like Mona Lisa odorless mineral spirits.

For blending pencils, I'm pretty sure the Artist's Loft line is wax based and so the blenders for Prismacolor should also work. The thing to remember with this technique is that you won't be able to layer more color after, so do it last.

If you try the solvent option, use it in very small amounts on a cheap, small, paint brush as you really do not need a lot. Make sure you have a few layers of pencil on first, that's how you'll get the best look. You can then layer more, when it's dry, and do more blending. It will dry very fast.

Paper also matters. Higher quality paper will allow for more pigment to be laid down and make blending easier. Some people even use 140lb hot press watercolor paper for this (check labeling to be sure), especially if they use solvent blending. You can only do so much with lower-end paper before you destroy the tooth of it or even rip through.

However, at the end of the day, these are low-end, student-grade, pencils and you're simply not going to get the same smooth blending that a professional grade pencil is going to get you.

Quick edit note: You don't need to buy high-end watercolor paper if you want to try that route. Student grade should be fine, the main difference with student to professional is the sizing and cotton content which, in this use case, isn't as important. Just make sure it is acid free (should say so on packaging).


Difference between cut edge and deckle edge paper I'm about to buy paper on the internet, and the only difference I see between cut edge and deckle(d) edge paper is the price: deckle edge paper is a little more expensive than cut edge paper.
What is the difference between cut edge and deckle edge paper, and what are they used for?
Please answer with simple wording, since English is not my first language.

To answer your question, I will give a simple overview of the papermaking process:
Paper is made out of the fibres, mostly of wood or cloth.
These fibres are beaten to a pulp, and put in a bath with water.
Now, the deckle is the (wooden) frame that is used to control the size of the paper:

Mold and deckle (source)
This deckle lies on top of the mold, and these are used to scoop pulp out of the bath.
As the water drains through the mesh (the netting on the top of the mold), the pulp will stay inside the frame of the deckle, and the fibres in the pulp will settle.
They will not form a straight edge, but a wavy and irregular, or 'feathered' edge: this is called the 'deckle edge'. They can be seen as the original or natural edge.
Often, however, paper sheets are cut to remove these deckle edges, and these are called 'cut edges'.
The difference between the two is almost purely aesthetic: the deckle edge gives a more authentic or original look to paper.
But it also is often a sign that a paper was handmade: higher quality papers used for the arts often have deckle edges to separate them from cheaper machine-made paper (since the machines used for paper-making produce paper on rolls, so no deckles are used).


What does it mean to "push your values"? When I used to frequent art-critique forums, I would often hear senior artists advise people to "push values", generally with little to no explanation beyond that. I gathered that in many cases it meant to make darks darker, but that's as far as I got.

What does this phrase mean in a drawing/painting context?

If there isn't enough separation in the levels of the values used in rendering an image then the image can look washed out or the shapes poorly defined.

Someone saying, you need to "push the values", means they think you need to add more separation in the value levels you used to define your shapes and areas in the image as a way to help build greater depth, contrast and image intensity.

Here's a quick example

In the image on the left I limited myself to use values only from the middle range of the value scale (N4 to N7). The image looks hazy as though looking through a fog. I squeezed my values into too tight of a range for the scene.

For the image on the right I expanded the range and pulled from a broader overall range of the value scale. I pushed areas that were originally at N4 to now be at N1. At the other end where I had used N7 i pushed those areas to N10.

In both images N5 was used to render the table top. I used this value as my anchor point. Squeezing and pushing around it.

The result is the image on the right looks more intense and seems to be clearer than the image on the left.


How to repair bend in pewter goblet stem I have a number of pewter goblets (by Royal Selangor) in the form of various characters from Lord of the Rings.

Unfortunately, Gimli recently fell from a first-floor (US - second-floor) window into a hedge. The landing was soft enough that the pewter hasn't dented or deformed; but it has gained a roughly 10-degree bend.

This is what the goblet should look like (Royal Selangor's site). Attached are pictures of how the goblet is now. I believe the bend is most likely in the stem (which is styled as Gimli's beard), possibly near the bottom around where I have taken the close-up photo, since the metal seems perhaps slightly to have flattened there.

I would like to bend the goblet back into shape. Is this something I'm likely to be able to do myself, and if so, how would I go about it? I don't have any specialist metalworking tools, just a general purpose DIY toolkit.

It is very likely it can just be straightened with no additional treatment. Tin strain hardens ( cold works) very slowly compared to most metals and will stress relieve at room temperature.  According to old references "pewter" ( a k a - Britannia metal ) is not pure tin but contains 7% antimony and 2% copper. But because this is apparently a newer product, one is not sure what the composition is ( I have seen zinc and aluminum novelties called "pewter"). I suggest straightening it, if it cracks it is unlikely to be tin/pewter.