How does shading & blending with Carbon pencils differ from Graphite pencils? From what I've read, carbon pencils give a more matte-like texture than graphite, and are a drier media - similar to charcoal. Graphite can become reflective when photographed and scanned so I'm surprised that carbon pencils aren't more popular.

Do carbon pencils need to be blended differently for a smooth gradation of tone (like willow charcoal does), or is it more similar to graphite shading?
Are carbon pencils messy, or can a precise line be achieved with it?
Are there any disadvantages to drawing with Carbon instead of Graphite?

If it's not too much trouble, imagery for comparison is very welcome!

I find that Carbon Pencils tend to dry out and break easily while I work. If I use carbon, I try buy one which is oil based; they tend to have strong tonal values without the shininess of graphite. You can make a very sharp line with a neatly sharpened pencil. I sometimes wet it with some linseed oil, or saliva, if it looks a bit dry.

Graphite is used as a lubricant in some industrial processes. So it applies more smoothly but I find the shine is annoying at times. You should consider the grade of your graphite as well. The ratio of graphite mixed with clay will affect the shininess in some pencil brands. The Staedtler Black Red 7B is an example that doesn't have a shiny gloss compared to other brands.


Can you use Poster Paint for fantasy miniatures? I recently came across an old version of HeroQuest whilst having a sort-out, and remembered back to when I used to paint these (as well as some other similar) miniatures. I also remember how much they cost.

So I was looking at some videos on YouTube and found a few people using general hardware store acrylics, and figured this would be a great idea, as they're inexpensive, and actually come in a great range of colours.

The only thing I don't like is the fact that they are in tubes, and you have to mix them together on a pallet. I thought, "what if you could get some pots like the ones old Citadel Miniatures had back in the day?".

I did a search at a local (UK) shop and couldn't find any empty pots, but found these:

So they're 'poster paint', not 'acrylic', but the pots are exactly what I'm looking for. But I wondered if painting miniatures with this is possible at all? It seems a shame to waste them.

I would be using a general spray primer for the undercoat, and probably a clear spray for gloss, but will these affect the paint?

I strongly advise against using poster paints for miniature painting.

Poster paints are described as (emphasis mine):

  a distemper paint that usually uses a type of gum-water or glue size as its binder. It either comes in large bottles or jars or in a powdered form. It is normally a "cheap" paint used in school art classes.

With the correct primer the paints should be able to stick to the miniatures, but in contrast to acryllic paints they stay water soluble after drying. They are vulnerable to moisture and abrasion and rub off while handling the miniatures. A protective sealing coat could help, but any sealing (either spay or brush-on) is a liquid, which starts dissolving the paints again. You'd need to very carefully spray several thin coats of sealing or you risk your paints bleeding and loosing details.

The biggest problem, though, is the quality of the paints, more precisely the pigment density. Poster paints are usually cheep and intended for kids to paint on paper. You can have a whole lot of fillers and just a tiny amount of (expensive) pigments in those paints, because all they have to do is cover a white piece of paper with a colored paste.

In miniature painting, you want to apply coats of paint as thinly as possible to preserve all the details in the miniature. You may want to layer different colors or highlight a detail on a dark background. You need paints with a high pigment density for this job, or you'll be forced to literally cover the miniature with a colored paste, just to paint a white dot on a black background. That's usually the reason why dedicated paints for miniatures are as expensive as they are. They contain much more pigments than your average hobby paints.


Fixing the lens of an Artograph Tracer I have an Artograph Tracer, but the lens has come loose.

Does anyone have any tips on how to refix the lens in the plastic tube? And which way around it goes?

The rule of thumb when repairing any kind of projection system, is that it is imperative that the lens is EXACTLY parallel and centered along the light’s primary path. If you mess it up, you fail and the projection will be fuzzy and/or distorted.

I recommend the following two step approach. Get some plasteline (non-drying modelling clay). Put the lens in the barrel like you think it should fit. Pay very close attention and center it. Roll out a 12 inch long and 1/4” or 0.8mm diameter cylinder of clay. Press it around the edge of the lens to temporarily fix it in place.

Now mount the barrel as usual and try it out. If you got the lens backwards, take it apart and do it again. Make sure you can focus it and everything with the projection is ok.

Now remove the lens and the clay. Use cold demineralised water with a drop of dish soap to remove any remnants of the clay from the barrel and the lens. Then polish the lens with a microfiber / or special lens cleaning towel.

This would be a good moment to use white cotton gloves - just make sure there are no fingerprints on the lens and that there is no dust in the barrel.

Once everything is absolutely entirely dry, install the lens as before, and now take some heat-resistant silicone and put a bead of silicon around the edge, as you did the first time with the clay. Go overboard and smear it up the sides of the barrel, but be careful not to get it on the lens. If you do get it on the lens, immediately remove it with the soapy water and microfiber. Be gentle, don’t scratch it!

Let the silicon cure (in accordance with its label) and enjoy your projector!


Glue for polystyrene I want to glue together several sheets of polystyrene (just a prototype / research project). I choose extruded polystyrene for its extra strength compared to expanded.

However, I am not sure sure which glue would make a better job at gluing. Since the surface to cover will be quite big, I prefer a cheaper glue, but still good.

I expect the final structure to be as light as possible, so I assume that cements are out of question. Also, the curing time should not be too quick, I might not be able to move so fast.

Note: I might embed meshes of glass fiber into the glue, for reinforcement.

Since I am not in the US, please provide me with:

generic description of the glue;

or

international brands of glue.

To estimate the volume of glue needed, do you think that the thickness of the glue is very important? Unless it is too thin, of course.

Any other hints / advice are highly appreciated.

I searched on the internet, and:

the descriptions were too generic, so I still do no know what to buy;
the brands were totally unknown to me.

Polystyrene is attacked by many organic solvents, so I'd rule out all solvent-based glues you haven't personally tested.  Different compositions can be sold under the same name in different countries, or can change over time, and very similar names can have different ingredients.

That leaves you with two options; I recommend the second:

Water-based glues: These will give you a low-strength bond on polystyrene, but if you have a large area of a fairly  weak material that might not matter.  PVA (white craft glue, wood glue) would be one type, latex (e.g. Copydex brand) would be another, but you'd need to be sure you were getting a water-based  product (many other glues with latex/rubber in the name are solvent-based).  You'd need to use a thin layer, and drying times would be longer than expected, because you're relying on water  evaporating and it has to escape.

Hot glue: Cool melt hot glue is plastic, which is melted and applied to one surface.  This sticks well to polystyrene.  It cools and solidifies fairly quickly when exposed to air, but extruded polystyrene will keep the heat in, so setting times will be increased.  As with water-based glues you'll have to support the workpiece while the glue dries.  This should give a stronger bond, as it is better able to fill the gaps in the surfaces.  You can get a range of colours, but don't expect to colour-match.  With decent pressure as the joint sets you can avoid gluing right to the edge; with a suitable colour the join can be subtle.


Fast method to cut/shred glue stick into small pieces Tried cutting a glue stick into small pieces using a normal scissor and took about 10 mins or so.

Is it possible to cut or shred glue stick into small pieces much faster, say 2 min per stick?

(The reason is that the shredded glue stick is going to be used in a craft work.)

Use a sharp knife and cut chips at one end, as if sharpening a pencil. Keep cutting until you get the needed quota :)

If a specific (different) shape of the pieces is needed, then we need more details.


Silver nitrate added to clay body Silver nitrate is commonly used as a glaze additive - for example in Raku. What effects might be expected from using small amounts of silver nitrate in the clay body itself!? Would this affect the vitrification temperature of the clay body? Is it safe?

Glaze additives aren't always appropriate for adding to a clay body, but sometimes they can be. I've never used silver nitrate or even heard of its use in glazes, but then I've never been a Raku artist. It sounds like a lot of fun, but I don't have the equipment or the community for doing it, so I've always stuck to plain mid-fire stoneware.

If you have silver nitrate on hand, why not experiment with adding a small amount to your Raku body and see what happens. That's kind of the spirit of Raku anyway; experimentation. Raku (as I'm sure you're aware) isn't typically intended to be used other than as a beautiful object of art. It isn't even necessarily expected to be durable (at least not for decades). Since the kiln set-up is so casual, you probably aren't going to do any damage to your equipment. Just be sure to take the usual Raku precautions, maybe protect your kiln shelf with a disk of bisqued clay and wear appropriate clothing, gloves, eye covering, etc.


What are the uses of fan shaped brushes and finger shaped brushes? What are their use cases?
The fan shaped brush:

The finger shaped brush:

The fan-shaped brush is perfect for blending oil paints. I use it to either blur fresh paint (be it an area or a detail) into the background, or to create a smooth gradient between paints.
When painting with very fatty paints, or simply a lot of paint, this brush will lose its efficiency, as it is too thin and fine to manipulate, accumulate, or contain much paint.
I have no experience using this with acrylic paints, but can imagine it will work similarly, when using little and diluted acrylics.
With this brush it is especially important to clean it regularly, as it loses this functionality whenever there is the slightest irregularity (leaving obvious marks in the paint surface).

With the comb, rake, or fingered brush I have a slightly similar experience: it can be used to blend areas or details while maintaining a certain amount texture (resulting in a 'broken' gradient, if you will).
It's also an obvious contender for painting details like vegetation (grass, reeds, branches, &c.) and hairs, as it naturally leaves lines.
It can also be used for graining or painting imitation wood (although those brushes are usually larger).


Proper disposal: Can oil colors spontaneously combust? It is clear from what I can google that rags soaked in linseed oil and similar must be taken special care of because they could catch fire while drying. Is this also the case for rags, etc., with oil colors straight out the tube?

Yes, there is still a risk, as the hazard is in the oil; as the oil dries, it emits heat (an exothermic reaction) which, if it's in a pile of other flammable objects--such as other oily rags, papers, etc--can cause them to combust.

From the Wet Canvas forum (the thread also contains some personal experiences with combusting rags):

  Remember it is the linseed oil that heats slightly as it dries (oils dry via a slow combustion process) and if the heat is trapped fire is a possibility, especially combined with highly flammable substances such as solvent. Whether you use solvent or not, soak your oily rags/paper towels in water or spread them out to get air.

And a blog from Mutual of Enumclaw gives an additional citation to rags with oil-based paint on them being a hazard (as well as tips for handling them):

  Simply put, rags that contain residue of oil-based paints and stains, paint thinners, varnishes, or polyurethane can spontaneously combust and catch on fire. Here’s what happens: When oily rags begin to dry, they produce heat. Combined with oxygen they turn into combustible cloths that can quickly cause trouble.

(All emphasis above is mine.)

It is clear that the oil is the risk, and as the paints "straight from the tube" contain oil, it is best to treat them as a risk as much as you would the other items.


Is there a formal name for an artwork such as this? I wanted to draw something subtle yet loud and ended up with the following. I am not classically trained at all and do not have much knowledge regarding styles and schools of art. After this drawing I was very interested to know if my drawing falls in any well known form of art and how can I better myself at it.
The referred drawing:

If you're referring to the technique, that's Stippling or Pointillism if made in color. Images created in this style are composed of numerous dots that form a picture if viewed from afar.

  Stippling is the creation of a pattern simulating varying degrees of solidity or shading by using small dots

rebusB helpfully pointed out that it seems to be a picture created in Photoshop or similar software. That makes is digital art, no matter what other technique it resembles. The reason is that creating artwork on a computer is fundamentally different from creating the same artwork with paint or pencils.

If you're referring to the content of your image, unfortunately I cannot help you. It might be Expressionism, but I'm not sure it can be categorized clearly as any art form or style because it doesn't have much to categorize. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad or anything, it's just not enough there to call it "realism" or "neo-classicism" or anything like that.


Fasteners other than Hook and Loop I am looking for fastener options to attach 2 fabrics and also keep them detachable. I am working on an adjustable knee brace so small hook and loop patches are a good option but they are difficult to sew on. So, I have also tried snap buttons that can be easily punched instead of sewing but they are usually metal or plastic. I want to avoid hard material as falling on the knee while wearing the brace could cause extra damage because of the hard buttons. So, I am looking at different options like self adhesive hook and loops about which I am exploring in another thread. Just wanted to see if there are any silicone based snap buttons or some soft non metallic snap buttons that could be used as fasteners or any other fastener options that could be used. Laces are another option but they tend to open up.

You might consider using grommets, then lace it up. You can get a grommet kit for about $10.59 which includes grommets. They are really easy to install, and they actually look pretty cool in addition to their functionality.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B076BGJ7KB/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516452247&sr=8-1-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=grommet+kit&psc=1


How much fabric is needed in this instructional? My wife comes and asks me whether or not she has enough fabric to complete a project. She gives me a square footage of what we have on hand and then a yardage — not square yardage — called for by the instructions:

I double check just in case, but nowhere does it state a width on the page.  So then I think to myself, "there must be some standard width then, that's common or universal to textiles?", except a Google search later my conjecture is unceremoniously debunked.

Is the author going senile or is there some secret trick to converting one-dimensional units into two that only the textile industry is privy to?

The instructions you've posted call for "two 43" x 65" pieces of fabric." While there are a wide variation of fabric widths available, the standard US widths are (approximately) 45" and 60". As this piece easily fits into a length of 45" fabric (which is often actually closer to 43"), it stands to reason that the pattern is calling for the more common 45" width.

Therefore, you need the called-for 7 1/4 yards of 45" fabric, in an appropriate material (heavy for outdoor use, any for an indoor play tent).

Note that you could also purchase 60" fabric for this project, but you'll have more left over than if you used 45" fabric; patterns that can use either size typically won't call out the width specifically, or will give different yardages for both. Patterns calling for 60" fabric specifically will be explicit about the width, as these patterns generally include pieces that won't fit easily or at all on a 45" wide piece of fabric.


How can I make a peeling paint effect? I'm working on designing a set for a stop motion animation, and I'd like to have a wall that looks like peeling paint— something like this.
I would be able to have a plywood board painted one color, which is peeling to reveal another color of paint underneath.  What paints and techniques should I use to make this possible?

The basics of this can be pretty easy if you want it to be. Getting the exact desired effect, much like anything in crafting, will take some experimentation.

In its simplest form put down you base paint i.e. the colour you want to see below the peeling, distress and etc. Then put down something to help prevent the next layer of paint from binding. White glue works well for this. You would not necessarily use glue on your entire surface but where you want the cracking / peeling to occur. In your case you can try and target it along a line to simulate broken wall or foundation or something. How long you let the glue dry before you put on the next layer of paint is subjective. Most seem to wait until it is tacky to the touch.

Next you would put on your top layer of paint. The choice of paint should not matter here to much either. A milk paint lends easier to distressing or chipping. You see milk paint used a lot in "antiquing" furniture.

Once that paint is dry it should have cracked on its own while drying. If that is not to your satisfaction you could use some tools to help it along. Utility knives, putty knives would be obvious tools of choice. Again, you would need to experiment to get your desired effect.

Aside from the above or possibly in conjunction I have also seen people accelerate the drying process with something like a heat gun / hair dryer. This will definitely help the peeling process via bubbling. Take caution as to not burn or melt the paint.


How to sew this seam with a Brother 847 sewing machine? I'm a beginner with respect to sewing and I'm wondering how I can use my Brother 847 to accomplish the following seam:

For some context you may check out this video: https://video.bellroy.com/test.mp4

Does this kind of seam/technique have a name I can search for?

That seam looks like topstitching. It's done using a straight stitch, typically set to a longer stitch length than construction seams. Topstitching can be a decorative finishing technique, but also serves the purpose of keeping seams flat and in place.

It looks like the example is made of a leather-like material - topstitching is very common for that, since the material won't fray and tucking the raw edges under would make seams very bulky.

If you want to do the stitching for this particular item by machine, you can try holding the pocket out so only the pocket edge is under the presser foot, but you will have to be careful when feeding it through to keep the seam even. This looks possible with the pattern - since you haven't stitched the ends of the wallet yet, it'll be like sewing half of a cuff (only a bit more stubborn depending on how stiff the leather is).

It would be easier to topstitch the pocket before assembling, so it's just a flat piece you run through the machine, but that would require changing the pattern so the back section and the pocket sections are separate rather than one continuous piece.


Is there paint without texture? Recently, I have been trying to paint over a painting I've painted before but don't like. Unfortunately, every time I paint over it, it leaves a weird texture or it sort of soaks into the canvas and leaves weird marks and you can still see the painting underneath it. Is there any way I can prevent this from happening or is there a certain pant I should use?

I would try sandpaper or even an environmentally friendly (low fume) paint stripper. Other solvents might also be a worth a try, for example mineral turps for oil. Another option is to use a heat gun to soften it and then scrape it off with a flat bladed scraper used for plastering. I did this today successfully, just don’t touch the blade as it gets extremely hot after being near the heat gun.

Unless you can add a very thick layer higher than the depth of the original's texture, I think you'll have the same problem.

If the canvas is mounted on board, it is easier to scrape off. If it's a stretched canvass, you might need to be more careful in the scraping part -- you don't want to catch the (sharp-edged) scraper in the canvass and make a tear.


How to paste tissue paper onto thicker paper? I have done a print in linocut on a piece of tissue paper. Now I want to paste it on a thicker paper.
How I can paste tissue paper with a linocut print onto thicker paper?

If you have access to a roll press (etching press), an option would be to use stick glue (if the tissue paper will be pasted all the way on the thicker paper apply the glue on the thick paper, if there will be margins apply it carefully on the tissue paper; either way I'd suggest you use a slightly wider sheet which could be trimmed later to the desired shape and size. Also make sure all the area is covered in glue - where there is no glue a 'bubble' will be formed). Then run it through the roll press.


How to free this sewing pin from the finished shirt I had something rather silly happen today. I altered the cuff of a storebought shirt, then machine washed the shirt. While hanging it, I noticed this:

There is a pin left in the cuff. Its head is stuck between the two layers of the cuff piece, and its length pokes through the fabric. The shirt is made from plain, rather thin, cotton broadcloth. The offender is a glass-head pin, with a 2-3 mm head, and the head is larger than the stitch size I used to close the cuff.

I don't want to:

Open the nicely-turned-out, finally-finished, seam.
Make holes in the fabric.
Wear a shirt with a sharp pin poking at me.

I am willing to sacrifice the pin itself, if that would help somehow.

Try crushing the glass head with a pair of pliers. If you're lucky, the metal head inside the glass is small enough to be removed without opening the seam.

If it's still stuck, cut the head of with wirecutters like Henry Taylor described. Keep in mind that the needle head may rust after being washed several times. You should tuck the left-over head into a corner that's as invisible as possible.


Print drawing on water color paper, is it possible? I would like to know if is possible to print a digital drawing, just the outline, on watercolor paper.

I would like to do it to test different watercolor result on the same drawing without redraw the same subject and mixing digital drawing with watercolor.

Maximum paper size is A4 format.

Not sure if ink jet or laser could get a better result more similar to ink and witch one is water-resistant

Laser printer toner is water resistant -- more so than most paper.  But the toner doesn't necessarily stick very well to papers other than office paper and specially coated materials. Toner can also look rather shiny.  So this could be a good option for your tests of different effects, but less so for the mixed digital/watercolour pieces.

Inkjets have the advantage of using ink which will look much more like the ink you'd expect especially on watercolour paper.  Some are water resistant, some aren't. I've got an epson that's over 10 years old now; the ink for that doesn't run on normal paper (though it does a little on photo paper).  There's a very slight solvent smell as the print comes out.  Printers I've used in the past have varied.

You'll have to test on any printer you have in mind.  I suggest that you test on office paper using only the inks you want to use for your project -- probably just black, which would be a good thing as there should be fewer components to run (be sure to print using "black ink only" or a similar option; some printers use black and the coloured inks to produce black. You'll have to further test the printing on your watercolour paper, trying different paper options in the printer software.

If you're looking to buy a printer to do this, at least try to get a demo print on office paper and see what happens when you wet it.  The availability of T-shirt print transfers might be a minor guide as T shirts have to be washed, but the transfers might bond the ink to some extent.


Where to start to learn drawing online I am almost new to drawing. I hadn't attempted to draw anything for over 20 years, then stumbled on a copy of "Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain" and decided to try. I got better fairly quickly and after completing the book I tried to continue improving through YouTube lessons.

Now my struggle is that I didn't find any online resources, either free or paid, that offers a comprehensive long term learning curve. I find neat tricks and techniques here and there, but often either realize halfway through that the author of the tutorial assumed knowledge I don't have, or try to cover the very basic skills I already saw 10 times elsewhere.

I didn't find lot of options for in person art classes in my region either.

So my question is, what would be the seriously good options to learn drawing online on the long run? I don't feel like randomly picking the next skill I think I guess to work is leading me anywhere.

I work with mainly with charcoal, and also a bit with soft pastel, but I'm more interested in learning drawing in general than in learning a medium in particular.

Since you're interested in learning drawing without a specific medium, I recommend Udemy. It has a lot of great lessons, if you're willing to pay (~$15). My recommendation is https://www.udemy.com/course/the-ultimate-drawing-course-beginner-to-advanced/. Not only is the course long and comprehensive, but you can even ask the teacher questions about anything. He gives out assignments and reviews your submissions. You can see what other people submitted, too!

Note: I'm not sponsored in any way by Udemy or the course teacher. I took the course last year, and really enjoyed it.


How can I add an internal pocket to pants that don't have one? I've got a number of pants and shorts that I'd love to be able to carry my phone in, especially a couple of running shorts. But, they were (inconsiderately!) designed with no pockets.

In the case of too-small pockets, I've sometimes modified the garment to enlarge the pocket by cutting the inside and adding more fabric. But how should I go about adding a pocket if there's no pre-existing opening?

I would like to have a pocket approximately the dimensions of a smartphone, and wouldn't put anything heavier than the smartphone (and maybe one car key) in it. There's no liner, just one layer of fabric (spandex) with a hem at the side of the legs. The waistband is a separate piece sewn on top, not a fold-and-sewn waistband.

You could sew a passepoil pocket (I don't know if there is a more common way to call it in English), and maybe use a zipper to close it. If there is a seam at the side, you might want to use that as the location for the pocket.
Anyways, for instructions (in Dutch, but with a lot of pictures) you can check http://fromfabrictofashion.nl/diy-de-paspelzak/ . If anybody knows an English site, please feel free to edit!
Basically it's about sewing a rectangle to the right side of the fabric, then cut through both layers of fabric, and pull the rectangle through the hole. You can attach the pocket to that rectangle. Or, if you make the rectangle large enough, that could already be the pocket.


How to make stitches invisible I'm working on a DIY kit of a plush doll. This is the first time I'm sewing. Per instructions, I'm using a back stitch to sew together two fleece pieces.
The problem is that the stitches are visible from the outside, and I think they should be invisible.
Did I sew it in a wrong way? Or is there something else I should have done?

Here is how it looks from the inside:

And from the outside:

(Click on images to enlarge)

You get the least visibility when you use the same colour of yarn as your fabric.
But as a beginner, it will be easier when the yarn stands out from the fabric, which does make for the stitches to be seen a bit.

I guess the blue line in the picture is the line to sew on, if so, sew on that line and not near it. The better the stitches are in one line, the less visible they will be in the end.

Also remember to keep the stitching tight, not drawing the fabric together but many smallish stitches where the yarn is flat on the fabric, so that when you look between the layers of the fabric, the fabric will be close together and there is no space for it to move.


Is pigment necessary to obtain white milk paint? I wanted to do some homemade white milk paint. I followed the instructions given by this website. I may have been very naive but I thought to myself that since I only needed a "whitewash" version of milk paint, then I did not need to add pigment to the recipe. Therefore I only used hydrated lime. The obtained "paint" definitely looks like in the tutorial (white version).

But when I applied it on the surface of some clean pine plywood, instead of successfully painting it white, the wood took some strange dark tone (see picture). Now, the thing is that the surface definitely looks like it was painted, not white though. So the idea seems to at least, well, work somehow... Is a pigment really necessary to obtain white milk paint? If so, which one would work?

Yes, pigment is necessary. The milk solution creates the binder for the pigment, which is basically the mechanism to deliver the pigment to the support/surface, but it is then intended to mostly evaporate during the drying phase, leaving the pigment behind. What you're seeing now is, basically, an almost transparent darkening of the wood surface which is the remnants of the binder material.

You should be able to find dry pigment online. You're looking for, in this case, titanium white which is PW6 and it's generally available. I'm not going to give free advertising, but if you Google "titanium white dry pigment" then you'll find sources very quickly. :)


How to apply acrylic gesso on paper? I want to create an oil painting on paper and I have already made the underdrawing.  Now I want to gesso the paper to make it suitable for applying oil paint. On the description of my clear acrylic gesso it says to thin with water before appplying to an absorbent surface.

Is paper considered absorbent?

If yes, what should be the ratio of gesso to water?

Lastly, what is the highest amount of water I can add to acrylic gesso and still obtain a surface suitable for painting with oil colors?

The absorbancy of paper is dependent on its weight.
For painting purposes, I suggest to use paper with a minimum weight of around 300 gsm (or g/m2) and up.

The ratio of water to gesso is more a personal preference, since you will want to tape the paper to a flat surface.
The proportion of water determines the coverage and texture. Since you want to use oil paints, this ground should not be too thin (usually, I don't thin the gesso down at all, but this is naturally dependent on the brand and type), but you can apply the gesso in multiple thinner layers, or one thicker one, if, for example, you would like to imitate a canvas-like structure (applying the gesso in a thick vertical and horizontal layer).

As a rule of thumb, apply as much gesso as is needed to keep the paper from shining through: it's a ground layer, the oil paint should not be able to come into contact with the paper directly, as this will eventually cause problems of both aesthetic and conservatory nature (as the oil will be absorbed by the paper)!


How can I make charcoal? I googled it, but it didn't really convince me as websites aren't that trustworthy.
I wish to make my own charcoal.

Charcoal is organic matter (usually wood) that has been partially burned in a low-oxygen environment. To make it, you take wood, exclude air, and apply heat.
How to make charcoal with a fire and a metal container packed full of wood pieces
Supply list:

small pieces of wood (eg willow or charcoal)
a metal container with a lid and vent hole(s)
an outdoor fire pit or grill
fire tongs
firewood and kindling
an ignition method (matches, a lighter, flint & steel & tinder, a car battery, fire drill & block, etc.)
the skill to start a fire using your chosen ignition method
a fire extinguisher or several gallons of water (in case the fire gets out of control)

Instructions:

Get a closeable metal container with no flammable parts (eg, an Altoid mints tin or a paint can). The container should close securely, but it needs a vent hole to allow gases to escape during the charring process. Poke an air hole in the lid if it doesn't have one.
Fill the container with pieces of wood. Pack them tightly together to minimize air space.
Get a good fire going. Put the container on the fire and surround it with hot coals or add logs around it so it will be surrounded by burning wood.
Maintain the fire while you wait. The wood will release wood gas as it chars, and the wood gas will catch fire as it comes out of the vent hole. You'll see a flame coming out of the vent hole(s) as if it was a gas stove. When that flame goes out, it means the charcoal is no longer releasing wood gas, which means it's done.

A very small container may take half an hour or less.
A large container such as a 55 gallon steel drum may take 6 or more hours.

Use tongs to pull the container out of the fire and put it on a heatproof surface, well away from anything flammable. Let it sit until completely cool before opening the container. Don't open the container while it's still hot or your charcoal will catch fire. If this happens, carefully try to put the lid back on to smother the fire. If you can't, now you have another small fire inside a metal container. Just let it burn, but stand by with your fire extinguisher or buckets of water to make sure this fire doesn't spread.

An even simpler method to make charcoal is just to have a wood fire. After the fire burns down, there will be some sticks or chunks of wood that didn't burn completely. The partially burned ends of those sticks will have a layer of charcoal. The charcoal may be covered with a layer of white or gray ash, which can easily be brushed or scraped off. Make sure the coals are completely cool all the way through before removing them from the fire, or you may have an unexpected fire in your art supply bag.
Common types of wood used for drawing charcoal are grapevine and willow. You can find more information about which materials make the good drawing charcoal here: Is coconut shell good to produce charcoal for drawing?
If you want a more detailed tutorial, there are lots of youtube tutorials about how to make charcoal. Here are just a few using different types of containers: paint cans; primitive method using a dirt mount; homemade kiln made from a 55 gallon steel drum.


Overlocker tension discs threading I have an Singer Overlock 14SH754 Sewing Machine but I'm not sure that my thread is routed correctly, as the tension seems off.

Can I confirm that the thread routes through the "tension discs" in-between the metal discs, and not between the plastic dial and metal disc?

Overlock machines (aka sergers) can be very fickle depending on the fabric that you are using. It is a must to have your manual near by and scraps of fabric to sample before starting your project. Especially since a serger will cut the fabric edges when the knife is in place.

Your manual will give you alternate settings and tips for the tension knobs that you show in your picture as well as the feed dog tension. You can also play with the tension to make the serged edges ruffle, especially with knits.

ALSO, be careful with knits! They can really mess up a machine - don't pull or push the fabric in, always let the feed dogs take the knit material.


Is there a name for sand-clay mixture? Is there a name for the mixture you get upon mixing sand and clay together? As from what I believe, you use something like it in sand casting.

The clay-sand mixture used in casting is known as green sand, foundry sand, or molding sand.

  Green sand is an aggregate of sand, bentonite clay, pulverized coal and water. Its principal use is in making molds for metal casting.
  via Wikipedia

Different proportions of sand, clay, and other compounds result in slightly different properties, but green sand can be packed tightly to hold its shape and therefore not move when molten metal is poured into a mold.

A walkthrough of the sand casting process can be found at Foundry 101: Step-by-Step Sand Casting Instructions.


How do you bond clear acrylic to wood? I am trying to glue a piece of clear acrylic 2mm thick to a piece of plywood that is 5mm thick. They are both 76mm by 50mm and rectangular in shape. They have some cutouts in the middle. It's supposed to be a keychain.

Both are laser cut pieces, if that is important. They are cut exactly the same but I am sandwiching them together for aesthetics.

What adhesives can I use that will cure optically clear, i.e. does not discolor or remain noticeable in the acrylic-wood sandwich? Cheap and quick curing options would be great but I understand you can't have the best of them all.

Consider a clear-drying epoxy. Note that not all epoxies are equal. In a general sense they can bond different materials together with ease.

Here is an earlier epoxy advertisement where they glued a car to a billboard with an epoxy resin.

  1983 a visual stunt presentation was set up to show the strength of Araldite by gluing a yellow Ford Cortina to a billboard on Cromwell Road, London, with the tagline "It also sticks handles to teapots".

You can usually get 2 part epoxies in a dual syringe form and they are very economical. Depending how often you do this you might want to try a smaller one first as the shelf life of the product varies once used.

  Cheap and quick curing options would be great but I understand you can't have the best of them all.

Only part about this that does not meet your requirements is that they have a longer curing time then something like a craft glue. Setting inside an hour but fully curing over several days is needed in some cases.

The resin and hardener are kept separately as liquids, hence the dual syringe. In larger applications they would be two separate containers. I would suggest not applying directly to your project from the syringe but onto a disposable piece of cardboard or similar. That way you can manually mix the liquids together (usually 1:1 ratio) to ensure an effective reaction. Then use an applicator (craft sticks) to apply to the project.

You are going to want to clamp this down with decent pressure. There would be the issue of seepage while setting you need to be aware of. Depending on how intricate your cuts are the solution will come out of the wood acrylic sandwich. You want to try and wipe that off before  it sets. Epoxy resins dry really hard so if you have to cut part of it off it will no longer show clear on the cut. You can polish the edges once it cures with extra fine sand paper and / or a polishing compound.

A long term issue is that set epoxies can yellow over time because of UV radiation. That is likely a moot point as you are making a key chain.


How to stop or reduce graphite from reflecting light? Drawings drawn with graphite shine a lot under even a little light. The paper needs to be held at certain angle for proper viewing. Anyway to reduce or stop this?

Spray fixative should make the drawing more matte as well as protecting it.

You could also try a layer of acrylic matte medium, sprayed or brushed, but that would be a little more involved and riskier to the original work if it cannot handle the wet medium.

Either way do some test pieces before trying on the finished work.

I also would recommend drawing with a softer lead for dark areas, it will require less working and less material to get the tone you want, which means less buildup and less gloss.


How to print the cover of an eBook for binding? I want to bind (or have bound) my own eBooks and I don't know how to print the designed covers (with a cover size of B4 paper). I want to replicate the kind of cover used by Amazon for paperback books like this.  I am trying to identify the cover material and printing process they use.
For example, what type and specification of the paper, how it is printed, and any post-printing production steps, like coating or lamination.

Finally I find some information. In this YouTube video, the  paper they're printing cover on is 28lb bond and then they're single-side laminating each cover with 1.2mil gloss lamination. "Thicker sheets are harder to fold and manipulate so a thinner sheet and lamination are ideal for these type of covers."
The main hard cover they are using is a pre-prepared hard cover that is itself one-side sticky and need not to any adhesive material.


How to cut a small cylinder out of a chunk of foam with some precision I have a parallelogram shaped chunk of foam, the kind of foam you find in headphone ear pads. Let's say it's 50mm long on both sides and 5mm thick.

What is the best way to cut 5mm long, 2mm diameter cylinders out of this parallelogram chunk? I need to do it with reasonable precision. I have no special tools but can buy something indicated for this task.

The only thing I can think of would be something like a fruit corer but on a much smaller scale...

I dont know if any such thing exists, though.

I would try to use one of the leather hole punchers in the right size. They come in different shapes, for your use I would look for the straight version. Like in this picture.
There is also a wider version, which can work well.
And if your hole is small enough and near enough the side of the foam, a pliers like tool (as in the picture on this page) may work. The page describes the other shapes as well.

And there is also something called a cork borer, which I have never seen in real life, which looks like it should work.

Those of the tools that do not have a base to them works best when you put a layer under your work, I learned that the end-grain of wood work well but a modern cutting mat may do as well, certainly when you only use hand power and not a hammer to push it through.


How to cut gift cards in order to make a mosaic? I have a box of ~1000 (void) gift cards of various colors from my old job because I expressed interest in making a mosaic from the colorful plastic bits.

My question is: how to cut them? I've tried:

Kitchen Shears: the dull edge is perfect for a plant stem, but it just chews up the tough plastic. It even gets a little opaque white where the cut stresses the material, which ruins the color.
Paper Cutter: good for one precise cut at a time. Takes a long time and dulls the blade rather quickly (and I don't know how to sharpen it).
Paper shredder with credit card attachment: Starts off pretty good, but the blades visibly dulled after a dozen and only cuts in one direction, which necessitates another method anyway.

Is there some kind of specialty cutter for plastic I could co-opt for my project?

I have always found one of the appeals of mosaic to be creating non-uniform / random shapes for your art. Both of these options can help capture that.

Score the card

If you score one surface of the card, with something like a craft knife, you should be able to make it snap along the score line. In general straighter will be easier to snap off. By all means, you can do curve but if they are too extreme or change directions you will have a tougher time removing them.

Not sure if this will be faster than what you are already doing.

Freeze the card

I know that freezing the card and making it brittle will make it so that you can hit it and it should shatter into easy random shapes. I am not sure if a conventional freezer will get the card cold enough.

I just tried it with my old health card and it did work rather well. It snapped in my hands. However, I handled it too much so it warmed up and started to bend more than break. I would try keeping in the freezer longer. After some time, wrap it in a cloth and quickly hit it again on a hard surface.

One method to expedite this process would be to wrap the cards inside wet paper towel. Once the water on the towel freezes it should make it easier to process. Again, not sure if this is worth the effort or not.


How toxic is baking polymer clay? I am considering starting to make beads with polymer clay; and would like to be able to bake it with out a new oven.

So anyhow, what (if any) health risks would there be from baking polymer clay in the same oven that I bake food in?

I am not an expert on this subject, by any means, but I can share the information that is available so that you can at least make a more informed decision yourself. Polymer clay, just like most other materials and chemicals, comes with an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet). This sheet lists all the potential hazards and risks when using the material. All the different types of polymer clay will have their own; however, they are basically very similar. The principal risk associated with polymer clay is that it can release hazardous fumes if it is overheated (hydrogen chloride vapor is one of the vapors). These vapors are irritants and should be avoided. Mainly, you need to make sure you do not overbake or burn the clays. The clay itself is considered non-toxic.

You can see for yourself an example of the information provided in the MSDS for Kato polymer clay  at: Kato Polymer Clay MSDS.

There is an excellent article at The Artful Crafter, about the safety of polymer clays that addresses the use of kitchen ovens for curing polymer clay and can be accessed at The Artful Crafter - Polymer Clay Safety Tips. This article states that it is safe to use your kitchen oven to bake polymer clay and discusses some precautions if you are a heavy user of polymer clay. There are other similar articles on the web.

My clay oven is quite small so I have used my own kitchen oven on several occasions with no ill effects.


Differences between 'soft' and 'light' charcoal pencils Is the charcoal that's branded with 'soft' the same as the one that's branded with 'light'? Are there any differences between them?

The characteristics between soft charcoal pencil and light charcoal pencil are different. Soft charcoal pencil is darker than medium and hard charcoal pencil, it is a black color.
It's easy to crush, and the first time I used it, it became very short in one day. 'Light' charcoal have two meanings:

Light can mean hard, as 'light, medium, dark' corresponds with 'hard, medium, soft':
Light = Hard charcoal pencil.
Dark = Soft charcoal pencil.
Light can refer to the white charcoal pencil in some brands, used to draw lighter areas.

Ignore the second meaning when the brand states "Light, Medium, Dark" - it means the same as HB to 4B, giving good results from light to dark.
When the brand states "Soft, Medium, Hard" (as for example Han Zi, a Chinese brand, does), there is hardly a difference between the light to dark results.
But soft charcoal pencils give nice results in drawing, too. Using my soft charcoal pencil results in the center of it being darker than the edges, giving a Photoshop-like blur brush effect.


How long should I wait for watercolor pan activation? Just got a Winsor & Newton watercolor set, i made a color table to test the colors. I spay the color with water as i do with schmincke ( horadam ) pans but when I tested the color was all so light, kind of the difference between student and professional color, so i double check the paper of the pans and it say Professional.

Do new pans need a lot of time before first activation?

After you add water to the pans you should agitate it a bit with the brush to get more color into suspension. There is no time delay, it is just a matter of how much pigment gets mixed with the water before you apply it to paper.


What wire other than 1.6 mm stainless will work for chain mail? I've been making butted maille out if 1.6mm stainless steel wire. Cutting the rings myself. This stuff is strong and heavy! It looks and feels great! The wire is a little pricey at 11quid per 30ms. I was still curious to hear what other materials people were using. What other gauges of wire ect. I've heard that weaker steel can stretch at the crown or on the shoulders and I'd like to avoid that.

I made a butted link hauberk some years ago out of galvanized steel wire (the stuff I got was used in repairing fences - 20 gauge).  Not as shiny as other materials but I felt it was more authentic looking.  It is fairly easy to form and cut.  The mandrel I used to form the links was 3/8" diameter.

When completed there were some 40,000 links in it and it weighs around 40 pounds.  I wore it over a gambeson I also made.  The hauberk comes to about the groin (worn with a belt to adjust the weight somewhat) and to a few inches above  the elbow (I'm 5'10").

I wore it numerous times to SCA type events and reenactments but never did much mock combat with it.  I never had an issue with links stretching or popping out.


What type of glue to stick paper on paper without curling? I want to make super thick invitation cards. When I use white glue, it looks great for a day but then it starts curling.

Any idea what I can use ?

Glue stick doesn’t curl paper. You have to be careful what brand you chose, though (some just don’t stick well). Of the ones I know UHU stic would be a good choice – it’s quite strong.


Painting from reference - use image as base or start from scratch? I want to create a painting in acrylic using the pencil drawing attached as reference.
Is this a good idea, or is it better to start painting in the drawing to improve my skill?

And how would I start painting it in with acrylic paint?

I would personally paint it separately from the original drawing, for a few reasons:

I find that if I paint over pencil using acrylics, either the pencil lines become completely obscured by the paint such that I can no longer see fine details (such as shading), or for thinner/lighter colored paints (such as yellow), the graphite mixes in with the paint and muddles it.
Plus, you may want to paint on a surface that is more suitable for painting on than drawing paper, such as heavier-weight paper (mixed media or watercolor paper), canvas board, canvas, etc.
This would also allow you to keep your reference image separate from the painting, in case you change your mind with how you decide to paint the image.

What I would recommend doing is to very lightly draw just the general outlines of the image onto another paper/canvas/board for painting. If you have a kneaded eraser, it would work really well for lifting some of the excess graphite so that it leaves just the slightest trace of the line behind. (If not, use a good eraser to very gently remove some of the graphite, without smudging.) Then begin painting in the medium shades, then shadows, small details, and highlights.

Hope this helps! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.


How to use a protractor if you can't see what you are measuring? I have this protractor:

It seems to be the same or similar as this one: Robinson 5001# Stainless Steel Protractor
RBS-R-5001 but there are no instructions there.
The main problem with this protractor is that the 'origin' swivel point can't be accurately placed over the object you are trying to measure because you can't see where it is. For instance if you put it over a paper image of a triangle to measure an interior angle you can line up the tip of the protractor (small detent) but not the swivel point.
Also I don't see how you could use this e.g. to measure the interior angle of a real object as you would with a bevel gauge. So it does seem intended to be used for flat measurements, I just can't see how.

The angle between the ruler part and the the semicircular part is the same as the angle indicated on the scale.  This is because the centreline of the ruler is parallel to its edge.
In more detail:

Image from Wikimedia Commons user Krishnavedala
Consider line a to be the top edge of the ruler in the picture and line b the centreline.  Line t, the transversal, is the base of the semicircle.  The top right θ where a and t meet is the angle you want to measure.  The bottom left θ is the angle the pointer makes with the semicircle.
This is a useful protractor for setting an angle or measuring a physical object with some thickness. For work purely on paper I'd prefer the clear plastic sort, marking in pencil and then using a steel rule for cutting if necessary.
Say you want to measure the interior angle of the parallelogram shown in freehand blue in this picture (imagine it drawn on paper under the ruler).

You align the protractor as shown, so the edges highlighted in thin red  run along the lines you're interested in.  Then the other angle in red is what you read off.  This is a copy of the first red angle, rotated and enlarged (hence thicker), but not distorted.  You can see that this runs through the pivot and point to the pointer, aligned with its groove.


Why are there air bubbles in my tubes of watercolor paint? I'm opening new paint tubes for watercolors, and about 50% of the time, the paint starts gushing out slowly. I then hear a few pops. This would be okay if it only happens once when I open the bottle. I opened the black paint tube yesterday, no gushing whatsoever. Today I open it, and the entire inside of the lid and screw threads on the tube are completely submerged in black paint, and there's a worm of paint slowly making its way out.
Why does this happen, and is there any way to prevent or stop it?

Initially, the gushing of the paint is due to the small amount of water that generally is part of the product's formula. This quote from handprint.com explains the reason and effect:

Paints are manufactured with excess water in the vehicle, as this reduces the viscosity of the vehicle and decreases the amount of time (labor) and electrical energy necessary to mill the paint. This water mostly lost through evaporation during milling, but also after milling when the paint is left to sit and age or stabilize. Some pigments or fillers absorb water very slowly, causing them to expand: these are the paints that "explode" or squirt from the tube when it is first opened, because they were not aged adequately before packaging.

The amount of water involved varies from pigment to pigment (some need more grinding or more aging), and brand to brand (due to production techniques).
I would ascribe the air bubbles to an unsophisticated production process, though, in which the tube is not completely filled or improperly sealed.
Oxygen could have formed due to ongoing chemical processes inside the tube, but that should also have been considered before packaging.
As for subsequent - and erratic - eruptions, apart from pressing the tube by hand when opening it, which can be avoided, I think this can only be ascribed to changes in atmospheric conditions: temperature or air pressure, of which the first seems the most likely culprit: a rise in temperature would increase the pressure inside the tube.
To be thorough: I don't suppose the tube was stored somewhere where something could have been (temporarily) put on top of it, or where someone could have 'played' with it? That would make for an obvious cause as well :)
Bottom line: always open tubes above your palette so whatever comes out can be used.


How to Create a Perforated Piezoelectric Disc (aka atomizer)? I'm wanting to create a perforated piezoelectric disc for use in creating a solid state aeroponic mister. The water droplets, and thereby the holes, can only range in size from 5-50 micron in order for the plants to efficiently absorb the nutrients.
I've attempted to puncture holes by hand using tiny needles in the past but since the discs are extremely fragile my attempts were never successful. I noticed this 0.03mm (aka 30 micron) drillbit set on Amazon and I was wondering if I were to use a drill press with this bit if I would be able to perforate the disc without it shattering? Has anyone else tried this or would you happen to have a better solution?
Drill bit set: https://amzn.to/3tH9uDb
Commercially perforated disc: https://amzn.to/3esbMQb
While I can purchase commercially fabricated discs I want to have the ability to create a disc of any shape and size myself which is why I'm looking to pursue the DIY route. I know this is probably more technical than most questions posted here and I apologize for that. Since there isn't a community for material science or machining here this was the closest thing I was able to find. Any help would be deeply appreciated. Thank you :)

This has all the markings of an Engineering SE question.
According to a number of websites, American Piezo included, the commercially produced product is composed of various materials, but include a ceramic/crystalline component.

A traditional piezoelectric ceramic is a mass of perovskite ceramic
crystals, each consisting of a small, tetravalent metal ion, usually
titanium or zirconium, in a lattice of larger, divalent metal ions,
usually lead or barium, and O2- ions.

One can expect the ceramic/crystalline component is what contributes to the brittle characteristic of the material. Traditional cutting tools are likely to create as much damage as the attempt to puncture created.
A carefully controlled water jet may be able to create a hole, but the size is not likely to be as small as you desire. According to Accurate Water Jet, you can get holes in 3 mm material as small as 500 microns but the diameter is not going to be consistent. The process involves forcing high pressure water with abrasive directly at the surface, which results in spray back along with a sideways vector, abrading the upper portion of the hole. The size is outside of your requirements, which makes this an exercise in futility.
Abrasion applied by a rotating object may be a solution. I've read of glass being cut by copper tubing. The tubing is placed in a drill press, a dam of modeling clay constructed around the desired area and water with abrasive poured into the dam. Light pressure and repeated lifting allows fresh abrasive along with cooling. It's not fast, but broken glass is akin to broken ceramic piezo disks.
About the best DIY method you can try would be similar. Buy the tiny bits, but grind the tip flat. Build a dam, load it with jewelers rouge in water suspension and dab away. If you are using an ordinary drill press, consider that the run-out for such a machine may exceed the diameter of the bit. This will result in a larger hole and/or destruction of the bit.
How to determine amount of pressure? Use my favorite method for tightening a screw: apply torque until it snaps, then back off a quarter of a turn. Seriously, too little force will get you farther than too much, for obvious reasons. You aren't trying to force the bit through the ceramic. You're trying to apply the rouge to the disk while it spins.
High speed means higher heat, so a moderate rpm is indicated, along with the light pressure.
In response to OP comment:
I own a CO2 laser and for some reason neglected to consider that as an option. I can create a hole in plywood approximately 0.110 mm, which is still larger than your requirement. I can create similar holes in glass which has properties similar to ceramic and vice versa. Returning from a test moments ago, I've discovered the laser will create coning in a manner similar to that expected of a water jet. The laser creates microscopic fracturing caused by the heat of the laser being absorbed by the glass. In a pane of ordinary window glass, the upper surface was approximately 1.50 mm in diameter when the laser reached the lower surface. The hole in the lower surface was 0.50 mm in diameter.
Diode lasers, which have a lower cost than CO2 lasers will not impact glass due to the different frequency of the beam. The focused beam of a diode laser is rarely a circle or square shape and would not provide a suitable hole either way.


What style of art is this? This art style is very reminiscent of old cartoons. Could you tell me if it has a name? I've become very interested in it.

The style of 20s-30s cartoons is called Inkblot (see http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InkblotCartoonStyle for more details), maybe this could help in your research.

The two images you posted have both an Inkblot feel, but they are more "graphical", in a sense of being more graphic illustrations. Probably they're also both vector illustrations, which gaves them the feel of being like "plastic". These are more personal observations, of course, but they might help you.


How can I effectively remove the coating from woodless colored pencils? I have some woodless colored pencils (Art Stix) and they have a waxy coating around them. This makes them hard to start using and to use them on their side like you would pastels.

For my woodless pencils, I can use a utility knife and shave it off. But the colored pencil sticks are too thin and lead to breaking, especially since some of them have started to bend.

How can I remove this protective coating without breaking or wasting my woodless colored pencils?

I wish I could test this personally but I do not have those pencils. Have you tried plastic or steel wire brushes?

Image from Amazon

The steel(metal in general) ones might remove too much material. This could largely depend on technique. So the plastic one might be effective but so much as to remove too much material. You can keep the pencil on the "table" and run the brush up and down the length. Then rotate to get to the other side.

I would have suggested sandpaper or fine steel wool (#0000) but that requires more handling that risks breaking.

The way you could make that work though is to take a piece of wood and cut it so that there is a channel that would perfectly fit the contour of the pencil. Also have to be short enough so that you can hold the pencil at each end.

If you were to glue some fine sandpaper to this block you can then work the pencil inside it.


Fountain pen tip use for dip pen? Can I use a fountain pen tip as a dip pen? It's for writing it in general. I do not own a dip pen yet, I have water based ink to use.

No. As there is no place for the fountain pen tip to hold a reservoir of ink through dipping.

A dip pen has a slight concave curvature. This curvature helps to hold, with the help of the surface tension of the ink, a small supply of ink on the backside of the nib.

As you draw the dip pen across the surface of the paper the tip of the pen deposits a small amount of ink onto the surface of the paper. The surface tension of the ink and gravity pull more ink from the supply as the pen is dragged along the surface of the paper.

With the fountain pen there is usually a plastic tunnel at the rear of the pen nib which is the tube through which ink in the storage cartridge is supplied to the pen tip. There is no room for the fountain pen tip to stored any usable amount of ink. Dipping the fountain pen into a pot of ink will cause a glob of ink to form at the tip.

If you really really want to try it then have a cloth handy. After dipping the fountain pen into the ink pot wipe the convex surface of the fountain pen tip after dipping. The nib will have a bead of ink on it. And you want to get rid of this bead before touching the tip to the surface of your paper. After wipping the drip away. There will be a small amount of ink that will remain on the exposed concave surface at the back of the pen. All depends on how far the plastic tunnel covers the back of your fountain pen nib. It will be a small supply of ink but maybe it will be enough for you to try. You will have to dip and wipe often as the ink will run out quickly.


Replicating a silicone object There are lots of articles and how-to guides on the web showing how to replicate a plastic, wood, or metal object by making a silicone mold and using a hard acrylic or epoxy resin to create the object.

I have the opposite problem.  I want to replicate an object that itself is made of silicone.  My current plan is to try to create an acrylic mold of the original silicone piece, and then to use the acrylic mold to cast silicone.  Is there any other way to go about this that would make sense to someone with more knowledge than I have?

Warmly,
Eric

I agree with #torjek that a separator (mold-release) spray or liquid would make it possible to caste a silicone object with silicone as the mold making material.  The benefit of getting good at this technique is that you could then caste replacement silicone earplugs using the mold which you just made out of silicone.

If you need more protection for your original, you could probably cover the original with tin foil, using embossing tools to smooth the foil into all the nooks and crannies, and maybe some modelling clay to smooth out the foil seams. Once the original was completely protected within its foil armor, it could be caste as normal.

You might also want to search the term "silicone on silicone casting" on youtube. There seem to be a few mold release products which can handle that requirement. Not sure that any of them are safe for your expensive original.

Have you considered self-hardening clay for the first mold?


Can I patch up a straw hat? I have an old straw hat that suits me really well. However, after years of use the front of the crown is worn out. It's a little hard to see in the photo below, but a hole has developed that I could fit my finger through. Is there some way in which a worn out part of a straw hat can be repaired or patched up, or is this a lost cause?

It would be preferable to restore the original appearance if possible, but I'd be OK with anything that looks neat. (I previously tried stitching it up with straw-coloured string, but the stitches needed to be quite big and I couldn't get them even, so it didn't look good at all.)

Your hat has a very open structure, so, to fix a hole invisibly is hard/impossible, as you need to weave in material where it's missing, but then you got a double amount of material at the edge of the hole.
However, since you 'just' want to make it look nice, you could

reweave the hat (with either straw, wool, or any other material of thead) about as thick as the original material. It's obviously a lot of work and you loose the open structure. But you don't have to reweave the complete hat, you could skip the rim, or any other parts without holes.
Stitch/embroider a ribbon along the edge of the crown, using whip stitch (If you don't know this stitch, see https://nl.ifixit.com/Guide/How+to+Sew+a+Whip+Stitch/21025) Make the stitches large, and be sure to cover the hole with the ribbon.
Stick a flower in the hole, and attach it in a creative way. :-)


Acrylic paint on wood: how to make it "glow" after the painting is already done My cousin has already used acrylic paint on wood to produce paintings such as these:

But his paintings are not "glowing", i.e. they don't have bright colors. He asked me how to make them bright after the painting is done.
So, my cousin is looking for solutions such as these:

Some type of spray which might make the paints bright and "pop".
Some kind of homemade solution to apply to paintings to achieve that effect.
... ?

A bright "glowing" sample is provided by my cousin below:

I think it's hard to judge the real difference between the paintings your nephew made and the example of the goal he has in mind: the first are taken in what seems a yellowish light, while the second is colour corrected (at least, it seems to have a proper white balance set) and taken in bright light.
Assuming both the eyes of the giraffe and the fur on the hat of the bird are white in reality, this reproduction comes closer to what the artworks look like:

The visual change this inflicts notwithstanding, there are a few remedies to make the colours in the paintings brighter (assuming no coat has been applied afterwards, since that potentially influences the solutions and makes them dependent on the nature of the coating; if this is the case, let me know, and I can update my answer):
Retouch

It's easiest to retouch or repaint (parts of) the paintings.
The saturation of the current hues may have suffered from dilution or mixing with other hues.
Use pure, unmixed paints, and apply them undiluted on top of the existing colours.
The yellow of the bird, for example, seems to be a desaturated or earthy yellow, or a yellow ochre. If a brighter hue is desired, apply an unmixed pure yellow over it.

Glazing

Alternatively, mix a (semi-)transparent colour using clear, unspoiled water and use it to give depth to the existing colours.
This technique is especially wonderful with oil paints (mixed with oil instead of water, naturally) as it gives very rich colours and depth to paintings, but with acrylics it also works quite well. You can even glaze your acrylic paintings with oil paints as well, for additional control and colour richness. For this to work the paints must have dried completely, so as not to spoil them by mixing with the existing layer.
As an example, you can use a diluted or translucent pure red (e.g. madder lake) to glaze the existing red of the Christmas hat.

Use neon colours

Use the aforementioned neon colours to really saturate some of the colours. The range of neon colours is limited, but you can use them to make some of the existing colours, like the yellow of the bird, really pop.

Other answers point out the role the support plays in the saturation of colours. Wood, especially dried, porous, and/or unprepared, may indeed absorb part of the paint or water in acrylics. Apart from their colours becoming brighter, this is another good reason to use undiluted acrylics, as they will effectively form a plastic layer on top of the support. It then functions similar to acrylic gesso, a property on which some of the solutions offered here are based.


Why do my 0.5 mm pencil leads shatter? I have a rOtring Rapid PRO 0.5 and I have bought Faber-Castell Super-Polymer 0.5 mm B leads online which arrived in the post and seem to be fine. I load a couple into my rOtring but each time I click, it seems to break the lead and a little piece about 1–2 mm long just falls out. This makes the pen unusable. Is it the leads or the pencil which causes the breakage?

It's unusual for the problem to be the pencil unless it's been damaged, like by dropping it on the tip.  The most common issues are remnants of old leads being pushed out by the new lead, a jam, or defective leads.
Start by releasing and dumping all of the leads and lightly tapping the back end of the pencil on a hard surface to encourage any lead fragments to fall out.
I'm not sure about rOtring, but many 0.5 mm pencils come with a cleaning wire (often stuck into the backside of the eraser).  If it didn't come with one, find a thin straight pin or piece of stiff wire thin enough to fit into the tip.  While depressing the feed actuator all the way to open the feeding collet, slide the cleaning wire through the tip to dislodge any lead remnants that might be stuck, inserting it far enough to go all the way through the tip and feed mechanism.
If you don't have anything to use as a cleaning wire, disassemble the pencil all the way to the feed components.  Inspect everything to ensure there aren't lead bits stuck in anything, or lead dust packed somewhere.  Then reassemble it.
Take a good lead and carefully insert it through the tip while fully depressing the feed button to open the feed mechanism.  Push the lead all the way in so only a normal amount of lead is exposed, then release the feed button.  Work the feed button a few times to verify that the lead feeds without breaking.
If it works, you're done and can load in some extra leads.  Don't overload the pencil with too many extra leads, though.  The spare leads need room to move in order to load when you finish the previous one.
If the lead breaks when you try feeding it, try again loading a harder lead.  If that feeds without breaking, the problem is the leads.  It could be a bad batch.  If the hard lead also breaks, that would point to the pencil being damaged.


Thermochromic material for low temperature? Is there any kind of thermochromic material and/or paint that is capable of changing its color in the range from 4-8°C (39-46°F)? I'm trying to paint a glass bottle and want a visual aid for its temperature.

I found a supplier of raw thermochromic pigment active in the temperature range you are looking for. But to make it into paint you would have to add binder yourself.

Company is called Shenzhen Yu Mingjie Pigments Co., Ltd.

Has different thermochromic pigments active in the ranges -5C to 78C

Be sure to specify the temperature range you are interested in.


How can I make molded fake dirt? I'm planning to sell small pots and as part of my display I'd like to "plant" fake plants in some of them. I'd like it to look as real as possible, so my goal is to have the plant "growing" out of a solid block of what looks like soil. I'd like to be able to grab the plant and lift it out along with the attached soil bottom then plunk the whole thing into a new pot as I sell them.

I'm not sure exactly how to make the dirt bulb for the plant. I was thinking of molding it by pouring something granular (granulated + dyed cork maybe?) and glue or resin into a sacrificial Tupperware of similar size to my pots, sticking the plant in and letting it dry. The only thing I'm worried about is making sure the whole things stays in shape without crumbling once it's out of the Tupperware. Any suggestions on fake dirt materials and/or glues to use?

Why not use real dirt?
You can buy (or find) potting soil quite easily, which is relatively 'clean'.

An alternative is coffee grounds. To make it as dark as regular soil, you can add a little black ink to it and mix it with water.

In both cases it's best to let it dry first, then mix it with the resin or (maybe slightly watered down) glue inside a Tupperware container or a paper cup, which is both easier to cut away and less wasteful.

The resin or glue has to be waterproof (in case the plant accidentally gets watered), transparent (to let the (fake) dirt steal the show), hard curing (to keep everything properly in place), and preferably matte drying (since glossy dirt will look unrealistically wet or muddy).
Many resins and glues can be used for this - even wood glue, for example, will work fine. Visit your nearest hardware store, and look around or ask someone.


How to glue a map onto a globe? I'm making a globe of Mars. I've obtained a "sliced" map of Mars that I will print. Then I'll need to cut the slices and glue them onto the globe of Earth.

The slices won't align perfectly; I can pinch or stretch each a little bit (they do have a bit of overlap) but I don't want to have the last connection off by too much - and my errors will accumulate if I just progress around the globe. How can I avoid it? A glue that allows sliding them around? Some kind of 'hint grid' for pasting them?
They are still somewhat wide; won't align with the spherical surface perfectly. A hint to make the paper more stretchy, or some other medium than paper? or some other tricks to avoid wrinkling along the edges?
How to finish it? Protect the print from dust and environment. Some kind of lacquer?

I hope the surface that you're sticking them on, is smooth and not absorbing all the glue.
In that case, I'd do it the same way as applying wallpaper.
- paper that is wet, is a bit stretchy, so it can follow the curves a bit.
- wallpaper glue doesn't 'set' immediately, you can still move the pieces around for a while, this allows for better manipulation.
- where parts of the map overlap, you could glue them overlapping, take a very sharp knife and cut through the two layers of paper. Be sure not to cut through the surface underneath (though a shallow scratch should not be a problem).


What important tools does a small tailoring outfit need? Please note: this question is intended to give me some ideas so I can start formulating a surprise gift for my wife. The obvious answer here might be: "Just ask her!" but that defeats the purpose of what I'm trying to do.

My wife has started a small sewing business this year, even going so far as to launch a site on Etsy and having some pretty formidable success with it! To support her I'd like to try and get her a decent "professional tailor start kit" for lack of a better term, and I'm not sure what would be included in such a custom kit.
She has a decent Kenmore sewing machine, a fabric cutting tool (looks like a pizza cutter) and a "self-healing mat" that she uses for cutting a measuring.
Can any tailoring/sewing masters out there help clue me in as to what a decent tooling starter set would look like for someone with a small online/Etsy business (she does roughly 20 orders a week or small items)?

It sounds like she already has a basic "starter kit" for sewing. So, instead of getting her a comprehensive kit, I would try to focus on one or two high-quality items that would save her time, or make her work easier in some way. Here are a few suggestions.

An adjustable-size dress form. Make sure you get an adjustable one, because presumably her clients are not all the same size. The link I provided is for Singer, which is generally a good brand of sewing supplies although I haven't used their their dress forms. Here's a blog where they reviewed different brands.
A serger or overlocker - this is a machine that looks like a sewing machine, but instead of sewing a seam it trims and wraps the raw edge of fabric. It's a huge time saver compared to putting in a hem.
A set of multiple rotary fabric cutters in different sizes. This is the tool that looks like a pizza cutter that your wife already has, but she might appreciate having more than one. Or a new blade for the one she already has; they do get dull over time, and you don't even notice how dull your current blade is until you use a sharp one.
A cordless iron.
A set of thread in all the colors, so she doesn't have to buy new matching thread every time she starts a new project. Make sure it's good quality thread that flows smoothly and doesn't stick and get caught and make a giant snarl every 5 minutes.
An abundant supply of sewing machine needles. So many that she can switch needles whenever the old one gets dull without feeling at all guilty.
A better table, chair, or lighting for her workspace. This works best if it solves a problem that your wife has mentioned to you. If you want to install something in a way that will make dust, that probably shouldn't be something you surprise her with, but if you do make sure the sewing machine is back inside its case and fully covered. Ditto for any fabric storage cabinets.
More storage space. There is not, and never has been, enough space in the home of any sewer for all their fabric. I'm not just talking about buying her a new cabinet; I'm talking about clearing some junk out of somewhere in your home and saying, this space is now yours. And maybe put in a new cabinet or some shelves. This is the least expensive suggestion, but the most work for you. As an added bonus, when your wife sees you working on this, tell her you're clearing out the space for one of your hobbies (preferably one she finds annoying). She'll be extra pleased when she finds out it's actually for her.
A gift certificate for a tune-up for her sewing machine. It looks like Sears will do repairs on a Kenmore, but I couldn't tell if they also offer adjustment and cleaning. They have DIY manuals on their site, so you could study up and do the tune-up yourself. Be sure to use the right kind of lubricant and not just whatever you have lying around (tip: 3-in-1 oil is not good for sewing machines).

Whatever you get, make sure it's high quality. Do some research and find a brand that has a good reputation for both quality and customer service. Make sure they have a good replacement policy in case the item breaks at some point in the future. If you buy from someplace like Amazon or Ebay, check whether the manufacturer will still honor the replacement policy (ask me about the broken set of knitting needles for which I can't get a free replacement because the gifter bought them on Amazon instead of directly from the supplier).
Make sure she actually has space to use the item and space to store it. That might mean you need to get into her workspace and take some measurements.


What is the name of the palette that apprentice painters would use? I remember reading about a very limited palette of colors that apprentice painters would use in the 16th century ishly.  Apparently, it was made of readily available, cheap pigments, which is why an apprentice would use it.  However, lots of color was possible by intelligent mixing.  I can't think of its name and now any googling turns up nothing.

Do you remember if it was referring to a specific technique (such as oil painting) or pigments in general?

It could be the Velázquez palette*. This is a limited palette consisting of a blue, an ochre and a yellow pigment (with optional black) - for example ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and yellow sienna. With these pigments it's possible to mix a large number of hues (browns, greens, yellows, blues), enough for example to paint naturally looking landscapes. The lack of bright reds might be a limitation for some subjects, but I'd say you could made do if necessary.

I don't know whether these pigments were sold in sets, but at least both siennas should be really cheap, as it's basically a fancy clay.

The only other named palette I associate with apprentices would be Grisaille, which is a grey/sepia monochrome that was used for value studies and underpainting.

*The linked page is sort of broken; Handprint still uses frames so it's not possible to link to the page properly. Here's the whole palette page with sidebar.


Cone of vision in perspective drawing I have referred to most online resources to help myself understand the concept of cone of vision in perspective drawing and I am still confused and don't fully understand the concept.

Can someone help me understand the cone of vision?

I am no expert, but a simple Google search gave me a very clear answer. The cone of vision is the spatial volume seen by a (dimensionless) observer inside an angle of 60o.

To "calculate" the envelope (margin) of the cone, you "draw" all the lines originating at the observer and being at an angle of 30o away from the line of sight.

Everything outside this cone is considered "out-of-sight".

Notes:

For humans (and most living creatures possessing vision), there are two distinct cones of vision, one for each eye. The relative position of the two  cones varies greatly, depending on the relative position of the eyes (e.g., both eyes to the front, like humans, or eyes to the sides, lie fish). Eye movement leads to movement of the cone of vision.
For how to successfully use the concept of "cone of vision" in drawing, architecture or anything else, you need to get further knowledge on all these subjects.


How can I avoid smudging my pencil drawings? I'm very new at drawing. I'm not very good at pencil types yet, but it seems like whichever pencil I use (I have a set of 12 ranging from 6B to 5H), I end up with smudges.

Is there a way to reduce the number of smudges I make? Or should I resign myself to them and just try to not make really awful ones?

You can use an artist's bridge as well. It's basically a long metal ruler with either rubber feet at either end or a thin foam on the bottom. You can easily make your own out of a sturdy ruler as well. These are used by illustrators but could be useful to the fine artist as well. Here are some examples:

The bridge is great for horizontal work but for easel work you can take a page from Salvador Dali's playbook and use a mahl stick. A stick with a ball of leather or rubber is a mahl stick. For the right-hander, the stick is held in the left, the ball is placed at upper right, either on the work surface or edge of easel. Some artists use a leather thong or nail to secure. You now have a movable bridge to keep your hand off the work surface. I use a yardstick with a ball of rags and tape at one end. You can easily make different lengths based on the scale you work at. Side note: see John Cusack demonstrate the use of a mini mahl stick in "Being John Malkovich". Try a wooden dowel with a tennis ball or solid rubber ball at the end.

Also, there is the issue of oils on the hand. To battle this use thin cotton gloves to handle paper. You used to be able to get these at photo supply stores. Cut all fingers off but the pinky for drawing hand. Again, this really just depends on how much you care about preservation of the white of the paper. For illustrators this is huge.

I add the following for thoroughness and the OCD tendencies in some of us. Use frisket film to protect areas you want crisp and white. I've used this for charcoal and the effect is quite profound. Sharp crisp edges, perfect, immaculate whites contrasted with loose charcoal painting and drawing is almost magical. Tedious? yes ....worth it? I leave that as an exercise for the reader.

For simplicity and ease of use, the extra piece of paper suggestions are great. Just adding my 2 cents for completeness. May I just add that tracing paper is great for this due to its lack of tooth and slippery surface.


Should I stain wood then use acrylic or vice versa? I am creating a wooden gaming board and would like to stain the wood as well as paint an acrylic decoration on it. Can I stain the wood first, paint with acrylics, then put a sealer coat on it or will the acrylic not adhere to the wood due to the stain?

DeAngelis,
  In my personal experience, I have had the most success with this type of project by applying a water-based stain first, followed by the acrylics, and lastly the sealer coat.  You must ensure that the stain you are using is water-based, as opposed to oil-based in order for the acrylics to properly set and adhere. In your order of operations, definitely do the staining process first, before the acrylics, otherwise the stain will affect the color and appearance of the acrylics, just as it is doing to the wood itself.


How to draw duplicate items in perfect proportions and equidistant from each other in Mandala drawings? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala

I am not able to keep the proportion and the distance as desired if I simply pick up the pencil and start drawing the actual design.

How to draw duplicate items in perfect proportions and equidistant from each other in Mandala drawings as shown in the examples below?

I intend to draw by hand not through the computer.

You need to start with a sketch frame and fill it in from there. You're not going to be able to freehand draw it (without a ton of practice).

Start with a circle, decide how many radials you want (in your last example there are 16) and then sketch them in using a protractor to get them even.

I'd start with two perpendicular lines, then do the 45 degree lines (that makes 8) and then split those in half every 22.5 degrees... that gets you the 16. Keep splitting them further in half if you want the sections smaller.

So, with 16, you'll have something like this (you could probably actually just use this image and trace it or work on a light table):

From there, sketch in a ring everywhere you want a main point to be, say every inch (~2.5 cm). There's no need for them to be equally spaced, though. You can always start with a smaller design 4-6 inch diameter and then add to it later.

Here's an example:

Once you have the frame, fill in one of the wedges (or two/three if you want the full mirror effect).

Once the wedge is done, mirror it for the wedge next door. Use the rings to keep the placement. At this point, it's just the matter of filling everything in properly. If you do it correctly, you should have a perfect mandala at the end.

It's going to end up being similar to the process of duplicating a photograph or drawing using a grid pattern and filling in the grid rather than trying to draw it from scratch. Here's an example:


Old crochet terminology: "3 under 3 chain" I've recently come across a nice library of antique Irish crochet patterns at a site called APL. I'm having some trouble understanding their language (some of it seems to be different from what we use nowadays).

At this pattern, near the start of the leaf section it says the following:

  [...] a treble in each of 11 trebles, 3 under 3 chain, chain 6

I haven't found any modern resources that would explain what "3 under 3 chain" could mean. This "N  under X chain" pattern repeats later.

What would that be? Is there a modern equivalent of that stitch under modern terminology?

My hypotheses:

It means "yarn under thrice and chain 3", but that would lead to an accumulation of loops across the pattern (it's used multiple times and it never uses such loops)
It means "skip three stitches on the level below the current one", but that has been previously labelled as "miss 3".
It means "three trebles, but with yarn under", but that would ignore the "chain" part of the instruction and not really make any difference.

For context, here's what you get by following the pattern up until that point (with thicker yarn). "A treble in each of 11 trebles" is the last step executed.

After trying to work it our for a while, I gave up and redid the pattern.

With the new configuration, I've come to the conclusion it means "3 treble on the space left between the first 2 stitches (which are a 3-chain), then chain 6". This and the following 2 instructions yield this result, which looks like the top of the leaves pictured in the guide:


What medium should I use to make an initial design on paper for paper cutting? Referring to this kind of design: How to cut a tiny circle in paper?

I suppose first I will have to draw that design on paper then I will cut it. If I draw with a pencil, I guess pencil marks may show through the cuts.

After all I have to cut by holding the blade in my hand, I cannot expect machine level perfection soon.

What medium should I use to make an initial design on paper for paper cutting such that no marks are shown after I am done?

A use two different methods to accomplish this:

I will create a template piece out of a stiff piece of paper. This paper has my design drawn on it with pencil or whatever.

Then I cut out the design on that paper.
Once done, you lay the template over your final paper, and secure it with some type of clips. You want to make sure the template doesn't slip around.
Then, you cut out the design just as you would use a pencil with a stencil.
There's no need to create the entire design in your template piece. You can create small pieces, just as you would use a French curve, eraser shield, or stencil.

I simply draw the design in reverse on the back of the paper you're using, if it's meant to be viewed only from one side. Use a light pencil and make your cuts. The final product will not have the lines visible, as they're on the back.

Erasing marks afterwards has not been successful for me. It often leads to tearing of the paper, without erasing much.


Preparing Canvas to Prevent Yellowing Over Time? What coat can I apply on a gallery canvas (before painting on top of it) to prevent it from yellowing over time?  I'm planning to leave some parts of the canvas unpainted.

The quick fix is a sealer so the tannin or stain can't penetrate through. Stain blockers that are oil-based primer/paints, spray shellac, polyurethane, or even wax.


Restoring a poster print using watercolour I recently bought a large second hand poster-size print. It has some slight damage to the sides and a strange stain line across one side (see photos).
I would really like to restore it if possible. I suspect the background was painted with watercolours. I have some experience painting with watercolours and thought maybe I could paint the missing pieces of background as best I could on separate paper and then stick the paper onto the print. (I would try to get the new paper as level with the print as possible but I don't know how I would do that yet.)
Does anyone have any advice on whether this is a good plan?
Or has anyone done something similar and able to share tips that would help?

Click on images for larger versions

I don't have any pictures, but I once saw a "restored" print technique which amazed me.   The damaged painting was valuable, so the owner didn't want to modify it directly.  So he bought two appropriate sized frames and from their parts assembled a single frame with two sheets of protective glass.

Then with the painting behind a single sheet of glass, he painted his repairs on the glass.  I suppose that the medium was very forgiving because any mistakes could be wiped away before they dry and reattempted as often as needed to get them right.  Eventually, he had the look that he wanted.  He then waited for all the paint to thoroughly dry.

At which point, he took the painting and glass out of the frame.  Added the second sheet of glass in front of the painted one and reassembled his artwork.
In this way, the repairs on glass are themselves behind glass and the finished work is mostly indistinguishable from the original undamaged work.


Robust fabric for making a bag for a 3d printer I am making a bag for a 3D printer

The 3D printer is at least 10KG if not more so it has to be very strong fabric that won't rip apart under stress.
ideally abrasion resistant. Take some beating as the aluminum used on the printer has sharp edges
Completely and fully water proof
Easily machinable on your average consumer £100 sewing machine.

You may need to combine different materials to get all the qualities you're looking for. Here are some ideas:

Canvas and denim are strong, abrasion-resistant fabrics. Another option is ripstop nylon, which is manufactured to be strong, lightweight, and resist rips and tears. The weight of your fabric will determine how strong it is. For additional strength, make sure to reinforce your seams (and again at stress points).
For protection from sharp edges, consider a quilted lining, or leather (pleather, vinyl) sewn in corners or other stress points.
You can waterproof canvas-like fabrics by waxing, or buy already waxed canvas. You can also buy commercial waterproofing spray, typically sold in outdoor stores. Even with waterproof fabrics, you'll need to seal the seams after sewing to make sure it is fully waterproof.

Other waterproof fabrics include oilcloth and laminated cotton, but these are probably not sturdy enough on their own to carry a heavy device. Instead, you could consider sewing an inner case out of the sturdy fabric, and an outer waterproof case out of the oilcloth.
You could consider vinyl / PVC for this as well (personally, I think it'd be difficult to get a good seal on the corners, but I've never sewn with it)
Ripstop nylon is generally at least water-resistant; check the particular brand to be sure and spray where necessary

All of these materials are sewable on your standard machine!

Make sure to use a sharp, appropriately sized needle, and don't sew too fast
Denim and canvas will be fine as long as you don't sew too many layers at once
Same for garment-weight leather (although small bits would be easy enough to do by hand if you're worried)
Oilcloth, laminated cotton, and nylon tend to "stick", so it's recommended to use a teflon foot. You can also place a piece of tissue paper underneath the fabric if it is sticking to the feed dogs.

After researching these options, I would probably try ripstop nylon, leather-like corner reinforcements, and waterproofing spray. Camping forums ("make your own gear") are good sources of info and product recommendations for ripstop nylon, as it is often used in camping gear and hammocks.