Stencil Revolution Welcome Message

[RuSo]

Okay, so I dont use this technique too often anymore but used to use quite a bit. Ive seen alot of tutorials about using a computer to create stencils but heres a way of doing it without them.

What you will need
-The image you want to make a stencil of
-Acetate
-A marker that'll work on plastic (sharpie's are good)
-A cutting knife (i reccommend an exacto)
-A can of spray paint


Choosing an image
I think that the best images of are a decent size and the features are clear. This image is just out of an old issue of Vice.


Designing the stencil
Okay, so get your acetate and put it over the picture. Take your pen and start defining the features. Here are some tips on how to do what:
-Firstly the eyes, you need to leave a bit open, and i find it looks best if the bottom is open with two bits coming in from the side, you can see what i mean in a pic below.
-Next the nose, this is pretty simple, and i find that just higlightin the nostrils looks oaky, sometimes its also good to define the side shape of the nose.
-The lips are also pretty simple, just highlight the shape of them.
-The actual shape of the face is usually surrounded by the hair, and the bottom can either have bits comming ourt the hair like in the pic below, or it can be simply a line.
-The eyebrows and hair are also simple, agin just trace the sape.

You should now have somethin that looks a bit like this:



Cutting the stencil

Its easier if you cut out the details first, and then go on to the bigger parts. Now its cut it should loook like this and is ready to spray:


Now spray that beast up:


Hope this helps, anny comments/crits/questions welcome.

[bloohairdfreek]

that, my friend, is one beat up can of paint.

but fairly good tut for those who want to start out without computer software.

[wakisaki]

i wish i would have found this before i knew how t ouse photoshop

[Rave Gloves]

Pretty good i think i may give this a go at one point.

[2TM.]

you can do multi layers without a computer but it gets a bit more difficult, you have to define the shadows and highlights etc on seperate layers. It feels more rewarding than just printing somthing off the computer

[sgLoki]

Ruso.....All I can say is thank you and about time....

+ move to tuts!!!!

this is a simple and easy way for new stencil artists to get started, and everyone should try it at some point. Cheers to you!


I actually do a majority of my multi layers this way, first by photoshopping the rough stencil then hand drawing the layers one at a time on my projector sheets. it's a solid technique and it lends a look to it you cannot get from photoshop as easily.

If you're new.... DO THIS! if you're a pro and you've never done this...do it!

[RuSo]

cheers guys =]

[sgLoki]

no really

MOVE TO TUTS.

[RuSo]

[RuSo]

Thanks to the mod who moved this here...

[FIRD]

nice tut. something every1 should know. common sense is all you need to make stencils.

[_unOhu_]

thank you sir. now i will begin multiple layers.

[QacK!]

clean and simple!

[SHOCKK]

easy peasy lemon squeasy ha.

[TOES]

great tutorial. i will probably use this during class.

[sek]

nice tut! : )

[dplusme]

nice. never though of that, thanks

[beehivethe3rd]

Whats a Acetate????

[Seldom]

have a search around the place before posting a new reply or thread.

[esum]

thats cool,this is how i learned.simple yet seriously effective!

[graffiti_is_bad]

im really beginning to hate it when people use photo shop for their stencils, cause you can almost always tell that they did, i love doing stencils by hand and it looks so much better IMO. but i guess it wouldn't be very easy for someone to make an eight layer stencil by hand.

[010101]

I've have an tonnes of various stencils of people I made using this technique.
Shame, I don't know what to do with them now.
Any ideas?

[opkn]

stencil them places.. or put them up for swaps or somthin

[Indigoblue]

i guess it wouldn't be very easy for someone to make an eight layer stencil by hand.

I've done a 10 layer by hand
it takes a lot of time and effort but it's worth it.

[The Exile]

Whats a Acetate????

its like transparency, the thin clear plastic stuff,

To think, i've used a similar technique for other projects (tracing images) because its hard to get smooth lines on a computer quickly (bezier curves can be a pain, and my tablet isnt all that spectacular at times)
so free hand just looks nicer,

but, yea, anyways, i've done this before, just not for stencils *smacks forehead*
i'll definitely have to give it a try

[USB]

i've actually been doing pretty much the same thing for my last few stencils, except that i just trace over the image loaded into inkscape with the pen tool rather than tracing with a marker on acetate (bezier curves are awesome if you can use them right). no filters or anything used. just a different drawing method. then your image is vector too so your not constrained to the size of the image your tracing or the acetate sheets you've got.

it's def. a different look than just using a filter. you can highlight different things and give different amounts of detail in different places which a filter might not distinguish. gives you more control. everyone should be able to do this because it will help you understand how to create a stencil image within the constraints of eliminating islands. a benefit of this is being able to hide your bridges within your image. i cringe every time i see a photo image stencil with obvious boxy line bridges running through colored areas.

[disaster three]

i like the underspray on the right cheek it makes it look shaded;)

[010101]

i like the underspray on the right cheek it makes it look shaded;)

You know, I never noticed that.
But, it does work really well.

[BleedingSpleen]

This is how I drew my very first stencils. To be honest I prefer doing it this way, think it gives you the freedom to be a little more creative and give it your own feel. Never tried a multilayer one by hand though, might have to give that a go. Regrettably I tend to use photoshop a lot these days though.

[york™]

My favorite method.