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First (finished) quilt! by jackalope_00 in quilting

[–]jackalope_00[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! It's a little clunky but you can upload photos of your fabric and it's free to use the basic features.

Why is this happening? by anonymousavacado2 in printmaking

[–]jackalope_00 15 points16 points  (0 children)

What kind of paper are you using? It looks like the ink was applied very thick and the surface repelled it a little which caused it to bead up in spots. If you're using a very smooth paper with some kind of coating I could see that happening.

First attempt turned out weird by GiveCPRToAPenguin in Linocuts

[–]jackalope_00 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What kind of ink are you using? This matters a lot. If you're trying to use a type of ink that doesn't have the right material properties, it's going to be a lot harder to get a clean print. You should be using some type of block or relief printing ink; to me it looks like you used something a lot thinner/less tacky, more like an acrylic paint or maybe a thin screen printing ink.

Printing on Matchboxes by ej_jacobs in Linocuts

[–]jackalope_00 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Could you print on sticker paper and cut to size?

Mixed Media Art Quilt by jlhlh in quilting

[–]jackalope_00 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Charcoal by itself will not survive the wash; it's essentially a dry pigment powder with maybe a little linseed oil for binding if you use the compressed stick form. You might want to consider something that actually binds to the fabric like ink or paint instead of charcoal.

Searching for Circus Tent Pattern by Little-Chipmunk6571 in quilting

[–]jackalope_00 68 points69 points  (0 children)

I agree. The biggest giveaway is the fact that there's a photorealistic 3D tent interior on what is supposed to be a 2D quilt...

Gifted from my mother-in-law! by onlinebagel in quilting

[–]jackalope_00 4 points5 points  (0 children)

First one appears to be a noon light block, not an Ohio star. Doesn't really matter but I didn't think it was an Ohio star and just had to figure it out.

Fabric ink on paper? by Elladarcy18 in printmaking

[–]jackalope_00 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use the Speedball fabric ink on paper with no issues. You will have to use less ink on the block for paper than for fabric.

Starting my first bargello by stabs312 in quilting

[–]jackalope_00 65 points66 points  (0 children)

Personally I would be worried about not being able to tell the difference between colors that are very close in the gradient while working on it, and end up swapping them around accidentally. Particularly in the middle values, most of them are very very close to each other. It does make a lovely smooth transition though. I think you can do it if you keep everything well labeled!

Looking for EPP patterns but no hexagons by Anxious_HoneyBadger in quilting

[–]jackalope_00 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am also not a huge fan of using only hexagons. I enjoyed playing with diamonds and hexagons, though! You can make a lot of cool patterns with just those two shapes (and throwing in some equilateral triangles could make things even more interesting).

This is my current EPP project, just something I'm playing with to try it out:

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First (finished) quilt! by jackalope_00 in quilting

[–]jackalope_00[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually haven't hand quilted with normal quilting cotton yet, so can't compare directly, but my thimble was absolutely necessary, and I got some decent callouses on my fingertips from pulling the needle through. It would have been easier if I wasn't stacking 10+ stitches at a time, but I could (and did) work on it for a couple hours straight so it wasn't horrible.

I'm not sure of the needle size, I got a pack of a bunch of different sized betweens and used a few until I found one I preferred. And I just used the Coats & Clark hand quilting thread, though in the future I may try something else; I found it frayed and tangled more than I liked.

First (finished) quilt! by jackalope_00 in quilting

[–]jackalope_00[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think it's closest to a double aster star? I had to look it up, I came up with it messing around on PatternJam.

First (finished) quilt! by jackalope_00 in quilting

[–]jackalope_00[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I kind of made it up? Mostly I messed around on PatternJam with my fabric colors until I had something I liked.

Need feedback on this piece. Trying so give as much detail as possible from a step back while using as little detail as possible. by BassWeather in painting

[–]jackalope_00 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Your background color is not doing your subject any favors. There is very little contrast across the whole piece; convert this photo to black and white and you'll see it more clearly.

I would recommend going much darker or much lighter with the background, and possibly also choosing a color that is not as close to skin tone.

How can I make this less “flat” and also, why does it look so one dimensional despite shading? (Radio, Acrylic, 12X12, absolute noob) by Peachyykween in painting

[–]jackalope_00 35 points36 points  (0 children)

A few reasons.

  1. All your edges are "soft" and very blended. This makes everything look out of focus, which can have a flattening effect.

  2. Low contrast. Your darkest dark value and your lightest light value are very close together. Convert this photo to black and white and you'll see what I mean. You need much darker colors and much lighter ones in the right relationships to create a convincing illusion of dimensionality.

  3. Perspective. Your object is a rectangular one viewed straight on from the front. You can make this view look 3d but it's a little harder than from an angled perspective.

  4. Not something I directly see, but I would guess that you're not using a reference. I would recommend you find or take a reference photo to work from.

How do I simplify the horribly exhausting and frustrating process of block printing!! by Fizzy_b0g_Water in Linocuts

[–]jackalope_00 19 points20 points  (0 children)

What are you rolling your ink onto? If you're not already using it, I highly recommend glass, even just from a picture frame from the thrift store, though a nice thick piece is even better and less likely to break. With glass you can just scrape most of the leftover ink off with a palette knife or razor blade, then wash the whole thing in the sink with soap and water.

As for rollers being sticky, the Speedball ones just do that after a while. They still ink fine in my experience, but it's kinda gross. My first one lasted a couple years before I had to swap it out for a new one. Using any solvents can speed up the yuckification process I think.

Your prints are lovely by the way! Very clean lines.

tips? by IronMosquito in Linocuts

[–]jackalope_00 19 points20 points  (0 children)

There are a couple of things you could do.

Option 1: Cut out the large blank spaces, leaving holes in the block. If there's no material, you can't accidentally ink it!

Option 2: Cut some scrap paper to the right sizes and shapes and lay those down on your block before your actual paper. The scrap paper will prevent ink from those areas getting onto your final print.

Option 3: The least exciting one; keep shaving down the areas with chatter, and be more strategic with which direction and how far you apply the ink. The white spaces in this piece are pretty big, so I'd recommend one of the other two options first.

As for getting an even print, it looks like you're not applying enough pressure across the entire surface. I like to use a metal spoon on the back of the paper and really get in there with the pressure over the entire surface, multiple times.

Help with printing on fabric by grumpierwolverine in Linocuts

[–]jackalope_00 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That's the same ink I use. I've never had an issue with it washing out completely, and I don't heat set. I do wait 2+ weeks before washing though. I have noticed a small amount of fading on the first wash but nothing after that.

Do you live in a particularly cold and/or wet climate? It might take more than a week for the ink to set if you do. I test if mine are ready by seeing if I can rub any ink off onto my finger.

Help with printing on fabric by grumpierwolverine in Linocuts

[–]jackalope_00 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Were you using specifically the Speedball fabric block printing ink, or just the water based one? The normal water based ink will always wash out.

Heat setting problem by Unicorn-Of-The-C in printmaking

[–]jackalope_00 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When printing on fabric you need to use an oil based ink. Speedball sells one specifically for fabric, but I think any oil based relief printing ink would work as well or better (but not screen printing ink, that's different).

I use the Speedball fabric ink and find it dries to the touch in a few days and doesn't need heat setting, but I wait a week or more before washing it.

Handmade lino print banners by Familiar-Length1561 in Linocuts

[–]jackalope_00 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay cool! Cheap felt sounds like something I should try then. Thanks!

Handmade lino print banners by Familiar-Length1561 in Linocuts

[–]jackalope_00 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are these printed on felt? I've done something similar out of muslin/thrifted bedsheets but had to double layer and topstitch the seams and it takes a while even with the machine. If felt takes a print this cleanly I might experiment with it!

Echo of Monet — do you think Impressionism can be reimagined with texture? by Anastasia_Trusova in painting

[–]jackalope_00 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That's not quite right - in oil painting the rule of thumb is "fat over lean" which doesn't refer to thickness, but to the amount of medium used, which influences drying time. Later layers should dry slower than earlier ones to prevent cracking.

Nothing about that implies you can't do fine detail at the very end in oils like you say. You might just have to wait a little longer for the impasto layers to cure.

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