How To Do These Colors

[dfivdayz]

hello all,

i am working on a project where i want to incorporate a pattern into the background..i will swivel knife the small lines and do a little background tooling but i can not get these colors or the separation between them..all ive done is try to water down some eco-flo stains to no avail..i just cant wrap my head around how i could put this kinda color pattern down without just painting it on..and i really dont want to do that......

thanks for any ideas or help, me

Edited October 3, 2012 by dfivdayz

[shtoink]

My guess is that a series of masking operations in conjunction with an airbrush is what you want to use. You'd need to have your masks cut out of some sort of adhesive vinyl, spray one one set of colors, spray over with a removable resist, remove the mask, spray your second color pattern, remove removable resist, do any touching up needed, and apply your finish(es).

The thing is, I don't know if there is such a thing a a removable resist or at least one that you can use successfully with leather. Other things that come to mind are bleeding of the colors, but I suppose that depends on your paint/pigment being used and where you might get the original Damascus pattern to have someone CNC cut into vinyl. It does seem like it could potentially be doable.

The other thing that comes to mind is to seek out someplace the does DTG (direct to garment) printing and have them shoot your desired image right onto the leather. Then you can finish the leather and continue on with your project. I try some test pieces first, just to see what needs to be tweaked in order to get the results you want.

[DoubleC]

I don 't know how you can get that pattern other than what was already suggested but there is a latex rubber you can put on as a removable resist and it works better with an airbrush than it does painting. There is a thread on iot under the dyes, etc. forum, but Kate I believe. It's pretty amazing stuff. Cheryl

[Tina]

The thing is, I don't know if there is such a thing a a removable resist or at least one that you can use successfully with leather.

I use this one ( http://www.misterart...king-fluid.html ) and it's removable from veg.tan leather. I use it with my Angelus spirit dyes. Just paint it on to the leather with a brush that fits the job at hand. I clean the brushes with white spirit.

Edited October 4, 2012 by Tina

[dfivdayz]

i like the ideas...but....how would i do tooling and then put a vinyl over it to spray?...i dont want it to look like i just painted it on...i really want the depth of swivel knifing it and tooling it a little just to add depth to darker areas?????

also what dyes would i use to get such bright purples..blues..oranges..rust???...maybe if i can get the dyes i could try to brush them on after i tool....hahahaha...i crack myself up...i guess i could practise alot...

thanks so much for the help, me

Edited October 4, 2012 by dfivdayz

[HellfireJack]

Use liquid latex from the art store as Cheryl mentioned.

There is a stickied how to here http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=11101

The Angelus dyes Tina mentions should work for you.

As with any new finishing process, always test it out on scrap.

[DoubleC]

I just went to the thread to post it here Jack :-) It's so much easier to see in photos that explain. Cheryl

[dfivdayz]

that is a really cool idea...this may be how i mask things off....now to find the dyes.......angelus dyes from springfield are what your talking about??...i see the standard colors...would i need to mix them or is there a mix chart to achieve the colors?

[DoubleC]

d, you can use a basic color wheel to mix them, but your going to really have to be creative to come up with those colors using dye. You can buy the blue but I'd use acrylics paints since there is so many more colors. You just add red to your blue to get the purple, and red to yellow to get the orange tones. You can water them down to get the fading, and use less water to get the deeper tones, but you'll want to water them down. If you get water based dyes you can mix those with the paints too for your browns, adding white to the brown to get the lighter tones. From what I see in the picture you would need red, blue, yellow, white acrylic paint and a brown water based dye. Or you could just use brown acrylic. They will airbrush just fine. Cheryl

[dfivdayz]

so dye mixes kinda like acrylic..in the way that red and blue make purple...thats kinda what i was wondering...i think ill use the masking film yall showed me eariler and start mixin up some stuff...i just dont have a large dye selection so i was trying to narrow it down....thank yall so much for the help and ill keep ya posted...it may be awhile

me

[DoubleC]

It has to all be the same kind of dye, you can't mix oil dye with water based, but as long as the 'base' is the same you can mix them together.

[shtoink]

If I might be so bold, I highly doubt that any tooling will help this effect. Embossing a little bit, maybe, but in actual Damascus steel there isn't a large gap between the different steels used. I also doubt that this effect is achievable with any real success without the use of an airbrush. Brushing it on by hand and getting the blend of the colors, albeit possible with skilled hands, is going to be very difficult. The transition between the colors will be smoother and more believable, as that is one of the things an airbrush is really good at.

It's debatable what should be used to get this effect, too. You could use acrylic, water color, RIT Dye, or anything other medium. Rather than starting any mild arguments, I'll just leave it like this: Use what best creates the desired result. It will take some time and experimentation. Aside from having it printed directly onto the leather, there just isn't going to be an instant solution. Even if there were someone here who was a master with brushes and paint or an airbrush, they'd probably only be able to point you in the right direction.

If it were me, I'd work my way up to it, but I am kind of weird that way. I still take on projects, now and then, that are outside of my skill level and I regret it every time. It always reminds me that I still have plenty to learn. Also, this isn't exactly an easy task, even for someone with a good deal of experience. I fear that taking on this complex of a project as a beginner is going to a bigger bite than you can chew and you'll end up getting discouraged and abandon the whole thing. I hope you don't see this an me discouraging you, I only want to point out that there needs to be a of of planning and experimentation before moving from one stage to the next. This is, by no means, an easy color effect to create and will take some time to figure out. My suggestion above was only a guess at the process and I am certain there are many steps that I missed as they had never even occurred to me.