Theonidas Report post Posted November 9, 2015 I'm very new to leather working but getting started on my 2nd project which will be a knife sheath for my brother-in-law & hoping I can get some tips on how to get a color affect similar to the picture below. I'm not sure if there's a different name for it in leather working but I'm a guitar player so I would call it a "Sunburst" color fade because it looks just like the classic sunburst style guitars. I'm comfortable with carving & dying the silhouettes but it's the background effect that I'm not sure about. Any tips or suggestions? Thanks in advance! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TinkerTailor Report post Posted November 9, 2015 Airbrush. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electrathon Report post Posted November 9, 2015 Airbrush. second Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLSleather Report post Posted November 9, 2015 "Sunburst" is correct. You'll find many names for it in leather work - and many people claiming they "came up with" it -- but that's what Gibson guitars called it about 70 years ago! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Theonidas Report post Posted November 9, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the replies. I've always wanted to try my hand at airbrushing - looks like now I'll have my chance! so I'm guessing you can just shoot regular leather dye like fiebings through the airbrush and just blend it in from the edges? Edited November 9, 2015 by Theonidas Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLSleather Report post Posted November 9, 2015 (edited) Yes. TOO way simple. Ever skip a rock on the lake (who in the U.S. didn't do that?!). Point the brush at the edge of the leather, angled down and in. Like the rock, the more angle, the broader the spread. Fancy folks would say that teh angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection.... NOTE: People love to present this as some wonderful artistic talent. Truth is, I can teach a monkey to do this in a minute (as long as the monkey hasn't been drinking). Edited November 9, 2015 by JLSleather Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Theonidas Report post Posted November 9, 2015 Haha - thanks for the info. sounds pretty straight forward & I'm sure I can find a couple demos on youtube to watch before I try it out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TinkerTailor Report post Posted November 9, 2015 I am not an expert on airbrushing leather, but have sprayed some paint here and there...... I do know that most of the time you will be thinning out the dyes. Getting good fades is usually about a few thinned out washes as opposed to one shot. Doing it in multiple stages allows you to build up the look and is much more forgiving of spray pattern inconsistency and shaky wrist syndrome. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TinkerTailor Report post Posted November 9, 2015 (edited) Yes. TOO way simple. Ever skip a rock on the lake (who in the U.S. didn't do that?!). Point the brush at the edge of the leather, angled down and in. Like the rock, the more angle, the broader the spread. Fancy folks would say that teh angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection.... NOTE: People love to present this as some wonderful artistic talent. Truth is, I can teach a monkey to do this in a minute (as long as the monkey hasn't been drinking). also, what he said.......we were posting at same time.......like i said i am not a leather airbrush expert. I do know 37 ways to skin a cat however....... Edited November 9, 2015 by TinkerTailor Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billybopp Report post Posted November 9, 2015 With an airbrush, it's dead easy to do. And the only way to get a transition as even and smooth as in your picture. You can get something similar with a barely damp sponge/cloth and build up the darker edge .. but it's harder to do, and nearly impossible to do that well. P.S. Drunk monkeys are a LOT of fun. I used to have a squirrel monkey as a pet. She used to sit on my shoulder and HAD to get a drink of anything that I was drinking. She was particularly fond of tequila sunrises, and terribly entertaining when trying to climb the curtains so that she could sit atop the curtain rod and watch what all was going on. Bill Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Theonidas Report post Posted November 11, 2015 (edited) So do you guys think this piece is dyed yellow first to achieve the brightness in the middle, then airbrushed with a dark brown from the edges? That's my guess anyway. I got my piece tooled yesterday so I'm almost ready to take a stab at the coloring. Edited November 11, 2015 by Theonidas Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electrathon Report post Posted November 11, 2015 So do you guys think this piece is dyed yellow first to achieve the brightness in the middle, then airbrushed with a dark brown from the edges? That's my guess anyway. I got my piece tooled yesterday so I'm almost ready to take a stab at the coloring. Yes, do whatever you are going to do to the center, then mist the edges with the darker color. Do a few tests (use cardboard). It is easier than you think. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ember Report post Posted November 13, 2015 Always work light to dark. Looks like 3 colors to me on my screen. Yellow, orange and brown for the edges. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
