What are some good online tutorials/resources for making art?

December 9, 2013 5:57 PM

In particular, I'm interested in videos or other tutorials related to making collages, stencils (for street art) and screen printing. My equipment at home is pretty rudimentary, especially when it comes to screen printing, so techniques that are more DIY than super sophisticated are appreciated. I'm very interested in tutorials that take a specific work of art and show how it was made with steps along the way. Thanks!
posted by Fister Roboto to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

I swear I'm not a shill for the Collage A Day guy (I referenced him a few days ago in a calendar thread), but I like his book and its blog. He is leading a six week online class starting in January.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 6:11 PM on December 9, 2013

This low-fi silkscreen technique worked really well for me. I used Mod-Podge as the screen filling medium, and Golden brand acrylic paint mixed with Golden Silk Screen Medium as ink. A shirt I made 4 years ago is still going strong!
posted by usonian at 8:02 PM on December 9, 2013

I should add that because my design was small, I was actually able to use an old silicone spatula blade as a squeegee instead of stippling with a paintbrush.
posted by usonian at 8:07 PM on December 9, 2013

Response by poster: Can I ask where you got the material you used for a screen? I have screen print screens, but it sounds like using the technique you thoughtfully linked to would ruin them. Thanks!
posted by Fister Roboto at 12:23 PM on December 11, 2013

Oh! Actually it was some old screenprinting material that was in a kit in my parents' attic; we used to buy loose material and would make our own screens using canvas stretcher strips. The embroidery-hoop-and-mod podge technique is definitely permanent, as far as the screen material goes. (But that's the case for silk screens in general unless you use a water-based screen filler that can be rinsed out later... which means you'd have to use oil-based inks)

This person used tulle as screen material and it looks like she got decent results.
posted by usonian at 5:50 AM on December 12, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks for you reply! If I bought loose screen printing screen material and put it in the embroidery hoop, would that work?
posted by Fister Roboto at 11:04 AM on December 12, 2013

It should, that's exactly what I did! The effect is the same in either case; both the embroidery hoop and material stapled to a rectangular frame keep the fabric pulled flat and taut so that the filler can be applied to it, and a thin layer of ink evenly forced through it onto the printing surface.
posted by usonian at 12:40 PM on December 12, 2013