Stenciling Question

I built a light box, and it really helped me.
I think that having a super hard, really smooth surface
(in this case tempered glass) behind the spirit paper helps.
For me, it makes the carbon mark better.

Agreed.

A hard surface is the way to go. Metal or glass.

And to make the designs, a lightbox is a good start. And actually its cheaper to DIY then buy.

In a shop I worked at in Texas the owner was such a cheap a….. they wouldn’t shell out the money for a thermal. So we did our own research going from the old Brothers fax machine idea to make stencils. And found that a dot matrix printer (you can get an older one for under 100,) will make a very decent stencil copy. Otherwise you are stuck to hand drawing stencils which sucks! A mini thermal is not all that expensive nowadays and well worth the cost in time. Otherwise, yep glass is the best to use, building your own lightbox is a definate way to go, and to get a decent sized glass, visit your local thrift store and buy a framed picture! Gives you the glass in a frame ready to rock and roll…

i rigged up plexiglass nailed to my table and a clip on light under it, works perfect enough. the hand drawn out stenciling takes alot of time, only way i do it though. gets my hand used to curves and stuff before laying down the tat.

The thrift store idea is actually a really good one! I’ve been wondering where a good place would be to get glass, and that’s actually perfect!

Here are few good stenciling tips. Use a Professional Tool as Stencilling brushes, work from the outside and don’t overload a brush with paint as it’ll seep under the edges of the stencil.