Can't Figure Out Stencils!

Hi guys,

I bought stencils for the first time (snake skin type, and snow-flake). I can't seem to make it work for me - as soon as I lift the stencil I just see a soggy blotch of paint, whether I use a brush of a sponge. I tried using less and less water, I tried TAG and Snazaroo. At best it comes out having a bit of a remnant of the stencil, thought still half of it is just a stain. Where am I going wrong?

Thanks!

At first I had trouble with this too. If using a sponge get it damp where when you stamp your arm you get a decent dry dot. When daubing the stencil be sure to hold it down tightly. That was my problem. Being new to them I was trying to make sure I got good coverage and every time I would go back over it I would move a little.
I start at one edge, press tightly, and rain till filled and solid then move in the same manner across the stencil area. Dryish paint and firm even pressure. The only way paint gets under the stencil is if you move it, or your paint is too wet.

Well, I don't rain. Stupid auto spell. Lol. That should say daub. Dear Smartphone: How do you get rain out of daub??

I use quite a few stencils when painting, they give great wow factor without adding much time.

For my HAS snowflake stencil (mini version of the BAM snowflake) I use a 1/4 sponge or 1/6 of a sponge, with extremely thick creamy dfx white paint. For reptile skin I usually use global green on the edge of a 1/2 sponge with one spritz of water. All other colours (my kit has tag, dfx, and global) I use 1-2 spritzes of water on the edge of a 1/2 sponge. Other stencils I use frequently are stars, decorative swirly/textures, and half-tone.

Some pointers:

- The paint underneath needs to be dry! If you stencil on a wet base the colours will bleed together.

- The paint that you're stencilling with also needs to be quite dry, with a stencil I find you can dab over the stencil for full coverage with dry paint a couple times, rather than use more water to achieve better coverage.

- Push the stencil down on the skin so that it doesn't wiggle on you, and make sure you're stencilling on dry sections so that you don't accidentally transfer the paint from a wet section to a dry one with the back of the stencil.

- Dry and creamy aren't synonymous. I find that my dfx white tends to work best for stencilling when it's thick and creamy, but my global purple and green work better when they're applied on the dry side. Play around on your thigh to find out what water-paint ratio works best for your preferred colours.


Hopefully these pointers prove helpful!

some face painters use starblends to apply the stencil part of the design. since they are dry powder, less chance of smearing. mehron also has the intense pressed powders.

Im so glad someone else asked this because I have been having the same problems. Bought a few BAMS hoping to speed up my work and all i could get was a squidgee mess, hopefully all your tips help!

I tend to use my stencils with my Starblends more than paint. Great texture, no bleeding.

Can I just say that I find it funny that the moment I start thinking about some question I have, it usually pops up on the forum in some way? I actually have my first BAM stencils (thanks to Forest-Fairy's blog... stars, snowflakes, and a reptile skin) and a red and white Starblends on the way from the Forum Shop right now. I'm intrigued what I've read about the Starblends since I'm in sweaty humid Florida. I figured I would try it out.

Hoo

I use the Martha Stewart daubers and spray the sponge instead of the cake. Yes the base must be dry and the paint you are using should be fairly dry also, but the tip that helped me out the most was to ask the child to press against the stencil, because if you don't tell them that, they tend to pull away which makes it way more difficult to get it right. Using your thigh for practice is great advice...I don't use stencils often, but love the way they look, so I plan to start using them more often.

For small areas the finger daubers work great because you still have use of both hands to hold the stencil in place.

Hoodat Whatzit wrote:and a red and white Starblends on the way from the Forum Shop right now.

I'm jealous! I've been trying to get those for a long time but they're always out of stock when I can order >_<

When it come to working with stencils, level of dryness is EVERYTHING.

First off your stencil has to be dry, and what you are painting on top of has to be dry.

Don't use a brush, but instead opt for a small quarter cut sponge. You basic craft sponge you can get at craft stores works great for stencil consistency.

When you load the sponge you'll want to spray the paint (or the sponge) ONCE with your spray atomizer, you are almost going for a 'dry brush' type of load. You want just enough paint that it will transfer to a surface but not much more or else it will bleed under your stencil.

Test the sponge load on your hand if you are unsure. If you get barely any to no paint on your hand, then it's too dry, if it's wet looking, or has tiny bubbles it's too wet. You are seeking this magical in between where the paint is juuuuust wet enough to transfer on to another surface and be opaque. Takes some practice.

Other pointers are to make sure the model is still, any movement of the stencil is going to mess up the alignment of your transfer.

Work FAST,

Don't over do it - don't worry so much about getting a "perfect" transfer, put a little on, like 2-3 dabs and you're good. Too much or too much pressure on the sponge can cause your paint to bleed and become too wet.

LittleMonsters wrote:

Hoodat Whatzit wrote:and a red and white Starblends on the way from the Forum Shop right now.

I'm jealous!  I've been trying to get those for a long time but they're always out of stock when I can order >_<

LOL Well, it seems the same for me. I forgot I ordered a couple of metallics... not starblends. Oh well.. new paint is still new paint.

Hoo

I use sponge daubers when I use stencils I love the control they give me. The have a dome shaped sponge on the end of a wooden stick or on a piece of plastic with room, for your finger to go in. The Martha Stewart ones done seem to stand the test of time like the Plaid ones.

My main problem is always that as I press the stencil to the child's face they lean further and further back with the pressure (no matter how light it is), no matter what you say!

So I always ask mum or dad to just lightly put their hand behind their head, otherwise they'll be horizontal in no time!

I ask the kiddo if they have a sibling. Then I said, "ok then, I need a little attitude. You don't let your brother push you around, right? Pretend I am him when I hold this & don't let me push you around. Push back a little." It always seems to work...(except on only children.)

Haha anniel that's a good one!