How to Use Fabric Paint
If you were an artistic or crafty child, you might already know about fabric paint. Maybe you used it in 4H or for craft projects. Fabric paint is paint that can be applied to most natural fabrics that won’t wash off when put through the laundry. You can use it on shirts, pants, hats, or just about anything made from most fabrics.
If you want to begin using fabric paint, you need the right supplies. Good fabric paint will be easy to apply with an applicator pen or bottle and won’t crack or peal over time. Of course, there are projects you can use fabric paint for other than clothes such as curtains and tablecloths.
The following are some fabric paint kits that are great for starting out. You can use puff paint that comes out of the bottle similar to glue or paint that can be applied with a paint brush.
How to Use Fabric Paint
You can try a variety of different fabrics, but most people recommend using 100% cotton tight fabric. A tighter woven fabric will produce brighter results. If you do choose to try different fabrics, start with a sample and see how it comes out.
Wash and dry the fabric before applying paint. This avoids problems with shrinking affecting the paint. Prewashing also takes off the sizing that was added to the material by the manufacturer. This must be removed so that the paint sticks to the fabric.
Iron the fabric to get rid of all the wrinkles. Put parchment paper or cardboard underneath the cloth to prevent bleeding. A sturdy piece of cardboard makes painting easier. I suggest securing it with a binder clip to make sure it doesn’t shift while you paint.
Painting Techniques
Be creative with your painting technique. Use a paint brush, try puff paints to draw with, dampen the cloth to get a watercolor effect, use stencils, etc. If you’re painting a t-shirt or another important piece of cloth, experiment with new techniques on a scrap cloth first. You don’t want to ruin a perfectly good t-shirt.
Finishing your Fabric Paint Art
Let the paint dry for at least 24 hours. Turn the cloth over (or turn the piece of clothing inside out) and use an iron on low heat to iron over the design. This will ensure that the paint completely sticks to the cloth. The instructions that come with the paint will tell you specifically how hot to make the iron and how long to iron it.
Wait at least 3 days before you wash the cloth. You must make sure the paint is completely set or else you could ruin your new masterpiece.
How to Draw Animals
If you want to know how to draw animals, you may want to know how to draw them in general or how to draw a particular animal. If you need to draw an animal for a theater set, poster, or other one time need, it’s easy to learn how to draw just the one animal by following a tutorial. If you want to learn to draw many animals because you want to widen your artistic skills, there are general techniques you can learn.
Here are a bunch of books that will show you how to draw all sorts of animals from lions, tigers, and bears, to birds and reptiles. Practicing with step by step instructions and tutorials will help you to develop your overall drawing skills, too.
Start with a Model
Find a picture of the animal you want to draw. You can turn any picture into a cartoon-style animal by making the drawing more simplistic and cute, or you can draw a real life sketch. You can find a picture of any animal you want on the internet.
Have the Right Tools
Technically, all you need is a pencil and paper. However, you will get better results from using quality paper or a sketchbook and using a variety of pencils, both hard and soft. Of course, if you want, you can start with a simple number two pencil. Using a variety of hard and soft pencils will allow you to get simple shading effects of other sketching techniques done right.
Choose your Method
You can draw freehand or try a grid method. With the grid method, print out the picture and draw a grid on it with even squares. Scale the squares up or down, depending on how large you want your drawing, and draw the same amount on a piece of paper. Then, take each square bit by bit and draw exactly what you see. Make the lines of the grid very light so that you can erase them as you go.
You can also draw freehand. Sketch out the main outline of the animal and then work in the features such as the facial features and limbs. Build onto what you have to bring in more intricate features. Before you know it, your animals will come out faster and better looking. Practice drawing often and your work will get much better.
