Sure, you ain't no Banksy, but Arts has your back. This week, we show you how to DIY
Materials:
• One roll .003” acetate drafting film (available at Blick and other art supply stores)
• An Exacto knife
• A can of spray paint (we used Montana)
• A computer with a graphics editing program (if you don’t have one, download Gimp. It’s like Photoshop but free!)
• A cardboard box
• One tee shirt (white and light colors are best) Directions:
1. Find your image. We’ve used the UndertheButton logo, because UTB is awesome! (see Fig. 1)
2. Open the image in your graphics editing program. Using the drop-down menu, select Colors > Threshold (in Photoshop, it’s Image > Adjustments > Threshold). Play around with the sliding arrow until you get a good image. (see Fig.2)
3. Cut out a square of acetate large enough to encompass the design. Tape the vellum onto the screen and trace out the black areas. Make sure that you leave some spaces of acetate intact so that you don’t accidentally cut out the entire design. We’ve circled the spaces in pink so you see what we mean. (see Fig. 3)
4. Place the acetate sheet on your cardboard box and use the Exacto knife to cut out along the black areas. Go slowly. Don’t hurt yourself. Make sure that you leave some spaces of acetate intact so that you don’t accidentally cut out the entire design. We’ve circled the spaces in pink so you see what we mean. (see Fig. 4)
5. Tape your stencil against whatever you’d like to paint. We’ve chosen this tee shirt but paint whatever you want. Just don’t get arrested. (see Fig. 5)
And … Voila! You’ve just stenciled!
