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I'm not much help, but I want to say I'm glad I'm not the only one!!!! I actually asked at the LSS and got the paper they recommended and STILL had the same problem. If I use enough gamsol to blend the color, the paper starts "flaking" off. I love the look of the samples on here but have not had any luck myself. Maybe I'm doing too much at once, is the only thing I can think of (when the LSS showed me, she did just a little area)
Thanks everyone for your tips!
__________________ Lynn
"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right�--Lincoln
Here's a little tip that I promise will help. Get a can of Matte Spray sealer (it's sold with the spray on varnishes in the craft section of wal mart, HL and Michaels. I use Krylon brand Matte Spray.
1. Stamp your image.
2. Shake the can of Matte Spray for at least 30 seconds.
3. Hold your paper at least 10-12 inches from the can and spray your image for 1 to 2 seconds. If it's a really cheap paper, let it dry for about 10 seconds or so then blast it again for just a second or 2. It will dry almost instantly.
4. Now you can color your image - and use gamsol, acquapainters, watercolor brushes, blender pens, etc.
This will lightly coat your paper so that it won't "grab" your color and your colors will blend so much easier. Your outlined color will pull into the center of your image easily.
It also helps so that the paper doesn't absorb the water as fast and won't warp and "pill" as easily.
I use this with every watercolor technique and it really helps with the blending.
I post this tip about every 6 months or so - I hope people don't think I'm a broken record, but I swear by my Matte Spray and know it will help anyone who is frustrated with any watercolor technique.
(And I see a lot of frustrated watercolorers here on SCS!)
GREAT IDEA!! Thanks for passing this on. Definitely gonna give this a try!! I think I've got a can on hand, so will give it a whirl.....
Does it matter what type of INK you stamp your image with?? What I mean is can you use the classic ink pads (or craft ink) from S-UP and/or the Stazon Ink pads??
I post this tip about every 6 months or so - I hope people don't think I'm a broken record, but I swear by my Matte Spray and know it will help anyone who is frustrated with any watercolor technique.
(And I see a lot of frustrated watercolorers here on SCS!)
Please keep being a broken record - there are always new people looking for hints.
I love this idea (being a frustrated watercolourist!) and already have matte spray, so THANKYOU.
__________________ Elizabeth
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. Gandhi My (poor, neglected) Blog
Just curious, I tried this technique and I seem to get an oil-y line! Is that normal?! Do I have too much Gamsol on there?!
Could be, but usually if you are using Gamsol or OMS the line will go away. I've tried the other substitutes (baby oil, etc) and they left oily marks.
I assume that the oily line is where you got gamsol and there was no wax from the colored pencil. If you color outside the lines there is nothing for the gamsol to melt so it will leave an oil mark. It may dissapate if you let it set a while.
I am subscribing too. I use my watercolors with my water pen but I don't get the effect I want so my question as a newbie is: what is Gamsol and what the hey are stumps??? lol
I am subscribing too. I use my watercolors with my water pen but I don't get the effect I want so my question as a newbie is: what is Gamsol and what the hey are stumps??? lol
Gamsol is odorless mineral spirits and is used with stumps (like a paper pencil, picture attached) to blend colored pencil. You don't use Gamsol in water pens.....won't work. You don't use Gamsol with watercolor pencils....doesn't work right. Hope that helps.
__________________ Ann Here is my oily blog! CLICK HERE Certified Copic Instructor - Local ClassesI love cars, stamping and essential oils!
I am subscribing too. I use my watercolors with my water pen but I don't get the effect I want so my question as a newbie is: what is Gamsol and what the hey are stumps??? lol
A little more info -
OMS - you can also buy Turpenoid at Michael's, Arron Brothers, or other art supply/craft stores. May be sold under other names than Turpenoid. You can also buy OMS at hardware stores - it has more of an odor and some say that it's not artist quality, but I've been using it for a year and it works just fine.
Some use baby oil or Goo-B-Gone but for me it leaves an oily mark so I don't use it
Stumps - buy the best quality you can find - Creative Mark is great, some of the other fall apart and are not strong enough
Colored pencils - they must be WAX pencils as the OMS disolves the wax and gives you the faux watercolor look. I love Prismas but other brands also work well. If you are new to this technique and not sure you like it, I suggest buying a less expensive brand like Crayola until you are sure you like the technique and quite frankly, you may never need anything more until you want a better color selection
Paper - smooth paper is better but not glossy paper. Smoother paper lets the color flow
How much color to lay down - some lay down just a little color, but I put down a heavy line so I have enough wax to flow freely
Blending - outline your image and blend to the center. After you have some experience with the technique you can try coloring in different areas and blend from there
Color choices - be careful about what colors you put next to each other so you don't have muddy colors. An example is that if you try to blend purple into yellow the color is not all that attractive. Test the colors on a scrap paper before you blend to see if you like the colors.
Stump cleaning - I don't recommend using a pencil sharpener on your stumps. I prefer to rub the stump on fine sand paper to remove the extra wax. I clean the stump when it no longer blends the colors. I can feel the grip of the stamp against the paper when clean but when it's coated with wax it slides too much and doesn't blend.
And remember that every technique takes practice. Play on scrap paper for a while so you don't ruin your project. It really is a simple way to get a watercolor look without having to know how to watercolor.
[quote=stamphappy1650;12748856]OMS - you can also buy Turpenoid at Michael's, Arron Brothers, or other art supply/craft stores. May be sold under other names than Turpenoid. You can also buy OMS at hardware stores - it has more of an odor and some say that it's not artist quality, but I've been using it for a year and it works just fine.
quote]
Just a note about the turp........you do get what you pay for. Artist grade may be a little more expensive but it is WAY safer.
__________________ Ann Here is my oily blog! CLICK HERE Certified Copic Instructor - Local ClassesI love cars, stamping and essential oils!
OMS - you can also buy Turpenoid at Michael's, Arron Brothers, or other art supply/craft stores. May be sold under other names than Turpenoid. You can also buy OMS at hardware stores - it has more of an odor and some say that it's not artist quality, but I've been using it for a year and it works just fine.
quote]
Just a note about the turp........you do get what you pay for. Artist grade may be a little more expensive but it is WAY safer.
Stamps&Cars, so true thanks for the reminder. I usually don't rembmer to add the safety tip since I still have a lot of bad habits like microwaving in plastic, not waring a mask for embossing powder (nasty fumes), or spray painting *snort* again, thanks!
OMS - you can also buy Turpenoid at Michael's, Arron Brothers, or other art supply/craft stores. May be sold under other names than Turpenoid. You can also buy OMS at hardware stores - it has more of an odor and some say that it's not artist quality, but I've been using it for a year and it works just fine.
Some use baby oil or Goo-B-Gone but for me it leaves an oily mark so I don't use it
Stumps - buy the best quality you can find - Creative Mark is great, some of the other fall apart and are not strong enough
Colored pencils - they must be WAX pencils as the OMS disolves the wax and gives you the faux watercolor look. I love Prismas but other brands also work well. If you are new to this technique and not sure you like it, I suggest buying a less expensive brand like Crayola until you are sure you like the technique and quite frankly, you may never need anything more until you want a better color selection
Paper - smooth paper is better but not glossy paper. Smoother paper lets the color flow
How much color to lay down - some lay down just a little color, but I put down a heavy line so I have enough wax to flow freely
Blending - outline your image and blend to the center. After you have some experience with the technique you can try coloring in different areas and blend from there
Color choices - be careful about what colors you put next to each other so you don't have muddy colors. An example is that if you try to blend purple into yellow the color is not all that attractive. Test the colors on a scrap paper before you blend to see if you like the colors.
Stump cleaning - I don't recommend using a pencil sharpener on your stumps. I prefer to rub the stump on fine sand paper to remove the extra wax. I clean the stump when it no longer blends the colors. I can feel the grip of the stamp against the paper when clean but when it's coated with wax it slides too much and doesn't blend.
And remember that every technique takes practice. Play on scrap paper for a while so you don't ruin your project. It really is a simple way to get a watercolor look without having to know how to watercolor.
I hope this helps............
This is an awesome step by step for all of us newbies! Thanks!:-D
__________________ Jennifer
To the world you may just be one person, but to one person you may be the world.
I took a gamsol class from InyAntics today! there is a stamp show here in Texas. what I learned-and remember this was 4 hours ago- is that once you outline with the color pencil, tap the stump on the foam top of the gamsol it is important to make teeny little circles through you line...teeeennnnnyyy and the when the line is "wet" from the gamsol( never really gets "wet" just liquifies) then using a larger circle work your way to the center. You can add a darker color to shade and shadow and follow the sam procedure. Came home-did it with plain ol' crayola pencils and viola! Just what the doctor ordered! Yippe and Yeehaw!
How does the Gamsol look differ from using the Prisma blending pencils? Thank you!
Lisa
The blender pencil can push the color just a very short ways with no problem but the gamsol can drag the color a long ways. Lots different. Quicker too.
__________________ Ann Here is my oily blog! CLICK HERE Certified Copic Instructor - Local ClassesI love cars, stamping and essential oils!
I took a gamsol class from InyAntics today! there is a stamp show here in Texas. what I learned-and remember this was 4 hours ago- is that once you outline with the color pencil, tap the stump on the foam top of the gamsol it is important to make teeny little circles through you line...teeeennnnnyyy and the when the line is "wet" from the gamsol( never really gets "wet" just liquifies) then using a larger circle work your way to the center. You can add a darker color to shade and shadow and follow the sam procedure. Came home-did it with plain ol' crayola pencils and viola! Just what the doctor ordered! Yippe and Yeehaw!
The kind I am using is from Michael's and is called Mona Lisa Odorless Mineral Spirits! Thanks for helping!!:mrgreen:
I have both and have seen little difference between the two except that the Gamsol has slightly better safety rating. Still......I haven't had any problem with an oily look. Are you using paper stumps?
__________________ Ann Here is my oily blog! CLICK HERE Certified Copic Instructor - Local ClassesI love cars, stamping and essential oils!
I actually used the really tightly wound Q-tips last time. Normally I do use the stumps but since we just moved I don't have a clue where they are so I resorted to what I could find! LOL! I saw in a youtube video where a lady used them so I tried it! I was just looking at the project where I got the oil-y line and it did seem to be gone now! YEAH! I do think, after reading a lot of the entries here, that I'm not putting down enough color! Maybe I should try that next time!
How does the Gamsol look differ from using the Prisma blending pencils? Thank you!
Lisa
I colored this image with prisma pencils and smoothed it with a prisma blender pencil. The blender pencil only works well when blending wax. When you get to a space without the wax it stops blending. I only use the blender pencil when using this type of blending.
I colored this image with prisma pencils and smoothed it with a prisma blender pencil. The blender pencil only works well when blending wax. When you get to a space without the wax it stops blending. I only use the blender pencil when using this type of blending.
I actually used the really tightly wound Q-tips last time. Normally I do use the stumps but since we just moved I don't have a clue where they are so I resorted to what I could find! LOL! I saw in a youtube video where a lady used them so I tried it! I was just looking at the project where I got the oil-y line and it did seem to be gone now! YEAH! I do think, after reading a lot of the entries here, that I'm not putting down enough color! Maybe I should try that next time!
Oh good! I was thinking along those lines and wondering if it had dried at all! ;-)
__________________ Ann Here is my oily blog! CLICK HERE Certified Copic Instructor - Local ClassesI love cars, stamping and essential oils!
I have a ton of stuff in my gallery that is coloring with prismas and gamsol. If fact......if it is colored it is with this method.........although I do have a few copic images now. ;-)
__________________ Ann Here is my oily blog! CLICK HERE Certified Copic Instructor - Local ClassesI love cars, stamping and essential oils!
I took a gamsol class from InyAntics today! there is a stamp show here in Texas. what I learned-and remember this was 4 hours ago- is that once you outline with the color pencil, tap the stump on the foam top of the gamsol it is important to make teeny little circles through you line...teeeennnnnyyy and the when the line is "wet" from the gamsol( never really gets "wet" just liquifies) then using a larger circle work your way to the center. You can add a darker color to shade and shadow and follow the sam procedure. Came home-did it with plain ol' crayola pencils and viola! Just what the doctor ordered! Yippe and Yeehaw!
thanks for adding this info - I don't know I didn't add this link to the InkyAntics instructions on gamsol - I can be such a dweeb!
Just curious, I tried this technique and I seem to get an oil-y line! Is that normal?! Do I have too much Gamsol on there?!
I use Mona Lisa OMS with Ga Pacific CS. On occasion, I've used too much OMS and that oily looking blotch showed up. The 1st time I saw this, I just knew it was ruined. :twisted: I was working on a pretty detailed, busy image. It isn't really oily, it is just where the paper absorbed the OMS. Just let your paper sit out over-nite and it'll dissapate completely. There is wax in the colored pencil. The OMS melts the wax allowing the stump to move the pigment around on your paper.
Oh, I don't sharpen my pencil to a sharp point. The color goes down much better with a rounded tip - no harsh line. HTH!! May God bless, Sandi
__________________ StormyElf'd '07Humble Ink Smears If at first you don't succeed, talk to God! Then, go put on your big girl panties!
I am subscribing to this thread! I am waiting for my Prismacolor Premier pencils to come in as they were out of stock and I picked up some Gamsol and stumps the other day. The lady at this new stamping store I want to was SO helpful. She sat down and took the time to show me how to use the Gamsol. She indicated that the small circles was the key to getting good coverage and shading. I can hardly wait for my pencils to come in!
Oh, I don't sharpen my pencil to a sharp point. The color goes down much better with a rounded tip - no harsh line. HTH!! May God bless, Sandi
Excellent "tip" *snort*
If you use prisma pencils they break - sometimes because they have been dropped, but more than likely because they are soft wax, this is why they are so smooth. I read on one of the posts where you could nuke your pencil to seal the wax that had been broken. That may be so but, 20 seconds didn't seal the wax, so I tired 35 seconds and all it did was bubble the ink on the outside of the pencil. It looks like it has a really bad case of acne ....
There are many threads on SCS about prismas, just do a search and you can get oodles of info
If you use prisma pencils they break - sometimes because they have been dropped..
Good point! No pun intended..until I wrote it.. now I'm going with it. And if the whole box has been dropped they might all be broken. I like buying them individually myself. Another idea on blending Prismacolors..I use a lighter shade pencil to blend and move the pigment around. It seems to go faster than the blender pencil. Colors I use are sage green, cream, grey lavender, and white to name a few. Some of the lighter warm greys are pretty good too.
Some colored pencil artists don't like a piece until around the 8th layer of color so don't be afraid to lay it on! This a piece I did with two stamped images. I didn't use solvents on this. Golden Globe? by MrHambo at Splitcoaststampers
Good point! No pun intended..until I wrote it.. now I'm going with it. And if the whole box has been dropped they might all be broken. I like buying them individually myself. Another idea on blending Prismacolors..I use a lighter shade pencil to blend and move the pigment around. It seems to go faster than the blender pencil. Colors I use are sage green, cream, grey lavender, and white to name a few. Some of the lighter warm greys are pretty good too.
Some colored pencil artists don't like a piece until around the 8th layer of color so don't be afraid to lay it on! This a piece I did with two stamped images. I didn't use solvents on this. Golden Globe? by MrHambo at Splitcoaststampers
I just checked out the link to your stamped images, beautiful! You did such a great job. I am a bit intimidated with all the talent here
I just checked out the link to your stamped images, beautiful! You did such a great job. I am a bit intimidated with all the talent here
Thanks! You're too kind! Don't be intimidated, just keep looking and trying different styles..be mindful of your own temperament. Here's a link to one of my favorite colorist.. Hungry Caterpillar by Inkerbelle at Splitcoaststampers
Quest. on Gamsol & Matte Spray (Helper)
