HOW TO MAKE FREE-
HAND STENCILS (with a dolphin design example) by Giles Caron
Do you use freehand stencils, also called freehand airbrush templates or freehand shields, with your airbrush? Or would you like to use them but find their price a bit high? Then this is for you. First, in case you would like to know how I started using this specific template for my own use, it all began when I was searching for any- thing that I could use to mask a part of a painting I was airbrushing. It happened that I had a dolphin shape on my desk from a stencil I made for a t-shirt. It worked so well that I kept using it until I decided to modify it a bit to make it even better. Here is a picture of that first template I’ve been using until now, together with a print-out of a new design I included with this article. As you can see, I changed the design a bit. That’s because I adapted it to include better curves. So feel free to adapt it to your needs if you would like a curve that is not there. You will also notice that it looks like it’s not been used a lot, but it’s only because I use water based
paint, and I cleaned it regularly with an ammonia based cleaner.
Now, the best way to design a template like this is to decide what shapes or curves you need. For the dolphin, I used a draw- ing program, and positioned different circles until it looked like what I needed.
It doesn’t have to look like something, but I found that it helps me to place the shapes that I’ll use. You don’t use or like computers? No problem, you can use the same method with only a pencil and a sheet of paper. Use what- ever you have, French curves, compass, etc ... You can even draw any object you have in mind, as long as you remember to vary the size of the shapes you use to draw it. You can use any kind of plastic template that you have, but these are the two that I like to use. The No-Melt Mylar is a bit thicker, and is better for templates that I want to be more resistant to the products I use. The straight plastic one is less resistant, and can be used for templates that won’t be used a lot. For the dolphin, I used Mylar.
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