Supplies...
- pencil/mechanical pencil
- acrylic paints
- used canvas
- possibly gesso (may not be needed...what me & mom like to call 'painter's drywall')
- ruler
- a computer (or a phone; or an illustration)
- sandpaper, or for best apearance, a sand paddle
Step 1: Using Gesso to cover old your old artwork (or possibly just leaving it be)
(firstly, pray that it all goes well) Once you have acquired your old painting (and involuntarily cringed) make yourself a good workspace and prepare to get messy. If you have a 'rainbow' type of painting, consisting mostly of just different colors-abstract or the like-then you may not have to cover it up. This surface is going to be what comes through your finished product, so keep in mind that white, red, brown, or gray will look best here.
(this is another canvas I am working on; the one below has red, green and blue beneath it's top color)
Decide for youself if you need to A. cover the old painting with Gesso, B. cover the old painting with a new color or C. begin to paint your top color. For the canvas below, I just painted my top color right over a rainbow of green, blue and red.
Step 2: Sketching vintage letters
Once you have painted the canvas the color you desire, pick a quote/saying/verse and font you like. I had read in a tutorial that you can print out big letters and trace them. However, the canvas I was using was a square 12x12, and far too small for the huge letters that are trace worthy. I tried to trace small, cursive font, but it did not turn out all that great for the time I spent on the whole print/trace operation.
The best method for me was looking at the font I wanted and then drawing it onto the canvas using a mechanical pencil. You can print out the font alphabet you want online, or, like I did, use a calligraphy handbook. You can not erase the mechanical pencil from the acrylic paint, so make sure you have plenty leftover of the paint you used for booboos.
Layout is important too; go for style, yet also sensible. Once you have gotten the sketch of your letter layout on canvas, you can now draw your designs.
I printed out some 'illustrations' or 'silhouettes' that I wanted to look at and copy onto the canvas. You can just use the internet to find whatever you wish, expand it, and draw it's outline with a mechanical pencil.
Try to make it simple, something easy if it's your first time. And think that you want to 'hint' with shading later on when painting, which is the next step.
(you can see the pencil lines)
The best method for me was looking at the font I wanted and then drawing it onto the canvas using a mechanical pencil. You can print out the font alphabet you want online, or, like I did, use a calligraphy handbook. You can not erase the mechanical pencil from the acrylic paint, so make sure you have plenty leftover of the paint you used for booboos.
Layout is important too; go for style, yet also sensible. Once you have gotten the sketch of your letter layout on canvas, you can now draw your designs.
Step 3: Drawing desired doodles
Try to make it simple, something easy if it's your first time. And think that you want to 'hint' with shading later on when painting, which is the next step.
Step 4: Painting the Vintage theme
Now you can paint in your letters and designs. Try to go over the lines you drew, while othertimes keep it there (it looks great after being sanded). Make sure everything is smooth (no paint clumps!) and after you are done painting the letters, go around with another color (such as gray, brown, or black. Gray is my favorite for an old appeal) as shadowing. I even put shading on the illustration/doodles, and it turned out quite well. Again, hinting can be much more stylish than having a lot of lengthy detail. Plus, it's just plain cute.
Step 5: making new, vintage
For this I used a paddle sander. However, not every girl's Dad is a carpenter. You can get sandpaper at your local Walmart.
When using it, sand straight across the sign (don't worry, use arm power!) in very straight lines. This way it gives your canvas painting not only a wooden look, but will age it years and take away that 'I was just painted yesterday' appearance it's loudly screaming. Do not sand in circles. Go straight. Especially sand on the sides and corners for a worn-out theme.
When using it, sand straight across the sign (don't worry, use arm power!) in very straight lines. This way it gives your canvas painting not only a wooden look, but will age it years and take away that 'I was just painted yesterday' appearance it's loudly screaming. Do not sand in circles. Go straight. Especially sand on the sides and corners for a worn-out theme.
Voila! Sit back and smile at your creation (plus brag to me about it in the comments ;). Hope your old mistakes turned into beautiful artwork!
