Hi, I'm trying to get into pinstriping...I have a love for cars and art, and I'm an anal rententive perfectionist with too much time on my hands...so I think I have a fair chance at making this happen. My dad use to do some pinstriping 20+ years ago but has since retired his craft...his advice was to go out and find a shop that would let me sit around and soak up what I can. I'm trying to find someone who can answer some questions for me...as far as getting started...tools of the trade...practice tips...so on and so forth... ...What I'd really like is to get some sort of apprenticeship or someone around Long Beach to show me the ropes. I'm open to working for free...or sitting and watching...in exchange for knowledge.
Just start doing it. You'll learn from your mistakes and learn from your triumphs as well. Buy a book or two about technique and then - yup, you guessed it - practice, practice, practice. Get a big piece of glass so you can scrape off your mistakes and get started. You'll need to develop the 'muscle memory' for different strokes, so prcatice making the same stroke over and over and over so it becomes second nature. Then do this with a different stroke, over and over. It's not as exciting as laying down some real cool desgins, but very striping design is made up of dozens of strokes. Learn all the little pieces first, then the big stuff will come later.
dont forget to mention that if you fell so inclined that you can tape a design to the back side of the glass and copy it on the clean side
Consider the paralax error,caused by the thickness, if you want to do that. Not as easy as it sounds.
Did you go to the Pinstripers Reunion at the GNRS in Pomona last weekend ? That would have been a good place to learn;or just about any other Panel Jam or Letterhead Meet. Also check out: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/pinstriperspage/ We are building a FAQ archive in the Database there. Also check the Inter-Galactic Pinstriping Event Calendar, also in the Database,and the Future Meets page on www.letterhead.com. I think there are some helpfull How To articles on http://www.psychoarts.com ------ You will learn more by doing,than just watching. After you've made some mistakes,you'll figure out what questions to ask.Just watching teaches you how to be a Spectator. -
Defiantly look at going to the auto events that have pinstripers showing off their talent. Take good look at the prinstriping on cars it is much different then pinstriping glass. I was at the Grand National Roaster Show and there was a ton of great pinstripers. I went with two guys who are really good at pinstriping they just watched the different techniques of all the other pinstripers to help pick up more skills. Just make sure to be respectful and polite don’t ask them a million-newbie question and not buy any of their stuff. So if your really into get some 1 shot and a 00 brush and start practicing.
Don't blow a stack of cash on videos and books, most of them suck big time when it comes to usefull info. Some are misleading,or even WRONG. Get a 000 Mack Series 10,some 1-Shot. (NOT Silver,or any of the Pearl colors to start with) Some Odourless Mineral Spirits,and paper towels. Try it,wipe it off,and try again. From my experience,most women learn Striping pretty quickly. Not sure why,but I've seen it more than once.
I totally agree with the practice part. Practicing on glass is good because it mimics the way a brush will feel on shiny paint. Don't practice on paper it doesn't feel the same. Most importiant, if you want to do it you should be able to pick it up with some persistance. I have been striping a long time and I didn't have any books or mentors. As a kid I striped anything that would stand still. Every time I try and get a technique from watching somebody else I end up making a mess. You have to find what works for you. Be the brush, don't look to pick up on somebody elses bad habbits. Make your own. As for putting a design behind glass. That can be real distracting. I did alot of office windows in the city right out of high school. I took someones advice to draw the letters on paper and put it behind the glass to save time. Every time I did it the letters would be all whacked out. The only thing that I put behind glass is a graph of blocks to make the pinstripe design symetrical. even then it can bite you. Another suggestion to make the glass less distractive would be to spray paint the back of it. There will be less distractions past the point of the brush. I hope this helps. Now get off of the internet and stripe something!! Don
I started keeping all the pinstripe images from this website(from the master) and studying the lines and which directions they would go and how they would curve and connect. Then I started with a sharpy and vellum to get the symetrical layout. I probably did 10 sharpy sheets before I got the hang of how to keep it symmetrical. They like one of the other guys said I took a good one on vellum and taped it to the back of a glass shelf and copied it. Worked for me.... I'm no pro but I think with some more practice I could really get the hang of it.
Taping a pattern to the back of a peice of glass I always thought was a pain! Unkl Ian is right about the paralax thing. Draw out or photo copy a design out of a magazine, pounce it (poke holes over the top of the design) tape it to the glass, wall or washing machine take an old sock, full it with baby powder or charcoal powder and bang the design a couple times. now when you remove the pattern you have transerfed the design in small dots, blow off the extra and start paintin'. It's called a pounce pattern. Good Luck!!
I hadn't heard anything about goings on in Pomona...sucks for me...thats a quick drive. Thanks for all the advice and links...that psychoarts page has some really useful stuff. Thanks again. Kuh-Rin
Wow...so much info...I had no idea I would get such a response, Thanks everyone for the help. I'm gonna go get some glass and go at it...I'll probably have a million more questions as soon as I start. Cheers!
JUST MY 2 CENTS, DO WHAT YOU EVERYDAY. DON'T TRY TO SWIRL IT ALL OUT AND MULTICOLOR THE HECK OUT OF IT.GET THE FEEL OF THE BRUSH AND LIL BY LIL START NEW TRICKS, BUT STICK TO WHAT YOU KNOW, THEN IT WILL ALL FLOW.... GOOD LUCK TO YOU....
I have a little question...i decided i wanted to try my hand at striping and went and got the brush and the one shot....i have my practice glass that i play around with and now i got a couple of aluminum panels to play with...my question is when i first load the brush and start pulling a line i get a real thick line...even with no pressure on the brush it is thick...and as the paint gets used i get the thinner line i'm looking for....i have tried drawing lines on the magazine that i am using for a pallette after i go to reload the brush but i still get thicker lines when i first start out again...what am i doing wrong??
Jay: you need to scape off the excess paint, on the side of the paint cup,before starting your line. With a Mack Series 10,you should be able to see the hairs of the brush telegraphing through the wet paint, before you start your line.More paint than that is probably too much.
There is one coming up in Sacramento CA Feb 10,11; and Antioch CA Sept 15. Contact info in the Databased of our Yahoo group.(link above)
It's all in the pressure that you put down on the brush, and the viscocity (Thickness) of the paint. If you load a brush with thick one shot that's been in an open can for a while, you will get a blob at first. Try a little mineral spirits and work it in the mix. Give it a short light stroke on the board you're mixing on. Then lay it down on the surface easy. Push down until you get the desired width of stripe. start pulling watching the thickness of the line, where you're going, etc. As you move along you should only have to push down a little to keep the line flowing. The paint loaded in the long brush should do the work. Once you get comfortible you can tell how the brush feels as you drag it across the mixing board. Then once you get use to short runs. It's a whole different ball park when you gotta go down the side of a 1/4 panel. Keep practicin' Zilla
Sounds like your loading to much paint on the brush, or your adding to much thinner. I mix my paint and thinner together in a paper cup and then palette it on the inside of the cup( some use books,fingers, hands). You want enough paint in the brush that the hairs will flop slightly to the sides but not to much that it would drip off the brush. Start the line with slight pressure and as you pull and use up paint you have to slightly increase pressure on the brush to maintain line with. the less paint you load in the brush the thinner the line, but your not going to be able to pull as far.One other thing, you want to palette the brush till you feel a slight drag, then it's ready to pull a line!.This is an area that comes with pratace, so keep on layin' them linez!!.
Nick: are you using a Mack Series 20 ? (green thread) I've noticed the guys who can really make a Series 20 work, will load them up until they flop to one side. The Series 10 (blue thread) seems to like a little less paint, or maybe the hairs are stiffer. Just an unscientific observation. Whatever you have to do to make your artwork is fine.
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