Monday, September 2, 2013

can anyone suggest a good sealant?


used to draw on paperboard coaster for commissions. after sketching and coloring, i simply sprayed on them using acrylic. the effect was good;- the colors were enhanced and they looked shiny. 
however, if you want to use them drink coasters (as the original purpose serves), you can't put hot drinks on them as it will make their surface tacky.



yet i love the coarse surface, it's perfect for cross hatching. there's no problem if it's used as just another art piece, but having a good sealant on the surface would be great as well.


i did find epoxy at art shops, but it's too expensive: rm 60 for a small can. the finishing is just like another epoxy sticker, not hard enough and could be tacky sometimes. it was then that my friend introduced a 2:1 hard epoxy they've been using in their engineering projects. i tried using below drawing, just a piece of sketching paper glued to polystyrene.


the mixture needs to be poured onto the surface and left for one day to dry. there're problems here and there: air bubbles, spillage, a bit yellowish, and stuff, but the outcome was awesome~


the surface becomes hard plastic! knock it, throw it, it won't break.

basically this method has been used worldwide to seal the surface of paintings and furniture, but to find a good and affordable sealant would be a problem; especially here. i went to plenty of DIY and hardware shops to find the materials yet couldn't find them. of course, there's a lot on ebay, but the prices are not worth it.

while still looking for sealants (a lot of requests on them, i've finished the drawings but they have to work as drink coasters first!), i made some tiles coasters instead. they're easier as i used decorative papers as the pattern. could not use original arts on this as the glue would smear the watercolors. 


  
..and some glass magnets, also using decorative papers..


..and finished some commissions..


it's cheating, but my friend says it's ok. she likes it anyway :p

i've made another blog sharing the *completed* crafts i made. there won't be much posts though, since i would not put stuff i haven't found solution for. hope u guys do drop by sometimes! :)


september 2013.


7 comments:

  1. aaa... aku sgt noooob bab sealant, sorry can't be of much help here, yg aku penah buat 1 jenis 'sealing' aje, aku pegi laminate my drawing kat kedai masa zaman study dulu, buat hadiah kat member... hahahahah *yes you may smack my head* XD

    wow lawa betoi hasil lukisan ko + effect hard epoxy (your drawing of stationery) tu, mesti best kalo gantung kat dinding... aku kalo nak beli apa2 produk dari hasil arts aku sendiri atau org lain punya arts, aku akan mintak deviantArt yg proseskan, order print dari deviantArt (sbb aku agak malas nak cari barang2 utk seal n process sendiri arts aku huhu..), baguih betoi la hime-chan rajin seal n process sendiri ( >w< )...

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    1. aku pun baru study beb, lepas gugel2. aku suka tgk orang hias rumah DIY, buat wallpaper sendiri, alter furniture sendiri etc. tapi kat melesia susah sikit nak cari barang & harga pun mahal. kena rajin sourcing, huhu

      tenx a lot. drawings tu dah rosak pun, sebab masa aku seal tu aku x titik beratkan bubbles ngan spillage, skang bila plastic tu da keras, xleh nak alter. tapi at least dah jumpa a good sealant, cuma tinggal nak gi beli je x pegi2 lagi. ni satu sebab aku suka keje kat kilang ngan lab, banyak belajar materials yg bole guna untuk mende2 diy plus teknik2 sekali :D

      aku kurang minat prints, and aku x buat digital arts pun. tapi kalau gi convention, aku memang kumpul prints. kalau order kat DA mahal x?

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    2. hehe... owh DA punya prints mcm2 ada, ada poster dan boleh jugak mtk print on merchandise (mug, mouse pad, coaster, fridge magnet, puzzle, n etc...), and price dia ikut masa la, kalo time promosi dia bagi free postage fee, price range dari puluhan ke ratusan RM (or you can purchase using DA points) :D

      DA Shop ( >w< )

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    3. caner nak dapat DA points? eh jap2 aku mesej ko kat DA je la. lama gile x update

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  2. alaaa.. aku pun tak pasti sebab sebelum nie pon aku pernah cari sealant untuk lukisan aku... macam macam aku eksperimen dan semuanya disaster... kakakakakaka

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    Replies
    1. aku baru nak test2. tapi aku gugel dulu so xde aa disaster sgt haha. ko biasa lukis traditional ke digital?

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  3. can't help either just an idea lar

    kalau kat kl cm ke biasanya aku jenguk2 kedai cerderahati ni tengok apa diaorang pakai huhu..
    So mungkin leh tanya good selant dari pengalaman diaorang.. :)

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