wing dress update: making of the dye swatch #1

on today's post
i am going to show (off) the
painting process for a dye swatch


dye swatches are test pieces
before moving on to paint on
the real thing.....
(eg. clothing to be made)

because

the outcome may look pretty different from
how it looks while painting
even the "feel" of dye absorption
varies with each color

can't tell from looking how dark it will come out
until the whole procedure's over
put too much dye on it and
it'll end up looking like an overexposed photograph

but need not be freaked
so what, if it gets a little screwy
that's what the swatches are for


where i left off the last time
design's traced with a blue pen with
fade-with-moist ink
fabric is stretch silk satin, using the wrong side to paint



first,
outline with regular painting brush
using just a few hairs at its point



outline all done

switch to a flat-tipped, traditional brush
and test on few feathers



then give the whole thing a general shading treatment



still a bit more..

see how the application is uneven and
the look blotchy



smooth it out a bit with the above flat brush
use it almost dry



now that the shading is even enough
i decided to add some clean edge to each feathers

will look more feathery that way, trust me


using the pointy brush,
before....



....and after

circled is the area i worked on



now it looks like this

hmmmm, a bit more punchy, perhaps



spicing it up with the flat
hold it almost vertically to
push dye particles into grain



done, i said

the procedure to follow-steam setting-
may shrink the fabric
since it is the first time using this particular roll (of fabric)
i marked the measurement, will compare when all is done



one issue:
tracing with a felt-tipped pen
may not be a great idea for this design

although the pen ink will fade when wet enough
outlining with lightly-dipped, fine-tipped brush
doesn't do the trick hence confusing double lines

i decided to try something different for
the swatch #2



done for today!

phew, long post.....
thanks for reading

(((a smile of gratitude)))