Nib painting involves using the nibs found on the ends of calligraphy style or old-fashioned ink pens. Painting with nibs can be done using oils or watercolors. There are different nibs, namely round, long and short tips, and each provides a different painting texture when used. It's a good idea to experiment with the nibs when you're a beginner, to familiarize yourself with the end results. This article will provide you with a short and easy nib oil painting tutorial, to get you started in this intriguing and fun craft.
Steps
Part 1
Part 1 of 2:
Preparation
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Assemble the items needed to undertake the project. For this project, you'll need both straight and round nibs. The remaining items needed are listed at the end of the article.
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Lay down a felt cloth on a piece of strong cardboard. Glue it in place. This becomes the work board that you can use again and again for the paintings.Advertisement
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Try out the nibs. Do some small and simple painting to get a feel for how the nibs work with the oil paints.
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Cut the velvet cloth with desired size. Mark two centimeters along the perimeter of the cloth to enable the painting to be framed. This area will not be painted, so check the size against the frame you'd like to use before you begin painting. Lay over the felt piece in readiness for drawing and painting on.Advertisement
Part 2
Part 2 of 2:
Painting the cloth
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Make a rough sketch on the cloth of your desired image. You can either mark this directly onto the fabric, or use tracing paper and transfer the image to the fabric.
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Take about 0.5 cm of paint from the oil paint tube. Place it on your index finger. For smoothing the paint, use the nib and rub the paint in the same manner as you'd mix sugar into milk.
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Dab a small part of this paint on the nib. Start applying the paint from nib onto the cloth, in its respective place.
- While painting, you will note that it appears like a line. You have to paint like this all over, continuously adding more lines to form the image parts.
- You can mix two colors while painting, to get beautiful shading in the scenery or image.
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Use the round nib for details. For example, if small flowers are to be painted, use a round nib. Just keep the nib in the paint and make sure not much paint is settled on the top of the nib. Press the nib where the petals of a small flower or a cloud are to be made.
- Take your time. There is no need to finish the painting at one sitting. You can take several days to complete it, as desired.
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Allow to dry. Once the painting is done, leave it aside for two to three days to dry up. It won't be ready for framing until it is completely dry.Advertisement
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Tips
- Add oil a bit if you feel your paints are dry. Keep the felt board beneath the cloth so that the table or floor does not get coloured.Thanks
- Flowers, plants and scenery make ideal subjects for nib painting.Thanks
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Warnings
- Since oil paints takes time to dry so be careful that your hands does not touch the coloured part of the cloth.Thanks
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Things You'll Need
- Felt underlay for working on, along with a stiff piece of cardboard and glue
- A plain thin velvet cloth (black/white), the fabric for painting on
- Oil paints (the colors depend on what you want to portray on the cloth)
- A white colored pencil (if a black or dark velvet cloth is used) or a dark colored pencil (if white or light color cloth is used)
- Scale for the measurement of cloth to draw a border, so that some cloth is left for making frame
- Nibs (straight nib and round nib)
- Frame
About this article
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