Welcome to Lesson 2!
Let’s get started…
Creating an Image on Your Screen
There are two ways to get an image on your screen. Please read through and watch the videos first before starting so that you can have all the information you need before choosing what method will work best for you.
In short, the first method, which uses drawing fluid, is a bit trickier, but in the long run, it will lead to an easier printing process for next week and a more durable image on your screen. This is the method I recommend going with.
However, if the first method is a bit confusing to you or involves too many steps, try using the second method, which does not use drawing fluid. You won’t notice a huge difference in printing ease between the two methods; method 1 will only make things slightly easier. The real difference is in the image’s durability. Your image will last longer on the screen and hold up for more printing runs if you do method 1. However, if you do method 2 correctly and follow my special tips, your image should hold up pretty well and will last for at least 100 screen prints.
If you’re still not sure which one to use after reading through this week’s whole lesson, try method 1, and if you don’t like it, you can always re-do your screen using method 2.
(NOTE: If you have trouble and need to re-do your screen, simply wash out the screen filler using Greased Lightning cleaner OR a mix of 1 cup of Arm & Hammer’s Washing Soda dissolved in one 1 gallon of water. Spray or pour the cleansing solution on the screen, use a scrub brush to scrub it in, then rinse thoroughly. Repeat until the screen is clean.)
Ok, now let’s get started!
Method One: Using Drawing Fluid and Screen Filler to Create an Image on Your Screen
Step 1:
You should have an image on your screen that you created in the last lesson. Grab your screen, your drawing fluid, and a paintbrush or two. Shake up your drawing fluid really hard before you open it. After opening, stir it with a paintbrush or chopstick until it has an even consistency.
Step 2:
Now it’s time to paint your image with drawing fluid! Place the screen so that the well side is facing down and the flat side is facing up.
Simply paint inside the lines you made during the last lesson with your drawing fluid.
Don’t let the drawing fluid get super thick and gloppy, and don’t let it get too thin either. Somewhere in the middle is just right and will work the best. Don’t worry if you see little bubbles form – they will pop eventually as they dry.
Here is how it looks when you apply the drawing fluid too thick:
Here is how it looks when you apply the drawing fluid too thin:
This is how it looks when applied correctly:
The drawing fluid can feel a bit gloppy and odd to paint with at first, but you will get used to it.
Do your best to make a nice, even coating of drawing fluid inside the lines of your drawing.
If you get some areas that are too thick, use your brush to thin then down.
If you find you are painting the drawing fluid on too thin and wispy, be sure to go over it with a second or third coating.
You should be able to hold your screen up to the light when you are done and not see any holes that are open with screen peeking through. Be sure to do a check for those open spaces before you take your screen outside to dry.
When you’re finished, your image should look something like this:
Now, take it outside to dry in the sunshine!
(Note: If you can’t take the screen outside for some reason, you can let it dry indoors too – it will just take a bit longer. If you have a fan to speed the process along, that would help reduce the drying time.)
Step 3:
Once the drawing fluid is dry to the touch (it should take about 45 minutes in the sun or a little over an hour indoors), it’s time to add your screen filler. Do this outside too, if you can, so you don’t make a mess on any of your tables inside the house! You could work indoors instead, but you’ll need to lay down some newspapers to protect your table surfaces. Screen filler can be really hard to clean up if it dries on your table or any other surface.
You will need your squeegee and your screen filler for this step. Shake up your bottle of screen filler, then pour a line of screen filler along one of the short edges of your screen. You should use about this much:
Now, take your squeegee and drag that line of screen filler across the entire screen. Try to get your coating even and smooth if possible. You should only make one pass. This is important, because if you go over and over your drawing fluid again and again or from multiple angles, you will start to dissolve the drawing fluid, and the next step (washing the image out) won’t go so smoothly. So be sure to pass just once over the image! It’s okay to scrape away some excess when you are done or to fan out your excess with a paintbrush on the edges (where there is no image) so that the screen filler will dry faster.
Here is what my screen looked like after I did this one pass:
Use a paintbrush to fill in all the areas that did not get hit with the pass that you made. Be sure to paint all the way up to the edge and fill in all of the blank areas. This will help you to block the ink from leaking out of the screen when we print the images next week. It will look like this when you are finished:
Now it’s time to set it outside in the sun again! Let it dry until the screen filler is totally dry to the touch. This will take about 45 minutes.
Don’t forget to wash your paintbrush and squeegee as soon as you can– once the screen filler dries, it’s very hard to wash out!
Step 4:
Now your screen is ready for wash out! For best results, use a garden hose with a spray nozzle attached set to a flat wash. If you don’t have a spray nozzle, simply put your thumb on the hose’s nozzle, and give your water hose a little extra pressure that way! (If you don’t have access to an outdoor hose, you can do this in a large sink or in the bathtub too – just saturate the image with water and use a sponge to loosen the drawing fluid. It will take a little longer, but it will still work.)
One thing I want to emphasize strongly during this process is that you should not use hot water at all! Please use only room temperature or cold water for the wash out process. Using warm water could result in washing out too much and ruining your image, plus, you don’t want anything too hot to touch your screen, since the mesh itself is made of plastic microfiber. Please keep that in mind, and do not use a hair dryer or heat gun to accelerate any of the drying times! Sunlight will work just fine, and it won’t ruin your screen either.
Set your screen in the grass, and spray cold water on each side of the screen (both the well side and the flat side). Do a spray initially on each side and let it start to sink in. Now choose a side (either will do) and concentrate on spraying that one side continually with your hose. Keep it about 12” away and keep your stream of water moving at all times so that no one area gets too saturated with water. Do this for about a minute, then flip it over and do this to the opposite side.
Keep going – flipping and washing – until your image is revealed!
Here is the finished image:
Hold your image up and look at it closely to make sure all of the areas you want ink to pass through are open. If you have some areas that are stuck, try nudging them along with your nail or an old toothbrush on both sides, then washing just that area out again.
You want to be sure that you don’t wash the entire screen any more that you have to, because too much washing can lead to too much image wash out, and you might end up washing out areas you did not want ink to pass through.
If you have some areas that are REALLY stuck, try this trick: You can use Greased Lightning or Arm & Hammer Washing Soda dissolved in a bit of warm water (make sure to cool it down before applying it to the screen!!) and work that in to your stubborn areas with an old toothbrush. Wash that stuff out fast though, being careful not to let it seep onto parts of the screen filler that you do not want to see dissolve.
Let your screen dry in the sun again until the water evaporates, then be sure to bring it inside so that it will be all ready for printing in the next lesson. You don’t want to leave it outside because sometimes the screen filler will get cracked from the sun and start to flake off after a few days of sitting outside. Believe me, I’ve made that mistake before, and it isn’t pretty!
Here is a video showing Method One; I hope it helps to explain thing even further:
Method Two: Using Just Screen Filler to Create an Image on Your Screen
Step 1:
Set your screen up well side down and flat side up so that you are ready to paint. Shake up your screen filler before use.
Now fill in all the areas that you don’t want ink to pass through, working negatively around the lines you drew onto your screen in the last lesson. Basically, your screen should be covered in screen filler except for in the areas inside of your lines.
When you paint, please be sure to not let any areas get too blotchy and thick, and also do not let any areas get too thin.
Here is how it looks when applied too thick:
Here is how it looks when applied too thin:
In the next photo, you will see the amount of screen filler that is “just right.”
If things get too thick and blotchy, when the screen filler dries, it will be bumpy and hard to print. Also, it could end up cracking and areas will flake off. If it’s too thin, it won’t block the screen, and your ink will go through in areas you don’t want it to. So be careful! If you get the thickness just right, you are going to cut down the amount of problems you could have with printing the screen in the future.
Also, please note the bubbles in the above photo. Don’t worry too much about these, as screen filler can get quite bubbly. The bubbles will pop and fill in the spaces underneath as they dry.
Keep going until you have blocked out all the areas that aren’t part of your image. When you’re finished, it will look something like this:
Step 2:
Let your painted screen dry in the sun until the screen filler is dry to the touch, about 45 minutes. Be sure to dry your screen flat as shown in the photo! If you dry it standing up leaning against a wall or something, the screen filler will drip as it dries and leak into areas where you do not want it to go. It could ruin your image if dried standing up.
(NOTE: In the photo above, you see some white areas outside the image area. That is just glare from the photo since the sun was shining bright and hitting the wet screen filler, creating a reflection. You do not want to see any white areas in your screen; the only part that should be white is your image area.)
When it’s ready, bring it inside so it is ready for the next lesson.
Here is a video to further illustrate Method Two:
That’s all for this lesson!