instructables Crayon Etching DIY Scratch Art Instructions
- June 9, 2024
- instructables
Table of Contents
instructables Crayon Etching DIY Scratch Art
You might remember this particular activity from your childhood. Black scratch
cards at one point were super popular, up there with ‘paint by numbers and
‘paint with water’ coloring books and I honestly don’t understand why they are
so hard to and nowadays. I know they are technically for children, but I and
this repetitive coloring/scratching activity very relaxing.
They are easy to make and can be enjoyed by the whole family.
Supplies
Good quality, vibrant crayons (if you can get neon or uorescent crayons- they
are even better)
Thick white paper or cardstock
To create the black layer you will need: black crayon, black pastel or black
acrylic paint
Scratching tools- metal, bamboo, plastic tools capable of etching (cuticle
pusher, metal skewer, bamboo skewer, pin, needle etc)
Varnish to seal the design – optional
Step 1: Testing
Before you start it’s a good idea to choose what to use to create the black
coating. I tested different paints and crayons before I came up with the best
option. Black pastel worked, but created a lot of mess, black crayon semi-
worked, there were patches of colour coming through and the colour wasn’t
uniform.
Latex paint was completely useless, washable children’s paints and very cheap
black paint didn’t even stay in place, it just slid off the crayons and good
quality acrylic paint worked too well and refused to be scratched.
Medium-range acrylic paint worked the best. It was thick and opaque enough to
cover the design, but still scratch-able.
Acrylic paint has to be mixed with hand soap.One tablespoon of pain +halta
teaspoon of liquid hand soap
Step 2: Colouring
- Not all crayons are vibrant, so test and choose your colors beforehand.
- Cover the paper with your chosen design- splotches, thin lines, thick lines, diagonal or horizontal… however, you like.
- If you want some parts of the design to remain white, you can’t just leave it blank, you have to use a white crayon.
- Try not to leave any spaces between different colours, even if you overlap two colours slightly, it’s still better than leaving a sliver of space. If you leave a sliver of space and then cover the paper with black paint, that sliver will become permanently black and you won’t be able to scratch it off.
Step 3: Paint It Black
If you have access to high coverage black crayon of pastel, use that to create
the black layer.
If not, use black (or some other dark colour) acrylic paint mixed with liquid
hand soap ->> 1TBS paint + 1/2 TSP soap ratio. Two layers of paint should be
enough.
Step 4: Preparation
Prepare your scratch tools and cover your work area with newspapers to keep
everything clean.
You can use a pencil to draw your design directly onto the black layer or
free-hand it.
If you make a mistake, change your mind or scratch too hard, you can always
fix the project with paint. Keep a small container of paint and soap mix
nearby and apply it to with a tiny brush where needed.
Step 5: Scratching/ Etching
Last step is pretty self-explanatory, just scratch your desired design onto
the card and watch as the the colour underneath reveals itself.
Once finished, you can seal it with a varnish if you want to.
References
- Yours for the making - Instructables
- Crayon Etching - DIY Scratch Art : 5 Steps - Instructables
- Kura_kura's Profile - Instructables
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
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