LESSON 8
CUTTING STENCILS
STRUCTURE 8.1
INTRODUCTION
8.2
DESIGN PREPARATION 8.2.1 UNDERSTANDING ‘TIES’
8.3
USE OF PAPER FOR MAKING STENCILS
8.4
SYMMETRICAL STENCIL DESIGNS
8.5
USE OF PLASTICS FOR MAKING STENCILS
8.6
CUTTING STENCILS 8.6.1 CUTTING SYMMETRICAL DESIGNS 8.6.2 CUTTING AN ASYMMETRICAL STENCIL 8.6.3 A REPEAT STENCIL
8.7
ASSIGNMENTS 8.7.1 CLASS ASSIGNMENTS 8.7.2 HOME ASSIGNMENTS
8.8
SUMMING UP
8.9
POSSIBLE ANSWERS TO SELF CHECK QUESTIONS
8.10 TERMINAL QUESTIONS 8.11 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED FURTHER READING 8.12 GLOSSARY
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8. CUTTING STENCILS We learnt in Lesson 7 that stencil printing is one of the quickest and easiest printing methods. In this lesson we will deal with an important part of the process of stenciling i.e. Cutting Stencils. This is an essential component of the stencil printing technique, which requires skill and craftsmanship. The next lesson will deal with stencil printing by various ways.
8.0 Objectives After going through this lesson, you will be able to:
8.1
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Recognize various materials that can be employed for cutting stencils.
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Understand and explain the importance of ties in cutting stencils.
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Start cutting stencils of various designs on paper or plastic sheets.
Introduction
A stencil can be quite easily made by cutting out a design in what is usually a sheet of paper or a plastic or a film negative. However for this, the basic knowledge about the equipments and the design forms that could be incorporated must be available. This was the subject matter of previous lesson. It must also be appreciated that cutting of stencils requires a great amount of precision and patience so that accuracy and perfection is achieved while printing. Once the stencil is cut, by putting it against the surface on which image is to be printed and applying the colour through the open spaces, the design will be neatly printed on the paper beneath. We can stencil print a design as an individual motif on objects other than paper e.g. a pocket, the ends of a long scarf or on table linen like napkins or a tea cozy, or our dress or a T-shirt, as we desire.
8.2
Design Preparation
First make a rough drawing of your design and examine it closely to see if there are any sections of the design which, when cut out as open shapes, will become detached completely from the background. For making a clear cut design impression on 2
a stencil, the understanding of the ‘Ties’ is a must and will therefore be considered in some detail. 8.2.1 Understanding ‘Ties’ Ties are thin strips or thin boundaries around 1/8” wide, left while drawing a design for making a stencil that connects two or more edges of the parts of the design, or bridges the gap between the cut out areas of the design on the stencil. This would be clear from the following illustration. In Fig. 8.1 the letter ‘A’ cannot be cut out simply as it stands as the whole upper triangular area will get separated from the background. This is prevented by introducing a diagonal tie in between the shape of alphabet ‘A’ itself resulting in a cut out that is an instantly recognizable ‘A’ shape, hence keeping the stencil intact. Therefore, the alphabetical stencils are devised strategically in their own distinctive style.
Fig. 8.1 Stencil of letter ‘A’
Now look at the simple drawings without any ‘Ties’ to the left side of Figures 8.2. If we cut out along the outlines of the original drawing of the bird (Fig.8.2a left) and the flower (Fig.8.2b left ), the different sections cut out as open shapes would become completely detached from the background and fall apart so that there would be only the remaining shadow of an unidentifiable flower. We draw these wide strips or connecting ties specially to make a stencil of it. Now when this drawing will be cut out on a stencil card, it would give a perfect image of a bird with open wings (Fig.8.2a right) and a beautiful rose stick (Fig.8.2b right).
Fig. 8.2a Drawing with and without ties
Fig. 8.2b Ties in a flower
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Ties are also very useful for strengthening a stencil. The ties should not be too narrow as they may break during the printing or cleaning processes. That is why bold designs are preferably chosen for making stencils. Ties are the ultimate solution to show minute details of an intricate design on a stencil.
Self-check Questions 1. What are ties? Describe their importance. 2. What are symmetrical designs?
8.3
Use of Paper and Other Objects for Making Stencils
One can experiment with cutting stencils on different kinds of paper sheets. A stencil can be made out of any of the following materials: •
Cartridge sheets: This is the most commonly used material. It is easy to cut and handle. Moreover it is so flexible that it can be used to stencil print curved or uneven surfaces such as pots, round objects, bottles, jars or plates etc.
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Ivory sheets: These are pure white sheets, thicker than the normal cartridge sheets and serve as a tough stencil material.
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Bond paper: Thick bond paper is the best choice, when trying out making stencils or experimenting to test the stencil-ability of a design, or more than one designs.
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Some common objects: Common objects lying waste in the house can be used as stencil material. These include grocery bags, wedding cards, greeting cards, discarded cartons, etc.
8.4
Symmetrical Stencil Designs
The stencil designs which have an axis of symmetry and look the same from all the sides are called symmetrical stencil designs. They can be cut on a paper by paper folding method. Symmetrical designs are very easy to draw and can be cut on a stencil. But they are purposely chosen depending on the area of the surface print and usage of the end product. For example they cannot be ornamented on a sari border or a formal wear, but they look good at the center of a table cloth or a dinning sheet or a bed sheet. However, the symmetrical designs can be used along with some repeated patterns printed by any other technique like block printing, screen printing etc. 4
The technique of drawing symmetrical designs is based on the Japanese art of Fig. 8.3 Square folding the paper for symmetrical design origami. Square fold a paper (Fig.8.3) and draw the symmetrical portion that is common to the four parts of the symmetrical design, as shown in Fig. 8.4. The design can range from simple four petal shape to a complex eight sided polygon. We can also fold the paper into half and draw the design on the folded inner edge. Here we can draw suitable outlines derived from flowers, trees, or human or animal figures.
Fig. 8.4 Drawing a symmetrical design for making a stencil on a sheet
Activity 1. Draw a symmetrical design by paper folding method, and cut it out with the help of a scissors.
8.5
Use of Plastics for Making Stencils
Another commonly used material for making stencil is the plastic sheet which is perhaps the most reliable stencil material. It is long lasting, water proof and the colour sticking to it can be easily removed. A plastic stencil (Fig.8.5a) can be used over and over again for a long time. A variety of plastic sheets can be used. Some of these are:
Fig. 8.5a Stencils of the designs of fruits
Fig. 8.5b Fascinating fruits on the Stencil printed cushions
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Thick plastic sheet: A transparent, stiff plastic is long lasting and suitable for frequently repeated designs. Thick plastic sheets give superior performance. It is advisable to work with simple straight sided designs on these sheets particularly with cellulose acetate sheets.
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Discarded film negatives: This material makes a permanently reliable stencil when one is planning to store the stencil for further usage. The stencil made of discarded film negatives can be cleaned very easily, besides having a recycle value. Further there is no tension of dampening of such stencils.
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Discarded X-Ray films: The best use of a discarded X-ray film is to use it as a stencil material. It is a long lasting, water proof stencil. Although, it is difficult to cut, the stencils have a long life and can be used repeatedly for printing.
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Ready made stencils: Ready made stencils are prepared commercially, generally from synthetic plastic material, For example the alphabetical stencil and animal, fruit and vegetable stencils for small children are generally made of good quality plastic material, which is safe and easy to use.
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Unused transparencies: These can also be considered to be a good stencil material but cutting transparencies needs extra care and skill. The thick transparency sheets can be cut out easily just by keeping them on the design sketch. But the problem with them is that intricate designs or designs with finer details can be very difficult to cut. So we should preferably cut bold designs on them.
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Unused plastic file covers: They can also be employed for making stencils, but the quality of plastic should be good.
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Toys & kids’ playthings: Other plastic household objects available in the home can also be used for making stencils, e.g., Kids’ toy blocks, plastic rings, small sieves etc.
If a transparent material is used for stencil, it can be placed directly on the top of the drawing held intact with a tape and it can be easily cut with a stencil cutter. But it can damage the drawing.
Self-check Questions 3. Make a table of the different kinds of papers and plastics used to cut out stencils. 4. What types of designs are suitable for making stencils?
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8.6
Cutting Stencils
8.6.1 Cutting symmetrical designs Cutting a symmetrical shape from folded paper is quite easy and effective method for designing a stencil. Cut a single shape along the long folded edge, being sure not to cut across either corner. When the paper is unfolded, it will have the form of a stencil (Fig. 8.6a). Symmetrical designs are most easy to cut (Fig.8.6b) and look more attractive and beautiful. Finished image of the symmetrical stencil can be approximated by laying the stencil over coloured papers (Fig.8.6c). The design is then transferred on to any of the stencil materials like cartridge paper, ivory sheet, bond paper or any other plastic material.
Fig.8.6a Cutting of symmetrical stencil
Fig. 8.6b
Symmetrical designs
Fig. 8.6c
8.11.1 Cutting an asymmetrical stencil Place the stencil card or paper on the cutting surface and using sharp stencil cutter or a craft knife, carefully cut along the edges of each shape and the other detailed parts, removing each of them, one by one, carefully. Do not try to pull the cut outs as they can get torn or distort the stencil. It would be very helpful if Fig. 8.7 An asymmetrical stencil
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one holds the stencil card with one’s palm while removing the cutout parts. (Fig.8.7) 8.6.3 A Repeat stencil To print the stencil motif in repeat, mark with tailor’s chalk on the repeat division on the fabric. With a sharp craft knife, cut little x-shaped, double triangular holes in the solid background area of the stencil card, to link up correctly with the repeat lines (Fig. 8.8). Extend this background area with taped-on card if it is too narrow. To position the holes, find the point at which repeat lines intersect and mark them on the stencil. Make two tiny crosscuts with a craft knife with each of these four corners, and with the point of knife, lift out the little triangles
Fig. 8.8 X-cut holes at the corners of a stencil for repeat
The fabric is marked into the repeat divisions with lines of thread or tailor’s chalk. As you lower the stencil on to the fabric you will be able to look through the little holes and see the corner crosses on the cloth.
Activity 2. Draw a simple geometric shape like a triangle or a square or a circle or a simple flower on a plastic sheet, and cut it out with the help of a paper cutter or a scissor.
8.7
Assignments
8.7.1 Class assignments i) Draw a simple flower or a cartoon creature on an ivory sheet and cut it out. After that draw the same design leaving ties along the outlines of it and see the difference in its appearance in the two cases. 8.7.2 Home assignments i) Cut the stencil of a simple design on a transparency sheet or a discarded X-Ray film. Then print through the stencil to make a set of 6 table mats and napkins using a floral theme.
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8.8
Summing Up
Hand stenciling is step one to screen printing which is an adaptation of the stencil method. In this lesson we learnt about various techniques of cutting stencils. The various features of symmetrical and asymmetrical stencils and the methods of drawing and cutting the symmetrical stencil were also discussed. We also learnt about ‘Ties’, and their importance in cutting a stencil design. After experimenting with stenciling on various kinds of papers and plastics that can be used to cut stencils, we conclude that one can work with any one of them according to their availability and the situation.
8.9
Possible Answers to Self-Check Questions
1. Ties are tiny strips, a few mm wide, which are left, while cutting a design on a stencil. They are left in between two distinctive parts of a design to give it more clarity and make the design recognizable after being printed. 2. The symmetrical stencil designs are those which are identical to their mirror image. 3. Different kinds of papers and plastics which can be used for making stencils. Paper: Ivory sheets, cartridge sheets, thick bond paper, greeting cards, wasted away plastic cartons etc. Plastics: Transparencies, x-ray films, film negatives, plastic file covers etc. 4. Only bold type of designs can be used in stencil printing. The designs, which could be cut easily as stencils and do not fall apart. complex and intricate designs are generally not chosen for paper-cut.
8.10 Terminal Questions 1. Give a brief outline of paper-cut or stencil printing method. 2. Draw a design and then explain how it can be analyzed and then reformed with respect to making a stencil of it. 9
8.11 References and Suggested Further Reading 1. Allen, J. 1980. Colour Craft. The Hamlyn Publishing Group. 2. Anonymous. 1977. Dyeing and Printing. Excalibur Books, , 201 Park Avenue South New York, 10003 U.S.A. 3. Anonymous. 1979. Craft and Hobbies (Reader’s Digest). Reader’s Digest Association, New York. 4. Anonymous. 2006. A Complete Guide to Drawing & Painting. Quantum Publishing Ltd. 5. Yates, M. 1996. Textiles: A handbook for designers. W.W. Norton and Company, New York.
8.12 Glossary 1. Symmetrical
A figure which is identical to its mirror image
2. Asymmetrical
A figure that is not similar to its mirror image
3. Ties
Connecting strips
4. Transparency
See-through plastic sheets like those used in O.H.P
5. Repeat
Printing same design again and again
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