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For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
Baird'sBears:/:/Any why, may one ask, are the smilies not working for me?:(
They are now! 
Posts: 8,574Wow Winney!
The same thing in a quilt shop would cost you a couple of bucks! That's one of the things quilters use to mark dark fabrics, we also have chalk pencils in white and blue and pink. Then we have a super cool water soluable blue marker. I use this whenever I can on the mohair. Because I can mark my sewing line, sew, turn, stuff. I get a cleaner nose area. Then after the little guy is stuffed and before I do his nose I spray him lightly with water and voila! My cheater lines disappear. I love these water soluable pens.
Di
Winneybears and FriendsGreat tip Dilu.....I use the white pencil on dark fabrics.....Winney
Vermont Harvest PrimitivesHello all. I am very new to this bear coloring and shading. I hear everyone talking about shading and coloring....on the back of the fabric???? is that where you do your coloring...not the front...on the actual fur???? perhaps this is why mine are not coming out properly.!!!! i am shading the front. Looking very forward to your input.. ALSO...if you color and shade the back...how do you know exactly where your eyes will be placed before you have turned and stuffed???? I am very confused. I need to take that class on bid 4 bears i guess...
Thank you & God Bless
doreen
Posts: 1,836Hello all. I am very new to this bear coloring and shading. I hear everyone talking about shading and coloring....on the back of the fabric???? is that where you do your coloring...not the front...on the actual fur???? perhaps this is why mine are not coming out properly.!!!! i am shading the front. Looking very forward to your input.. ALSO...if you color and shade the back...how do you know exactly where your eyes will be placed before you have turned and stuffed???? I am very confused. I need to take that class on bid 4 bears i guess...
Thank you & God Bless
doreen
Hi Doreen,
Yes, people are talking about shading directly on the fur/fabric of the bear 
. When you say yours "aren't coming out right" what are you going for that's not working for you? Maybe it's the shading tools your using? What do you use now?
You CAN do some stuff on the back of the fabric too. I just started lightly using paint the back of the mohair on certain bear muzzles and paw pads. With certain Mohairs this creates an aged affect I'm going for. You can just see the tones and it creates a more natural aged and grizzly look, IMO. I know of other artists who do this, even with more vibrant colors. Depends on the bear really.
:hug:
~Chrissi
Vermont Harvest PrimitivesHello Chrissi. I am using colored pencils around the eyes and nose area...and it just seems to blend right in. Perhaps i am not using the right kind. I am going to pick up some different ones soon. I had read where some use paints and a very dry brush and i thought i might try that but frankly am a little nervous that i will ruin it. i see bears here with beautifully shaded eyes/faces and i am having trouble getting that look. Thank you for your help. This board is so helpful and so many ways.
Take care
Doreen
VermontHarvest wrote:Hello all. I am very new to this bear coloring and shading. I hear everyone talking about shading and coloring....on the back of the fabric???? is that where you do your coloring...not the front...on the actual fur???? perhaps this is why mine are not coming out properly.!!!! i am shading the front. Looking very forward to your input.. ALSO...if you color and shade the back...how do you know exactly where your eyes will be placed before you have turned and stuffed???? I am very confused. I need to take that class on bid 4 bears i guess...
Thank you & God Bless
doreenHi Doreen,
Yes, people are talking about shading directly on the fur/fabric of the bearYou CAN do some stuff on the back of the fabric too. I just started lightly using paint the back of the mohair on certain bear muzzles and paw pads. With certain Mohairs this creates an aged affect I'm going for. You can just see the tones and it creates a more natural aged and grizzly look, IMO. I know of other artists who do this, even with more vibrant colors. Depends on the bear really.
:hug:
~Chrissi
Painting the back of the fabric is a technique I used to use several years ago ... here's a pic of the effect it can achieve.
Posts: 1,836..... I had read where some use paints and a very dry brush and i thought i might try that but frankly am a little nervous that i will ruin it........
Doreen,
I always practice on a scrap of the Mohair I'm using. Doesn't matter how many times I've done the technique or used the color, I always grab a scrap and practice. I practice/test run on the Mohair "fur" itself and on a trimmed area of the scrap...just to be sure I'm going to be happy with the outcome. I have the markers (I like the prismamarkers and the blenders personally over the copic..that's just what I've found to prefer) and for paints I like the Shiva Oil Stiks. They're a paint crayon almost..no mess.. and they're already "buttery dry" so using it very sparingly with a good brush is easy. I don't ever use a lot while shading a face...don't want a stiff feel to the fur. They're fadeproof, non toxic and used by lot of fabric artists. I've never airbrushed, but hope to soon.
Paula...GREAT example of the painting to the fabric back!! I love it.
:hug:
~Chrissi
Chaska, MinnesotaPaula and Chrissi: Those are great tips. I do have a question....when painting on the back (I never heard of this before but am intrigued), what kind of paint/markers do you use (oh don't forget brand names)....
Chrissi: I never heard of Shiva Oil Stiks....where can you buy them and do you shade with them like you do with any kind of color pencils? Do you have to heat set them?
For the prisma color pencils...do you need to heat set them too?
Doreen: I am so glad you brought this topic up...there is so much to learn....So I'm tagging on to your question....Hope you don't mind....
Michelle
Posts: 1,836Paula and Chrissi: Those are great tips. I do have a question....when painting on the back (I never heard of this before but am intrigued), what kind of paint/markers do you use (oh don't forget brand names)....
Chrissi: I never heard of Shiva Oil Stiks....where can you buy them and do you shade with them like you do with any kind of color pencils? Do you have to heat set them?
Shiva oil stiks: I found them cheaply at www.dickblick.com (they've got some GOOD sales right now on prismacolor markers, pencils, etc.... )
I like this site for art supplies, the prices are good and they ship fast. Heat setting...when I started using these I read up on what I could find online. Quilters and fabric artists will heat set prior to washing. I can't iron a bear head AND since I'm not washing a bear head :crackup: I found I could heat set for a few minutes with a hair dryer, most sites said 4-7 minutes with the hair dryer. (after the paint dried..packaging says 24 hours). Again...I test everything on scraps first.
For shading faces and paws with the sticks I use a good quality stiff brush (a "stippler" with an angled edge works for me). These paint sticks have a waxy film over them, so when you first touch them you can't imagine that they'd be "paint". Take a piece of wax paper and press the stick onto it and "scribble" a quarter sized circle....you'll see the buttery "paint" that you can then pick up with a brush. You don't need a lot at all. Can always add more...can't really take away, and you don't want stiff fur.
I'm new to all of this too, so if anyone else has used the oil sticks and has tips or tricks please chime in!!!
:hug:
~Chrissi
When painting on the back I used artist's acrylics ... they come in a tube from the art shop. I mixed them with a fabric medium (I forget what it's called) which helped to make the paint work with fabric, ie., stopped the fabric from becoming unpliable. I found it's best to dampen the back of your fabric before painting and leave it for a few minutes so that the fabric absorbs the moisture because then it draws the paint through to the front of the fabric much more effectively.
Hello Mummy 
(hehehe)
Hugs
Vicki
Chaska, MinnesotaPaula, Lisa and Chrissi: thank you for all the wonderful tips.....many bear hugs to you guys...
Michelle
Oh my goodness Vicki! What a surprise!!! I had no idea you owned one of my bears!! I'm chuckling here ... great pic!! :crackup:
Hiya Paula, I don't own one of your bears i own 6 
:dance: :crackup:
Hugs
Vicki
Pumpkin & Pickle BearsOoh Vicki, please post a picture of ALL of your bears by Paula - I'd LOVE to own an All Bear one day!
You do????!!!! I had no idea! :crackup:
Gemma, Here is a picture of my wonderful paula carter bears (All bears) I look at them everyday and know i am such a lucky gal to have them, and most of all i have a very lovely hubby who buys them for me :crackup:
Gemma hun you just have to have an "All bear" in your hug, infact everyone should own at least one.
Paula i have to say i have always loved you work and they are ever more amazing in the fur
Hugs
Vicki
Wow Vicki! Don't they look lovely all together! I haven't seen these guys in a long while ... I'm trying to think when they would have been made ... I know I haven't used the black hangtags in quite a while!
It's so lovely to hear how much you enjoy them and to see them again ... thanks for sharing them and for giving them a good home! 
Bears by Jodi
Pumpkin & Pickle BearsWow, they are all fabulous! I especially love the panda and the little red guy!
Baird'sBears Vicki, you lucky lucky girl!! I am green with envy!
Vermont Harvest PrimitivesHello everyone. sorry I haven't responded in a while...this were a little crazy here...anyway..thanks for the wonderful tips for shading and using pencils, paints, ect...I went out and got all my supplies...I will be trying different techniques...I will let you know how it all turns out.
Doreen ::::::::::::::)
