Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Illustration Tutorial: DIY Wooden Canvas Frames

Here's my latest tutorial. Much better attempt methinks, and with a surprise ending! What more can I do to entertain you?

Tutorial: DIY Wooden Canvas Frames

Video tutorial:


Materials
1. Wood Surface
Get some plywood or masonite or whatever is on sale. Just choose your surface based on how it feels and how well it'll suit your painting style. Keep your eye peeled for recycled wood! You wouldn't believe what people throw away...

2. Wood Planks
Choose a thickness for the sides of your canvas. This one is 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch.

3. Saw
I tried to make this tutorial use no power tools, but I couldn't think of a good way to cut the surface wood in a straight line. So I'm going to recomend that you use a saw of some sort. Either a jigsaw or a circular saw will do.

4. Miter Box & Hand Saw
You'll need something to cut diagonal lines. Obviously if you have a chopsaw you'll use that. But if you have a chopsaw, you probably don't need my stupid tutorial to teach you how to make the most basic of contraptions. For the rest of you, grab a miter box. Super cheap and does the job perfectly.

5. Hammer & Finishing Nails
Just dig out that old hammer from under your couch, and borrow some nails from your neighbor.

6. Glue
Use either wood glue, or LaPage PL9000 Heavy Duty Construction Adhesive (I reccomend the adhesive, it's strong enough to stand the test of time).

7. Primer
I use gesso.

Steps
1. Cut the Wood surface
If you buy your wood at Home Depot, you can have them cut it into managable sizes for you. Handy to keep lots of wood around, you never know when the art bug will bite. Draw out your canvas shape and cut it out. Measure twice, cut once.

2. Cut the Planks
Measure your cut wood surface. Cut the planks to match your outer surface dimensions, but with 45 degree angles at the corners to create a seamless edge. Measure twice, cut once.

3. Nail the Frame Together
You can use some extra adhesive to make that bond nice & tight.

4. Apply Glue
Cover the top edge of your frame with a line of adhesive.

5. Secure the Bond
Place the surface of your canvas board on the glued frame. Use something to clamp it down, or place a larger piece of something overtop and use something heavy to weight it down. Wait overnight to let the adhesive set. Use sandpaper to smooth out any rough edges. Use wood glue to fill any gaps/cracks/nail holes. Then prime it with whatever primer you fancy. I like gesso.

6.Paint
Now go art!