hose ings!
or
How to get the water color effect on fabric.....

Back to the Tutorial Index

For the physical "how do you make them" - please visit
Something Different Creations
Which is where I learned!

I'm using the gothic/medieval fairy Maera for this one, you'll see her at the bottom.

What you'll need before you begin:
a candle
a #10 paintbrush
#5 paintbrush
your pre-made wings
spray bottle
ice cube tray, shot glass or something of that nature
acrylic paints
waxed paper
a thick rag

One more thing.... a COMFORTABLE chair - I can do a set of wings in about six hours - my first set took me eight - not something to start into without lots of time and a good seat cushion!

By the by, I use tea towels (any fairly loose woven cotten will work, and you can start out with any base color you like, I'm just boring is all!) instead of chiffon on these, the process is the same, the end effect is different - this is what it looks like on chiffon - you can get sharper veining and use any color combinations you like, but the watercolor effect is a non-option. :-(

FIRST - Decide on your wing colors/styles and design. There are thousands of different butterfly's/moths in the world - or just have fun, but have your design drawn and/or printed out before you start - trust me! -
For colors..... varying shades, of the same color, complimentary colors .. etc. I don't really recommend trying to use contrasting or multiple colors (well, Ok, I DO, but not with this style - the colors will run and get muddy)

Now.... Lay the wax paper down over your work surface and cover it with your thick rag (I used a multiply folded old towel....) - get all your supplies together and get comfy! Burn the edges of the wings close up to the wire. Mix the paint you'll use for the veining first - Thin it quite heavily so that it pours like water - solid color, VERY thin.... - I use the artist tube paints and I use about a fingernail's worth of paint to about a tablespoon of water.

Take your #5 paintbrush, dip it in the paint, roll it along the inside of whatever you're using for a paint container and dab it around the edges of the wing - the color will bleed out onto the wing in unexpected spurts and stops, don't fret - it will all even out in the end! :-)

Here we go guys! -the fun part! (or......not)- take your #10 paint brush, dip it in the paint, roll it along the inside of whatever container you're using for your paint to get rid of the excess and start painting your veining. Use a light 'sketchy' movement with your paintbrush, if you try to create a solid line you'll get blotches. You should have thin solid lines of color when you're done - if the color bleeds at this point you have too much paint on your brush.

Paint ALL of the veining on ALL of the wings at this point - they must be *completely* dry before you go to the next stage.
The trick of course (c'mon, you knew there was one!) is to get all the veining to match!
ok, the REAL trick - get yourself a small square of aluminum foil, cover your paint container and TAKE A BREAK - guaranteed your back hurts and the tedium of all those lines that have to go just so is making you grumpy - go play for a bit! :-)

WELL - a pretty enough wing.... and if you're working in chiffon or silk - this is where you stop.
If you're working in cotton....ready to make it *really* cool?
We need a new color here - what I did for this set was simply add black to the purple - until it was almost a true black - I really liked the pigment separation that I got as it dried... :-D - Once you have your new color pick a wing, any wing, lay it flat on your towel and spray it down rather thouroughly with water - not 'dripping' wet, but VERY damp

THERE now - that wasn't so hard was it! (ok, I've had too much caffiene, I'm getting snarky here!)

I was, actually, teasing, but this really is the easy part! - Once your wing is sprayed down, take your #5 brush, dip it in your new color, roll it on the inside of the container and pick one side of the lines to 'shadow' - and all that entails is painting a line on one side of all the lines you've already drawn - the paint will spread out and fade into the material and basically do pretty much whatever it likes - LET IT! - You can see in the last pic that although the wing is still wet I'm already getting some pigment separation (black into the original violet) that I would never have attempted to do on purpose!

Draw the shadow lines on the rest of your wings and let them dry - AS they dry their look will change - a LOT - but they'll be gorgeous! :-D

OH oh - I almost forgot the doll!

Back to the Tutorial Index

For those of you looking for more information,
wanting somewhere to show off your dolls,
ask for (gentle) critic's
share your own advice....