Cutting a Stencil

The materials you will need to create your own stencil are:

• drawing utensil (I used a pencil).
• paper (I used water color paper because it is thick) manila folders work well too.
• carving utensils (I used exacto blades).
• paint (spray paint works great, but any paint product will work).

Your stencil can be as detailed or simple as you want it to be. more detail requires more time and attention to detail. I decided to draw up a mobula ray design. Be careful not to draw things too close together. It also helps to shade in the areas you plan to carve out.

It is easiest to carve out the smaller details first before taking on bigger shapes. I started with the smaller shapes around the ray first. As always please be careful when using sharp objects.

The final step. Now that you have your stencil, you are ready to paint it. I like using spray paint because it is fast and easy. Always use spray paint in a well ventilated area and wear a respirator if you have one. simply place your stencil on the object you want to paint and spray away. the outlines of your stencil will be more crisp if the stencil is flush with the object you are painting. I should have put a couple small objects on mine to press it down better before painting.

Now that you have a stencil made, feel free to get some use out of it. stencils can stand a good amount of wear and tear. Thicker paper/mediums will create a longer lasting stencil. This is also a fast and easy way to make signs or flyers.

*please don't paint your stencils on other people's property*