After reading some of the great pointers on Scooter's post, I got to thinking of how brush strokes on a sign are a part of the charm of hand lettering.
When I started out, I masked everything and laid down the paint with my trusty airbrush. I got a lot of comments about how much my work looked "just like stickers".
As I started working with brushes, a few old school painters explained that the brush strokes were like a signature, unique to every customer.
Over the last couple of years, the airbrush seldom comes out to play anymore and the majority of my customers prefer the hand painted "look", strokes and all.
Just typing out loud and was curious if anyone else had any thoughts to add.
Rapid
(edited for slplineg....hehe)
[ September 17, 2003, 06:13 PM: Message edited by: Ray Rheaume ]
Posted by Jeff Ogden (Member # 3184) on :
Yeah Ray....those brushstrokes were always something special. You could tell who painted a sign by the way the strokes looked on a faded sign. Some of those guys were pretty good...you could see a whole line of faded letters, and every stroke was perfectly placed. No going back and straightening out a crooked part. When I was learning to letter I use to love looking at old signs; they taught me alot. Posted by Si Allen (Member # 420) on :
Of Course!
Did a restored old race car, and the customer insisted that there be brush strokes.....just like in the original!
Posted by Harris Kohen (Member # 2139) on :
Si, I bet Rod or Artee could airbrush in the brushstrokes, even Ryan might be able to do that buy Joey would say otherwise, just cuz he can
Posted by Alicia B. Jennings (Member # 1272) on :
I'm confused, does this mean I should leave in the brush strokes. I have just about lost sleep about leaving a few brush strokes on a lettering job. What's next, brush hairs left in the job, lint, bugs? But I know what ya all mean, the job gets a little charater with the strokes in it.
Posted by Danny Busselle (Member # 3746) on :
NO Alcia they are talking about years ago when it was very hard to remove the Paint Strokes. If you can remove them then do it but a few always stay depending what angle your looking at and the amout of light. Be Good To Your Self, and forget it. Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
Danny,
You ruined it! I was just writing a plug in for Corel to add brush strokes, hair, lint and bugs to vinyl to get away from that decal look. It was even supposed to add that authenticity to Edge graphics.
Of course, if the surface isn’t prepped (Roger–this is your cue), much of the above can be preserved under the vinyl. Does that count for character?
You can probably tell I would rather be in Nanaimo right now than working in the rain here in Dallas.
Posted by Stephen Deveau (Member # 1305) on :
I'm Stroking down the Road..I'm Stroking and trying to get home! Posted by Randy Campbell (Member # 2675) on :
strokes are what hand painting is all about.If you are going to worry about a brush stroke then don't paint.People buy vinyl that looks like checker plate or machine turned gold,why not brush strokes ?? If you spray everything where will our trade go.Sorry if I sound like I'm but when we do signs by hand it won't be perfect. Posted by Ray Rheaume (Member # 3794) on :
Alicia, You brought a smile to my face a mile wide.
Years ago, I got a call from a race team who were all irrate at another painter for leaving DOZENS of brush hairs in the car's numbers and added a drop shadow while no one was looking. They handed me a 1" brush and a couple of cans of One Shot paints that the painter had left behind for touch ups. I'd never seen either before and was also leaving hairs behind.
I ran out to the hardware store and bought a couple of 2" foam brushes and painted the numbers with those instead. 300 race cars later, I still use the "foamies" on the numbers and fondly look back to that job as the first time I'd tried painting with a brush.
Randy, I think I know what you mean. I see 'hand lettering fonts for vinyl graphics" for sale in supplier catalogs and have always thought of it as a contradiction in terms. But that's just me.
Rapid
(Edited so that inches are not feet...sheesh)
[ September 19, 2003, 05:04 AM: Message edited by: Ray Rheaume ]
Posted by David Fisher (Member # 107) on :
The best forgers of fine art are those that can imitate the technique of the greats right down to the brushstrokes. In my book, the best cnc technicians in the sign industry are the ones that lay out a computer generated sign and give it a human touch IE: bastardise it enough to make it look hand made without making it look amateur. I wonder if collectors of the future will be interested in old vinyl advertising signs where the vinyl has fallen off leaving a stain of baked crud where the adhesive once was. Not quite as interesting as an old oxidised brushed sign where you can see and follow each stroke as it was laid down by the original artisan. Even if you lay the job off and achieve a brilliant finish, your signature is still there underneath and will be exposed by the elements over time. Brush strokes (from a professional) don't detract from the quality of a sign, they add to the character of it. Like Ray, thinking out loud. David
Posted by Tony Vickio (Member # 2265) on :
A few years ago, Brock Yates purchased a very old vintage race car. He had it at the Watkins Glen Vintage race. He wanted me to repaint the numbers as they we so worn that you could see all these "marks". I told him they were the brush strokes that the artist used to paint the numbers. I showed him how the corners were made and the number formed. He stood there a minute, then he smiled! The numbers were never touched, and will remain that way!
Posted by ScooterX (Member # 2023) on :
Gee, I wonder if i can convince my customers that little tiny bubbles are the halmarks of "hand applied" vinyl and that they should really pay me EXTRA for doing it the "old fashioned" way...? Of course, these day, with digital printing and all, you almost never get to see lettering that's slightly out of registration with the drop shadow... see how the vinyl here peeled up a bit and got stretched funny...
Seriously though. I also like brush strokes on lettering. Its only the brush strokes on the larger flat picture areas that I was concerned about.
Posted by Sheila Ferrell (Member # 3741) on :
.....sort'a "strokes" the ego as well when they demand "hand lettering", don't it? Still kind'a don't like it in glass tho', unless it is a "true" historical site.
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Still kind'a don't like it in glass tho', unless it is a "true" historical site.