Advice on signage

[Steinberg]

Ok guys

Need some help.  I cannot freehand paint signs. I don't like printed images although I have used them in the past. I have also bought and painted some small wooden letters to use, as shown below.

What I need advice on is where I can get simple stencils for lettering so that I can put a shop name on the awning in the last photo. I do not own an airbrush but do want a crisp lookin shop name.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance. Steinberg.

[dbsubashi]

Try looking for nail/cake decorating stencils. There is a whole industry now for airbrushing designs onto cakes and fingernails, using plastic stencils. Mostly designs, but there must be some with lettering.

[SotF]

Look at your craft store for plastic stencils. The ones that are one a flexible plastic sheet or sheets. You can cut the sheets up with scissors or a knife, aiming for a consistent shape.

Use masking tape to temporarily attach the stencil so that it is in place for what you want, then use a pallet and a piece of cheap sponge cut down for easy use and just dab it in place. Try to go straight on and off with as little movement as you can against the building, the sheets can flex if you move the sponge against it, but essentially just tapping the area with a paint covered sponge works very well for using the stencils without an airbrush.

[Flinty]

Have you thought about dry transfers? Gone out of fashion a bit now, Letraset used to do a huge range which now appears to have shrunk to pretty much nothing - example below



But Im sure with a bit og googling you could find others.

There is also the 'print-your-own' wet transfer route, but I have struggled keeping definintion using an inkjet (ink bobbles/blurs), but decent sized lettering should be no problem - as long as it dosn't involve white of course.

[FifteensAway]

May I ask why the resistance to printed images?  By far the easiest and most versatile option available for anything but raised lettering - and even that can be accomplished by layering (a real challenge, though).  With the wide variety of papers to print on in so many different colors and patterns - plus the ability to create your own backgrounds when printing, I'm a bit mystified at the resistance to this method.  And printed signs don't have to look new, they can be aged in the printing process or after printing through a variety of techniques.

[Steinberg]

Thanks for the replies. 

Had a look at cake stencils. Hadn't thought of those.  Look to be the right size for scroll work but may be difficult to find appropriate wording...

The thinner material stencils and the advice to sponge the paint on seems sound.  Reminds me I have somewhere in the shed a couple of Anarchy kickstarter stencils.  Probably not what I need but would let me practice with the sponge.  Will give it a go.

Are the Letraset transfers the rub down ones I remember from my childhood?  Rub a pencil or point over the back and the image adheres to the surface below?  May try to find some of those.  Might be challenging to get things level though (I am not as patient as I used to be).  Picked up some graffiti waterslide transfers recently but they are so much brighter and glossier than the buildings paint job that they stand out a little too strong.

My aversion to printed images stems from the printing itself.  Gloss images look too stark and I have difficulty weathering them into the overall look of the building (I tend to ink paint MDF buildings and get a very matt finish).  Matt images (printed at home on paper) sometimes look just that home made.  Both are ok for flat signs or posters but cover up any detail behind.  This time round I want the etched lines of the awning to be visible behind the sign. Not sure I have the skills to design a sign and recreate the image behind.

Appreciate the advice though and will try some of the ideas. 

Anyone out their know if someone is cutting small stencils to order? Smallest I can find on eBay doing bespoke designs only goes down to A6 size...

[Etranger]

Microscale have plenty of waterslide lettering sheets in differing styles. http://www.microscale.com/



Microscale lettering on a 15mm Combat Wombat bus, about 3X lifesize!.

Are the Letraset transfers the rub down ones I remember from my childhood?  Rub a pencil or point over the back and the image adheres to the surface below?  May try to find some of those.  Might be challenging to get things level though (I am not as patient as I used to be).  Picked up some graffiti waterslide transfers recently but they are so much brighter and glossier than the buildings paint job that they stand out a little too strong.

....

Do what real signwriters do & use a cheat line. A faint pencil line (or lines, depending upon the sign) acts as a guide & is barely visible. also lets you work out the spacing for lettering etc before you start.  Not much more embarrassing than running out of space with a couple of letters to go.



Embossed lettering from a craft shop.

Spray over the graffiti with a matt or satin varnish, takes away the worst of the shininess and protects the decal.



A mix of graffiti decals and posters printed onto photo paper

My aversion to printed images stems from the printing itself.  Gloss images look too stark and I have difficulty weathering them into the overall look of the building (I tend to ink paint MDF buildings and get a very matt finish).  Matt images (printed at home on paper) sometimes look just that home made.  Both are ok for flat signs or posters but cover up any detail behind.  This time round I want the etched lines of the awning to be visible behind the sign. Not sure I have the skills to design a sign and recreate the image behind.

Print onto matt or satin photo paper, not ordinary paper. Much better finish.

[SotF]

Thanks for the replies. 

Had a look at cake stencils. Hadn't thought of those.  Look to be the right size for scroll work but may be difficult to find appropriate wording...

The thinner material stencils and the advice to sponge the paint on seems sound.  Reminds me I have somewhere in the shed a couple of Anarchy kickstarter stencils.  Probably not what I need but would let me practice with the sponge.  Will give it a go.

Are the Letraset transfers the rub down ones I remember from my childhood?  Rub a pencil or point over the back and the image adheres to the surface below?  May try to find some of those.  Might be challenging to get things level though (I am not as patient as I used to be).  Picked up some graffiti waterslide transfers recently but they are so much brighter and glossier than the buildings paint job that they stand out a little too strong.

My aversion to printed images stems from the printing itself.  Gloss images look too stark and I have difficulty weathering them into the overall look of the building (I tend to ink paint MDF buildings and get a very matt finish).  Matt images (printed at home on paper) sometimes look just that home made.  Both are ok for flat signs or posters but cover up any detail behind.  This time round I want the etched lines of the awning to be visible behind the sign. Not sure I have the skills to design a sign and recreate the image behind.

Appreciate the advice though and will try some of the ideas. 

Anyone out their know if someone is cutting small stencils to order? Smallest I can find on eBay doing bespoke designs only goes down to A6 size...

For custom stencils, if you can find someone with a silhouette or similar cutter, you can pretty much create your own.

[Daeothar]

Why not make your own design on your computer and then print it on transfer paper?

I was hesitant to do so at first, but nowadays it's just one of the many tools at my disposal and for your purpose, the medium would be perfect.

You'd just need some soling solution (commercially available, bit it smells suspiciously like ordinary vinegar to me... ), and the decal would set and shrink onto the surface beneath so you'd retain those panel lines. If it works on space ships and planes, it'll work on awnings as well...

[Steinberg]

So, Mulled over the suggestions supplied...  Many thanks to those who supplied ideas.  Going to try to make Decals.  Wish me luck!

These are my tests and ideas so far: