Brick Stencil Design-- I AM BACK

[achstechdirector]

ok, I am very sorry that i have neglected CB...I miss the place so much. But when faced with a problem, the first place I thought of for help was the CB guys/gals. My professor wants me to make a stencil for applying a brick pattern onto luan. He wants a 2x2 frame and wants to use linoleum for the pattern within the frame. the pattern has to be very consistent throughout a large flat surface. I am very confused on how this design would work. thank you for any suggestions and I hope to start contributing again at controlbooth!

 

[mstaylor]

Go to your linoleum store and look for pieces of Armstrong vinyl that has a brick pattern. I assume he wants to make holes to paint through to make the bricks. The problem here is that is going to be too regular. If you basecoat the wall with the mortar color and overlay the brick paint it will look bad. What we have done in the past is take thick starfoam, 2 to 2 1/2 in, and saw curf the blocks at 1/4 in slices and apply them to the wall. Spackle works or hot melt glue either one. Then apply a base coat to make the brick color and overlay a splattering technic or random air brush to make it look irregular.

 

[achstechdirector]

Go to your linoleum store and look for pieces of Armstrong vinyl that has a brick pattern. I assume he wants to make holes to paint through to make the bricks. The problem here is that is going to be too regular. If you basecoat the wall with the mortar color and overlay the brick paint it will look bad. What we have done in the past is take thick starfoam, 2 to 2 1/2 in, and saw curf the blocks at 1/4 in slices and apply them to the wall. Spackle works or hot melt glue either one. Then apply a base coat to make the brick color and overlay a splattering technic or random air brush to make it look irregular.

I have done the foam and acid bricks and am considering doing those again. I like the ideas you have given me...I agree that we want a pattern but not too regular. Thank you for the great idea!

 

[mstaylor]

The first time I used this method was on a two story set that was stationary. We spent a lot of time cutting all that starfoam. We also had a wall of books that we cut the spines off old books and applied to the wall with wood to simulate the shelves.

 

[Drmafreek]

Alright, what your professor is looking for is something that most scenic artists have done at one time or another. What you do is you purchase the linoleum sheet, sketch out your brick pattern, and then cut out the individual bricks. Some people will also sandwich the edges of the linoleum in 1x1 so that it doesn't buckle as you work on it. The reason for linoleum is so that your stencil doesn't adhere to the surface you are working on. It is also thin enough as to not prevent paint from fully filling the stencil. I've also used creaft aper coated in a poly to avoid the buckling problem.

Once you have your stencil built, you'll want to do a mortar base. Preferably either a solid or a two color blend. Then lay down a spatter of both a highlight and lowlight. Essentially these would be darker and lighter than your base. You'll want this to dry before you start your stenciling. As you begin your stenciling, use organic sponges to apply the brick colors, or use dark glazes over top of your mortar base. Either way you'll want to use multiple colors, even if they are minimally different. This gives texture to your bricks. Finally, once your brick colors are done, go back in with highlights and shadows and a bit of spattering over the entire unit.

If I can find copies of a unit we did last year I'll add them to this post. Generally these bricks can look fairly realistic when done well and when viewed from a general proscenium audience distance. If done for a black box theatre, or something more intimate, you may want to go with true three dimensional bricks, of which one way of doing it was posted here.

 

[achstechdirector]

Alright, what your professor is looking for is something that most scenic artists have done at one time or another. What you do is you purchase the linoleum sheet, sketch out your brick pattern, and then cut out the individual bricks. Some people will also sandwich the edges of the linoleum in 1x1 so that it doesn't buckle as you work on it. The reason for linoleum is so that your stencil doesn't adhere to the surface you are working on. It is also thin enough as to not prevent paint from fully filling the stencil. I've also used creaft aper coated in a poly to avoid the buckling problem.

Once you have your stencil built, you'll want to do a mortar base. Preferably either a solid or a two color blend. Then lay down a spatter of both a highlight and lowlight. Essentially these would be darker and lighter than your base. You'll want this to dry before you start your stenciling. As you begin your stenciling, use organic sponges to apply the brick colors, or use dark glazes over top of your mortar base. Either way you'll want to use multiple colors, even if they are minimally different. This gives texture to your bricks. Finally, once your brick colors are done, go back in with highlights and shadows and a bit of spattering over the entire unit.

If I can find copies of a unit we did last year I'll add them to this post. Generally these bricks can look fairly realistic when done well and when viewed from a general proscenium audience distance. If done for a black box theatre, or something more intimate, you may want to go with true three dimensional bricks, of which one way of doing it was posted here.

that is exactly what I was looking for! Thank You SO MUCH!