Fabric painting

Fabric painting instructions

When I start any fabric painting I usually sketch out my outline on paper with a transfer pencil
that way I can erase if I need to without ruining the fabric.

Next step is to transfer this outline onto the fabric using an iron. With this image I chose to use a light colored fabric so that you can see what is being done easier. When using a darker fabric it is a good idea to just start your painting right out on the fabric, Because the transfer pencil does not show up very dark, I was going to show you a picture of the outline transfered onto the fabric but it is so light I cant get a good picture so I will just show you the start of the painting.

When painting on fabric I use Cameo fabric paint it is a great fabric paint it becomes part of the fabric it will not chip crack or peel off the fabric you can wash as you would normally wash the fabric.
Ok Next step is to place a board or something hard between the fabric so that I am only painting on the front of the shirt. If you do not put something between the paint will go all the way through and you will have an interesting design on the back of the shirt as well as the front. My board has a fine sand paper attached to it so that the fabric doesnt move while I am painting.

Ok now for the fun part the painting. I always start on the left side of the painting so that I dont rest my hand on my artwork and mess it up. I started painting the back of this cat with a dark color and then went back and blended in the white to show the parts in the hair.

Now I start with the white on the bottom of the cat the legs and this is where I use the blending tool blending with fabric paint is much like blending with acrylic as the paint drys very fast so you have to work quick and in small sections. I start with the dark color in small sections and then put in the wite and blend and keep going until I get the whole section blended and then if you need to go back later to make adjustments you can just add more wet paint. Then I continue to the right side and end with the head. The face is the most important part of this painting because as with painting any portrait if the face isnt right then you might as well pack it up.
I started with the ears again blending the dark color with the light in small sections always blending in the direction of the growth of hair.
Then I work on the eyes blending again the color in the eye and I do not put the highlight in the eye until after I paint the rest of the face as I want the eye to be completely dry before putting it in so it doesnt blend in with the rest of the eye. Then I paint the nose I always start with the shadow first and blend the medium and the highlight always last. then I put the highlight in the eye.
Now I just do some final touches adding highlights and shadows here and there and its done. And this painting will stay on this shirt for as long as the shirt lasts. The shirt you see here was given as a gift to a friend.
You can see more of my fabric paintings in my Etsy shop here http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5639032