What Are Some Pyrography Tips and Techniques?

Pyrography is an art process where the creators make designs on wood or leather with flames or tools which have been heated. Consider following some of this information in order to sharpen your abilities for this intriguing artistic field.

Preparation

Make sure that you practice a lot. Creating a masterpiece is going to take time and patience.
Consider the texture of your work and what you want to create before you dive in.

Tools and Materials

Consider purchasing a machine that will help you to create your works.

Buy different types of drives and drill bits to create fascinating patterns on your work.

Use a pencil and tracing paper to get designs onto the material of your choice.

You absolutely must have a clean nib or your work will not come out properly.

Surfaces and Patterns

Leather

Be careful when you are working on leather. You can easily make prints on the leather without even knowing about it.
Use nibs to create your designs.
You can also use a heated strip of metal or a modern burner to create your designs.

Color over areas with non-waxed based pencils and paints. Burn over it to get the color onto the leather.

Wood

Start with a basswood of a cross cut type.
You can use wood that either has or does not have bark. Either will be fine.
Sand your wood before you start burning it.
Use wood burning pens to create your designs.
Use colored pens with carbon paper to transmit designs onto the piece of wood.

If you are going to do grain patterns, look at the wood to see what shadows and dimensions already exist. Work with what is there to create a masterpiece.

Keep cutting pens and skews sharp.
Use the tool to create texture.

If you use polyurethane as varnish, you might notice that the picture starts to lose some of its subtleties of color.

Helpful Hints For Creating Your Work

When you hear the term monochrome used in this field, know that it refers to burning a picture without using color.
You can gently scrape away mistakes with the side of the blade. However, sometimes you simply will not be able to change what you have already done.
Try to limit your burning sessions to 15 minutes at a time.
Blow on the nib if you need to cool it down for a bit.

When you have your nib on the surface, try to keep working. If you stop at any point, you may very well wind up getting a blob on your piece of artwork.

Protecting Your Work

Use a water-based clear varnish rubbed down with some wire wool in between.
Do not put your work into direct light, unless you have a UV protective additive in your varnish finish.

Keep your burner moving in order to prevent unnecessary dots and dashes on your work.

Displaying Your Work

The edges of the plywood might be a factor that you wish to change. Buy a frame to display your artwork.
If you want to take pictures of your pyrography, you might run into problems with the image not being clear because the image is too bright. Tape a few layers of tissue over the flash so that there is not so much light.

Tips and techniques are courtesy of Scorch's Pyrography, Sue Walters Pyrography, Crafty Art World, and Pyrography with Lynda Gibbs Eaves.

Learning More Techniques

If you have some experience in the field of pyrography, reading these tips and techniques could certainly answer all of your questions. However, if you are just beginning, you should consider taking a class. Look into your local community college or art studio to see if classes are offered.