Shading and Stippling a Gourd with Wood burning begins with preparation, tips, and skills that can be learned. I will share information to help you start with good habits and an idea of what it should look like as you improve.
The wood-burning skill in gourd art is as important as the drawing skill is to drawing a line on paper and shading inside the shape for depth. But “drawing with fire” is not easy. Pyrography is a slow, consistent movement using the right tip. Most of all, it takes time and practice.
Personally, I describe it as a mindset you cultivate to allow you to enter a relaxed state of flow and confidence. Ultimately, you are rewarded with the ability to create an image with depth and interest.
Set Yourself up for Success When Shading
Make your Environment Comfortable and Safe
Sit at a secure table in a comfortable chair. Make sure you have something to hold the gourd securely to the table. Wear a mask and ensure ventilation moves any smoke away from you. I use a small desk fan. If you do create smoke or your tip is red, the tip is too hot!
Prepare your Gourd
I sand my gourds with 240 grit Abranet sandpaper. Right before I begin to wood-burn, I hand sand the gourd with 600 grit ensuring all white spots and dirt is gone. Then I add a conditioner. Formula 49 or Murphy oil soap mixed with a little warm water.
This makes the overall surface of the gourd reach the same moisture level, which will help you avoid dry spots.
Your Goal is to Master 3 Techniques
The burning techniques consist of three basic styles: line, shading, and stippling. There isn’t a right or wrong way of doing pyrography; however, as in any type of art, specific guidelines create a more appealing result.
We want a clean burn without hot spots, scorch marks, uneven thickness of lines, and uneven shading. Also develope both soft and hard edges. We want lights, darks, and mid-tones in our shading. You will need the right tip at the correct temperature to accomplish all of this.
Test the Heat Often
Sometimes I will test the tip on the bottom of the gourd or most often, I use a shard to find the temperature I can control. Start low, then raise it gradually until you feel in control.
Choosing the Right Wood-burning Tip
All tips are divided into three groups. First are the cutters or skews. They pierce the gourd’s skin, creating a line or channel that keeps the color escaping the shape. These tips come in many sizes and with different slants. The most popular tip for outlining is the “spear” tip. Its curve edge helps it make curves. Another group is the specialty tips for circles, feathers, and fur. Realistically, I never use them. Most wood-burners will tell you they use just 3 or 4 tips for most of their work.
Shading Tips
The final group is the shaders. Most of them will be bent or have round edges. These are not meant to cut into the gourd surface, but instead I often say you “toast ” the surface of the gourd with them. They include the writer, shader, spoon shader and the ball tips.
Three tips for getting the shading right
!. Use a low heat
Managing the heat of your pyrography tool is critical for complete control. Always choose the lowest temperature.
2.Keep Moving!
Keep your pyrography tip moving in a circular motion while you’re shading. It may take some time to get the hang of it, but it’s worth it! You’ll be able to create beautiful shading in your pyrography projects.
Another tip, practice on scrap wood and create gradients from dark to light shades to learn how much pressure to use. This is a great way to experiment with shading.
3. Go Over the Surface Repeatedly
Start with a light tone by slightly pressing on the tip and then increasing the tonal value as you work over the entire design. Watch Amy Carter as she shades a flower.
You don’t have to get this detailed to get a great affect. Look closely at this example and notice the use of lines following the curve of the flower. Everyone eventually finds their own style of shading.
The Stippling Style
This process is often not noticed in shading because the eye is excellent at seeing the overall tone perception rather than just dots. This is another time-consuming process, but the work is done once you add enough dots! Watch this short demonstration to see the process.
Watch this short video
The tool for this shading technique is the ball tip. They come in small, medium, and large. You will need them all. Take note, they are exspensive! I have had mine for over 15 years and never have broken or bent them. They are a workhorse for me and my style.
Meet a Master at Stippling!
I want to share the pyrography work of Alan Folger from South Carolina. A fly-fishing enthusiast and artist, his drawing style is based on stippling. Trading a pencil or pen for a burning tip was relatively easy for him. He does have a website with pictures of his pen stippling drawings of trout you can look at for more ideas.
While here, I thought you might consider creating one of his “Shelf Talkers” as a practice project. These measure about 5 inches in length with a curve allowing them to sit straight on a shelf. He sells them for about $35. Could this be an inexpensive seller in your gourd booth? Practicing a new technique on a shard is always best. You don’t mind throwing it away!
Here is how you might start with learning shading and stippling!
Kay Lovinggood shading technique style begins by adding the dots to the darkest areas, so she begins to define the edges of the shapes.
Now, let’s dive deeper into Alan’s shading technique style to capture some tips. Take a look at this closeup of Allen’s turtle. Notice how the edge line has many dots from dark to light instead of just a straight line. Inside the shell, the dark tone around the edge becomes light as it goes to the center. This is a round surface, so the top of the turtle shell will reflect the light bouncing off the top.
The deer on this gourd is getting the same treatment. The oak leaves are also nicely done. Not so many lines here.
One of his favorite topics! Just a small use of color using gourd dye. Be careful, don’t let the color over power the burning.
Many hours here, but the results are impressive and expressive of the topic and the process. Once again, the color is subtle. Notice some of the lines are outlined with a skew. A master woodburner will use all the pyrograpy techniques to their advantage on a difficult piece like this one.
My Shading Technique Style
Most of my things are abstract designs based on tangles. I begin by drawing the design in pencil. Then I complete each pattern before moving onto the next.
Many gourd artists don’t have the patience for this long process. But when it is done well, it is impressive. Most artists really want to focus on painting or carving and only need to wood-burn an outline of an object. They will need to focus on getting a consistent line without burn spots. That too will take practice.
Practice on shards, creating squares, circles and triangles. Find out where the point needs to go when you stop. I always tell my students to imagine the pen is an airplane. You glide on to the pencil line and off, never stopping on the line. And always look at where you are going. Not where you are or where you have been. The tip will always follow the eye. Good Luck.
Now it is your turn to share some tips on shading and stippling. Which tips do you use most often?
Please, share your thoughts here in the comment box or share them with all the gourd artists on our Facebook Group Page.
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Thank you for posting this great info.!