Stencil graffiti. Instructions for a beginner. Graffiti stencils Graffiti templates

Surely you've met graffiti, including even identical repeating elements in the form of patterns, or saw laconic beautiful emblems, posters, logos, pictures applied to the wall every 30 steps. To create such images, stencils are used, usually made by hand. Even graffiti artists who work in various techniques often use stencils to apply individual elements or small details of compositional designs. After all, perhaps you need to make a stencil to apply advertisements to the asphalt sidewalks of the city under the cover of darkness? We will not judge you, but rather tell you how to correctly and simply make a stencil for working with aerosol paints.

What surfaces can stencil graffiti be applied to?

If you work with aerosol paints, the main requirement for the surface is that it must have a dense structure, be smooth and dry. Naturally, the main area of ​​graffiti is asphalt and walls, both brick and plastered. In addition, stencil graffiti fits perfectly on stone, metal, smooth wooden surfaces, plastic shields, various types of glass, including advertising stands, bus stops and store windows :)
Stencil images should not be applied to wet surfaces, as the paint will not adhere and will peel off within a few days (weeks).

What to make a graffiti stencil from?

Depending on how many times you plan to use the stencil, it could be: - a stencil for one-time application of graffiti
- stencil for repeated application of graffiti and images

Disposable graffiti stencil

Self-adhesive film is ideal for one-time application of graffiti using a stencil and aerosol paints. You can use such a stencil only once, but due to the absolute adhesion of the film and the wall, the image will be of very high quality, the outline will be clear, you will be able to avoid drips and blurred boundaries.
As a lower quality option, thick paper (whatman paper), wax paper, or thin cardboard are suitable.

How to make a graffiti stencil?

1 Draw the desired image on a piece of paper. If you want to use a ready-made image, for example, found on the Internet or made in Photoshop, print it. Trace all the outlines you plan to cut with a marker.
If this is your first graffiti stencil, then try not to make it too complex, do not overload it with a large number of elements and complex details. 2 If you decide to laminate your image, go ahead to the nearest point where lamination is done. If you are making a stencil from self-adhesive film, plastic, acetate, etc., then attach your finished drawing to its surface using paper masking tape or tape. You can even glue it to several points so that the sheet of paper does not move along the surface of the material. 3 To cut out the contours, use very sharp tools - a scalpel, a construction knife, a straight razor. Something can be cut with scissors.
Cut with confident, fast, even movements. Be careful and careful when cutting rounded elements and sharp corners 4 Some straight edges of the reusable graffiti stencil can be reinforced with tape. To do this, take a piece of tape 6 - 10 cm long (depending on the pattern and distances), press the middle of the tape to the cut out border of the outline, and bend the edges onto the inner and outer surfaces of the stencil 5 Don’t forget about a good backing for cutting, otherwise you can strip the entire surface , on which they began to cut a stencil. You can use a cutting board or an old magazine for this.

Applying graffiti using a stencil

1 Before applying graffiti, secure the stencil well to the surface. If the stencil is made of self-adhesive, there are no questions, but if it is paper, cardboard or plastic (and you still have a little experience) - use masking tape to secure the stencil. If you see that in some places the stencil lags behind the surface, press it with your hand. With time and experience, you will learn to simply hold the stencil and still get a quality image. 2 I hope you have thought about choosing paint in advance. Nowadays, graffiti uses acrylic spray paint in cans and cans. It was much more difficult for craftsmen who started working in the 90s - then there were literally a dozen colors of paint on sale, but now you will find a huge number of colors and shades, as well as metallic, fluorescent, pearlescent, textured and many others 3 Remove the stencil immediately , as soon as you have finished applying the paint. If this is a reusable stencil, then wipe off the paint from the edges of the stencil with a rag - dry or dampened with white spirit - and you can use it again

Notes and Cautions

If you are applying the same image in several different colors, it is advisable to have separate stencils for each color.

If you are applying different colors on a stencil within the same image, then before applying the next color (elements of a different color), wait until the previous paint has dried

Laminated and plastic stencils can (and should) be cleaned after each use

We are glad that our article was useful to you.

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Painted walls are becoming increasingly popular. But sometimes you want to break up their monotony with something. The easiest, fastest, cheapest and most effective way is to use stencils for walls to be painted. The drawing is graphic, clear and bright. Such objects can fit into any environment. But the best part is that the work takes from a few minutes to several hours.

What are they made of?

Stencils for decorating walls for painting are divided into reusable and disposable. Depending on the purpose, various materials are used. Disposable ones are mostly paper. Made from thick white or colored paper. Reusable stencils for walls for painting are:

A few words about vinyl stencils for painting walls. They can be in the form of sheets or in rolls. If you are going to cover a large wall surface with one pattern, it is advisable to take several identical templates. They can be fastened to each other. This way the work moves faster - a larger area is processed at one time.

Types of stencils

Stencils for walls for painting vary not only in the material from which they are made. They also differ in the type of pattern:

• Simple or single. The entire drawing is painted with one color. If desired, you can make a gradient - from a darker shade to a lighter one. But that's all. Parts of other colors are not available.

  

• Combined or multi-colored. This is a whole series of templates, each of which is painted with a different color of paint. To ensure that the details of the drawing match, marks are applied to them. When placing the stencil on the wall, these marks are aligned.

  

  For this painting, two stencils were needed - one for black and one for red.

• Reverse or anti-stencil. This template is cut out according to the reverse principle, that is, what is cut out in ordinary templates remains in this one, and it is these parts that are mounted on the wall. Then paint is applied, but it paints the areas not covered by the stencil. It turns out that there is a halo around it from a different paint, but the drawing itself remains the base color.

  

• For three-dimensional drawings. Decorative plasters and putties are now on sale. They can also be used to apply designs to walls. Stencils for them are made specially - thick, made of polyvinyl up to 4 mm thick. When applying the pattern, the slots are filled with putty and left until dry. The result is a three-dimensional drawing.

  

It's easiest to work with simple templates. For starters, you can try this type of pattern. If you are confident in your abilities, you can work with more complex combined ones. When working with them, remember that you can remove the film only after the paint has dried.

Where to get templates

There are ready-made templates for wall decoration on sale. They are all made from vinyl film as it is flexible, durable and lightweight. If you don't like ready-made templates, you have two options:

• Order production from a company engaged in outdoor advertising or printing booklets (often this is the same company). They have special equipment - plotters, which cut out the necessary outlines on vinyl. Moreover, some of them can develop a stencil for you based on a photograph.

  Beautiful birds and animals are another win-win option
  Stencil of dancing cranes - according to popular belief, good luck

• Do it yourself. If you have artistic abilities, it is likely that you will be able to draw the pattern yourself. If not, download the version you like, enlarge it to the required size and print it. Take thick (not packaging) cardboard, put a carbon copy, and a drawing on top. Everything needs to be firmly secured so that it does not move. While tracing the drawing, transfer its contours to the cardboard. Then cut it out with a sharp knife. To make cutting easier, place something soft (a piece of felt, for example) under the cardboard. This will make the edges smoother. In general, when making it yourself, you need to be careful - every burr or unevenness spoils the overall impression.

  Stencils for walls for painting: cats are a win-win option. These are more difficult to make - more fine details

Making stencils yourself is a painstaking task. If this doesn't scare you, go for it. You can try working with film. It requires a very thin and sharp, but rigid blade. If there are even small defects - a burr, uneven edges - everything must be corrected. In general, good luck to you.

How to work with stencils

You can apply the design not only to painted walls, but also to wallpaper, plastic, glass, etc. That is, stencils for walls for painting can be used not only to decorate walls, but also to decorate furniture facades, for example. Only highly textured surfaces are not suitable. You cannot apply paint to them properly. All others are suitable. Moreover, acrylic paint is compatible with almost all. They can be in a jar or aerosol. The advantages of acrylic are known to everyone: the paint adheres well to both smooth and porous surfaces, dries quickly, does not fade for a long time, and has almost no odor. That is why stencils for painting walls are usually painted with acrylic paints.

What to work with

If an anti-stencil is used, then paint is applied only from a can. You cannot achieve this effect with other tools (except perhaps a spray gun). When spraying paint, the can is located 25-35 cm from the surface to be painted. It is better to select the distance by doing a “pen test” on a piece of old wallpaper. This way you can accurately select the duration of paint dispensing, movement, and distance. And one more thing: when working with a spray can, it is necessary to additionally protect the areas adjacent to the stencil so that careless movement does not end up painting an unnecessary part of the wall.

You need to work with paint in spray cans carefully - its quantity is difficult to control

When working with all other templates, you can use:

In any case, we take paint in limited quantities. If there is a lot of it, it will flow under the stencil and ruin the whole job. Therefore, after dipping the brush/foam rubber/roller into the paint, we squeeze it out well. The amount of paint can be checked by running it over an unnecessary sheet of paper/piece of wallpaper several times.

What and how to fix it

To prevent stencils for painting walls from moving, they must be fixed to the wall. There is a special glue for this. It is applied in a thin layer to the back of the stencil, after which it is attached to the wall. After completing the work, removing it is not a problem. Moreover, it does not damage the surface.

Another option is double-sided masking tape. Note! Masking tape is a must. Unusual. If you use a regular one, it will damage the wall - most likely, a piece of paint will remain on the tape. Or vice versa, part of the sticky composition will end up on the wall. Which is no better. But masking tape acts approximately like the glue described above: it holds well and does not leave marks after peeling off.

Scotch tape is easier to buy and cheaper, so most people use it. We cut it into small pieces, remove the protective film on one side and glue it to the stencil. You need pieces in the corners - that's for sure, but they may also be needed in the middle of the long side of the sheet or somewhere else. It is important that the stencil holds well and there is no possibility of moving it.

The procedure for transferring a picture to the wall

You need to work with a stencil for painting walls like this:

Then, if necessary, we repeat the procedure. Next time you need to check whether the paint left over from the previous time has dried. Can only be used after complete drying. Dried several times, the paint forms a thick crust. This may cause it to flow between the stencil and the wall, or the shape of the design will change. Therefore, after several uses, remove the paint.

Features of working with a volumetric stencil

To create a three-dimensional image, you can use textured paint, putty, decorative plaster, liquid wallpaper and other similar compositions. You can find special formulations in stores, but they are very expensive. In this part, the choice is yours; all the compositions listed above are suitable.

All of the materials listed above have a paste-like consistency. There is no point in applying them with a brush or roller. You need a small spatula, preferably a flexible plastic one. If you don't have it, you can use a piece of any plastic. Even an old plastic card will do.

We take a certain amount of the composition on a spatula, fill the cavities with it, immediately removing the excess with the same card. At this stage, you need to make sure that there are no air cavities left and that the surface filled with plaster/putty is smooth. If you've ever worked with plaster, you won't have any problems. Everything is exactly the same.

After the composition has set, but before it dries completely, remove the stencil. In this case, the edges of the picture turn out torn and uneven. Don't be upset, this is normal. Don't do anything, just wait for it to dry completely. Now we take sandpaper with medium or fine grain (depending on the composition that was used) and sand all the nerves. In general, that's all. Then, if you want, you can color the resulting ornament, but that’s another story.

Choosing a location for the stencil

The drawing looks best on an empty or almost empty wall. Here the choice is unlimited. You can choose a stencil that will attract attention. This wall becomes an accent wall.

If the wall is not too busy - there is a piece of furniture next to it, but most of its surface is free, choose a stencil that will make the furniture “play.” There are drawings that play off a sofa or a mirror, turning everything into a single composition.

Tall and narrow stencils near doors and windows fit well. Usually these are floral ornaments. When choosing them, be guided by the design style of the room. If the decor is colored, choose the colors that are found in the interior.

The best way to hide is to pay attention

Small drawings that play off sockets and switches look very good. This is one of the decorating techniques - if something cannot be hidden, let’s shift attention to it. In this case it works great.

Type of stencil for different premises

Stencils for walls for painting are selected depending on the type of room. There are universal designs: geometric, floral patterns, landscapes. They are suitable for any room, hallway, kitchen, etc. You can find a lot of them, in different versions. And under strict minimalism, and under chic classics or romantic Provence. Moreover, it is often not only a matter of the drawing itself, but also the selection of paint. The same pattern will look different in black and pink. And this is worth remembering.

There are stencils for walls for painting with thematic designs that are appropriate only in certain rooms. For example, in the kitchen they usually use thematic pictures with food and products. In nurseries they often draw cartoon characters for smaller children, and for teenagers - game or anime characters.

For bedrooms they are trying to find calmer designs. Even if it's a man's bedroom. Here you need to relax and the atmosphere should be appropriate.

In other rooms - corridors, living rooms, dining rooms - neutral images are selected that will appeal to people of different ages. These are all the same plant motifs or landscapes.

Stencils for walls for painting: photo

The number of possible drawings is impossible to count. Different styles, elements, sizes. Graphic, fantasy, from cartoons, based on paintings, photos, schematic and realistic images of flowers, insects, animals, trees... In general, there is everything. You just need to find it. Some interesting options have been collected in this section. Perhaps you will like something.

Stylized animals and cartoon characters - stencils for walls for painting in children's rooms

Floral patterns - unobtrusive and calm

Even one sheet is a work of art

Linear or border stencils, elongated upward compositions - all based on plant motifs

Stencils with dragonflies... and if you choose fluorescent paint, the effect will be unexpected

Flowering trees are a symbol of spring and eternity

- an eternal theme... they are also on the stencils

Bamboo, spikelets - different styles, but how beautiful...

Flowers are another win-win theme for interior decoration

Simple and promising...

→

The art of graffiti has a fairly long history and deep foreign roots. Despite this, in our country this type of creativity has not only successfully taken root, but is also constantly developing, and the variety of species continues to grow. And not so long ago, to the already well-known areas: writing, bombing and tagging, a new one was added - stencil or drawing graffiti using stencils. Although many representatives of the modern school still refuse to perceive the new movement as part of graffiti art, the relationship of the latter with the new direction is an undeniable fact. Just look at the semantic meaning and materials: the same protest and call with spray cans in hands.

Often, graffiti stencils are templates for a simple one-color design. When combined with small inscriptions or standard graffiti, it usually looks very impressive. Yes, and citizens perceive it somehow differently. But there are also complex multi-colored stencils, although their use requires the hand of an experienced craftsman.

Why do more and more writers prefer stencils for graffiti? The answer to this question is ambiguous. On the one hand, thanks to the template, the writer no longer has high demands on knowledge of the basics of drawing and the skills of a painter. On the other hand, the main idea and beauty are not lost from this method. The advantage of stencils is that they save time: using a good template, there is no need to draw lines for a long time. Speaking of the result, there is also a nice bonus here - the strokes and shapes are more correct, and the drawing is of higher quality. In addition, you can use one stencil several times - another tick in favor of stencil.

But it also has its drawbacks. Firstly, the graffiti templates themselves are large and can be inconvenient to carry around. Secondly: it will take you time to make them. In what quantity depends only on you. But when buying ready-made stencils for graffiti, there is a possibility that the finished design will not be original. How to make a graffiti stencil? If you have artistic taste, you can try making a stencil yourself. There is a lot of completely different information on the Internet on the topic of making templates. Although, with good skill and a little experience, over time you will not have any difficulties creating them.

How to make a graffiti stencil with your own hands? First, prepare: gloves, a sharp utility knife, good cardboard and a printer. Instead of a printer, a black gel pen may also work. With its help, we simply draw a drawing on cardboard. But experts in the field assure that it is better to still use a printer; the lines will be smoother. Of course, there is another option - the drawing can be sent to a printing house. But we decided to do everything ourselves, which means we’ll try to get by on our own. We find a picture we like on the Internet, preferably a monochromatic one, or we draw it ourselves in Photoshop what we would like to see on “street canvases.” Then we print it out and attach it to cardboard. Be careful and maintain geometric proportions, otherwise the template will turn out crooked. We trace the contours of our drawing using ordinary carbon paper on cardboard. After this, we remove the sketch and carefully trace the lines with a marker or pen. The procedure must be done with gloves to avoid getting dirty. Now we take the knife in our hands. Remember to be careful - the blades of large office knives are very sharp. We begin to cut through our drawing. And here the most important thing is not to make a mistake. We cut out everything that will later be painted over, remember this and try to avoid unnecessary lines.

Our graffiti stencil is almost ready, but what about the cardboard? You can leave it in this form, and then simply fold it. Someone puts a large layer of paint on top, which makes the material more durable. In principle, an alternative to cardboard can be thin plastic or linoleum, which lends itself well to cutting, and in the finished version is simply rolled up. You may want to try other options, but then immediately think about how you will use your template outdoors.

Talk about the strength and durability of your stencil. Plastic variations may break or crack when carried, and this will affect the quality of the design. Cardboard is quite light, but many call it short-lived and this is quite justified. The paint begins to get wet; there is a possibility that by the second or third use the template will lose its proper appearance. But linoleum, despite its relative weight, is the most durable material to use. There are other options, but we do not recommend resorting to them: too light, like polyethylene, no matter how dense and multi-layered it is, it will subsequently be very inconvenient to use outdoors.

And some final tips. If you were unable to make a graffiti stencil with your own hands the first time, be sure to redo it or throw it away; any blots will affect the quality of the drawing. But choose a color scheme for stencil based on contrasts. The best option would be to use black, but if you resort to equally bright colors, then your image will only benefit from this. It will look much more impressive, and believe me, your drawing will certainly not go unnoticed.

Stencil graffiti. In general, stencil drawings can now very often be found on the walls of houses, on fences, on supports of bridges and overpasses and many other places in the city. The so-called stencils or stencil graffiti stand apart in street art. After all, as we have already noticed, drawings through a stencil can be of a different nature. But most often it is politically and socially agitational.
The first political propaganda stencils appeared in Paris during the revolution. And from then on it went. After all, this is the most inexpensive and one of the most effective methods of political propaganda. Italian fascists who painted Mussolini, Latin America, Europe in the 60s... But gradually stencil graffiti from the category of hooliganism turned into a separate genre of street fine art.
Stencils are most often one-color, because the street artist, inspired by the imminent appearance of the kids from the teaching staff, simply does not have time to change cans of paint. A separate stencil is made for each color. You can make stencils from anything.
I printed it out from several sheets, glued it together, then sealed it with several layers of tape for density and cut it out. That's it, the stencil is ready. If you don’t have a computer but you’re good at drawing, you can simply draw on paper and then transfer the outline onto linoleum or thick cardboard using carbon paper (believe me), but cardboard is less durable and not transportable.
Well, it's time to bring art to the masses. It is best to do this at night. About three or half past three in the morning. Because just at this time, gentlemen gopniks and cops (I don’t even know who is more useful) are sleeping. Yes, and grandmothers near the entrances also do not help convey to society what you wanted to convey. And their memory is also very good, especially for faces. Apply the paint carefully so that it does not flow. It is best to take gloves with you. Otherwise, you’ll be tired of washing your hands later. Moreover, the paint under your nails is further proof of your involvement in artistic hooliganism.
After you have completed your mission, you need to get rid of evidence of involvement in the mission as soon as possible. It is best to throw soiled clothes, cylinders, and gloves into trash cans in different areas of the city, having first erased your clear fingerprints from them. It is generally better to burn used stencils and rags.
But in any case, you need to look around. Run away. If caught, bathe on the spot. Otherwise you will pay an even larger fine later. Or you’ll even go to jail after all the apolitical slogans, a glass of weed and a couple of unsolved murders are hung on you.
But seriously, all your future missions to convey the truth to the masses of the people will be qualified by law as intentional damage to property (Article 167), hooliganism (Article 213), or vandalism (Article 214 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). In general, depending on your luck. From a fine to a prison term. Some people over there also sang and danced. And just as they sang in the temple, they ended up in prison. God bless the girls.
By the way, the stencils are already in the article. Print, laminate with tape, cut out and continue.
And thanks to hippy.ru for the help.

It is generally believed that graffiti stencils can significantly simplify the process of creating it. This is not entirely true. The simplest is wild style graffiti, which most often corresponds to bombing. In this case, it is better to call artists artists, but you can also call them graffiti bombers, and their main task is to make recognizable inscriptions or graphic symbols, do them quickly and do them in the most unexpected but crowded places. In some cases, the scandal surrounding the artist’s name is created precisely by the fact that he operates where he is not supposed to.

Sequence of work on the stencil

In any case, if an artist has a creative idea, it first appears on paper. The answer to the question of how to make a stencil for graffiti is quite simple - draw and cut. But only with experience comes the ability to combine a plan with the technique of its practical implementation.

1. First a sketch is created

This is a drawing that initially implies that those parts of it that will be completely painted over with some color are intended for cutting out. One of the main tasks that a sketch solves is to find a balance between expressiveness and simplicity. Beginning artists are recommended to work with one, or maximum two, colors. Therefore, when developing a sketch, you need to look for a simple form that will express complex emotions.

2. The sketch is transferred to paper, film or cardboard

Everyone can find some better way. You can use carbon paper, first transfer the image onto film or transparent paper. When choosing cardboard, you should look for thin and dense options that can withstand any moisture and paint well. Thick and dense coated paper, as well as thick film, may be suitable.

When transferring, only thin lines of the main contour should be formed. Then the process of refining the image and creating bridges begins. These are the areas that will connect the space to be cut out with everything else. For example, without bridges it is impossible to make a stencil of the letter o. The result will be an oval, not a letter. If you cut out the space of the letter's outline, but leave the bridge, then the middle part will have something to hold on to.

3. Cutting

The larger the area from the outermost detail of the design to the edge of the sheet, the easier it will be to work with the stencil. Cutting is best done using a wood cutter, extremely sharp and sharpened at an angle.

4. Transferring the stencil to the wall

Multicolor image

When creating images in several colors with your own hands, you will have to make a color layout similar to that used in printing. You should get a stencil for each color. In this case, two options are possible.

Each color is cut out separately strictly along the contour as it is in the overall picture. So, to depict a tree with green foliage against the sky, you need to make two stencils - one for the leaves and one for the trunk with branches, since they have different colors. However, the cut out areas may be adjacent to each other, or may cover areas of other colors. For example, first everything is painted blue, a background is given, then a green stencil is used. After completing work with it, the entire crown of the tree will already be in the picture, and then an image of the branches that fall on the green area is applied and superimposed on top of it.

The specific method depends on the artist’s intention, the characteristics of the composition and his experience. To begin with, you can use a ready-made template, but only in order to master the technique itself. A true master creates himself, or he is not an artist. The same can be said about the use of graphics processors. With their help, you can do creative work in the same way or find an easier way to turn a photo into an image. There is no need to try to automate the process of creating your works without special reasons. If this happens, automation will become part of the creative process. But this is only possible if it suits the individual style of the street artist.

Tutorial on creating a stencil sketch in Adobe Photoshop:

Causes of stencil graffiti

They began to use a stencil for graffiti because there was a great desire to depict something meaningful, beautiful, and original on the wall of a house or on a fence, but the conditions themselves did not allow this to be done. Anyone can conduct such an experiment. Draw a silhouette of a person or some fairy-tale character on a piece of paper. And then try to draw the same one on the wall. You can choose some abandoned house where no one will see you and drive you away, and subsequently they will not punish you. But the experiment will make it clear that the wall creates completely different conditions. Its distinctive feature is unpredictability.

The fact is that this is not a flat wall, which is evenly plastered or painted, but an area that can be discovered during active research of the urban environment. Of course, street art can be different, some are created slowly and under completely legitimate conditions, but we are talking about how this happens most often. Usually it is necessary not only to quickly create at least the basis of a future work, but also to do it despite what the material is, without paying attention to unevenness, cracks and its very nature - whether it is a brick wall or a metal sheet. Therefore, graffiti artists strive to master methods that will allow them to transfer not even a drawing, but the creative concept itself, onto the wall. For her sake, you can go to any tricks...