Home Forums Explore Media Oil Painting The Technical Forum Painting photorealistic straight lines

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  • #1426110
    plnelson
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        I’ve struggled to paint perfect, uniform straight edges and lines in oils, but I know it can be done because I’ve seen examples in galleries and museums.  I’ve tried liner brushes, rigging brushes, angle brushes, painting on sanded panel instead of linen, various mixes of medium, etc.   I’ve gotten “OK” results, but not as good as I want.   Recently I saw this article . . .

        The Ruling Pen, your secret weapon in your arsenal to conquer the straight line

        It starts by delineating many of the problems that I’ve had . . .

        “You go out and buy that super long liner brush, make that soupy paint mixture, and lay in the line across the canvas. Bummer.

        You see variations in the thickness of the line, you see that it isn’t very straight either.

        You then pull out a ruler or some other straight edge to lay the brush against and guide you. Trying again, you find the paint has wicked under neath the straight edge and you still have problems with a uniform line thickness and a big mess where the ruler was.”

        and it goes on to describe a method involving smearing a mixture of oil paint and medium onto a ruling pen with a brush and using the pen to paint with.   The article has one photo of his result, and, while they’re straight, they frankly they aren’t all that good with regard to uniform thickness, and far from other works I’ve seen.  Has anyone here ever tried this technique?

        What kinds of suggestions do people here have for straight-line-painting perfection in oils?

         

        Thanks in advance.

        #1426178
        Phil Brink
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            Try a palette knife.  Could even try non-painting tools like the actual edge of your ruler, a pizza cutter, paint scraper, etc.  Doesn’t have to be sold as painting supplies to be used.  I have tried using wire and string…didn’t work out unfortunately.  Went back to the edge of a longer palette knife.

            I found that thinning the paint slightly with medium worked out well.

            Generally people discourage perfectly straight lines in paintings…not painterly I suppose.  I am not one of those types.  Some subjects need it when getting detailed, like with overhanging power lines.  You may find you need something on the flexible side so it can be a bent line as perfectly straight lines are rare.

            Best recommendation is going to be, forget having to use a brush.  metal tip quill-style pins, needles, q-tips, fingers*, kitchen knives, etc are all fair game.  A “brush” is just a tool to get paint onto a surface.   *note: some paints are toxic, so use a glove…there…I covered myself from recommending people poison themselves slowly over 30 years.

            Those who crumble, cannot rebuild themselves.

            #1426182
            laika
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                Inkers have a method of holding the edge of a ruler at about 45 degrees off the surface and running a brush along that edge.

                Lamar

                Art is life's dream interpretation.
                - Otto Rank

                #1426220
                JCannon
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                    Haven’t used a ruling pen in years! I’d be fearful of gouging the gesso. The article at the other end of that link suggests sanding down the tip, but even so, I’d be wary.

                    The hardest part, of course, is preparing paint to have the consistency of ink.

                    In an earlier thread, someone asked about using marking pens over an oil paint layer. The consensus was that such a process might work depending on the type of ink, but the risk of failure was quite high. Gigalot said that he had done so successfully — but of course, he is a daring soul with a few radical notions.

                    At one point in that thread, I suggested applying a powerful oil pigment such a Prussian Blue with a crowquill pen. Another participant said that he had done that sort of thing in acrylics. I still think that the crowquill idea might work, but obviously you would want to do a lot of practice before trying it on a real painting.

                    Finally, if you absolutely must have mechanically straight lines, there is always the option of airbrushing. You just spray between two pieces of tape, which can be placed very close together to create a very fine line. Oil paint is sprayable, although it can be kind of a nightmare. (I did only one airbrush painting in oils, decades ago. Ruined my gun, but it worked.)

                    Again, you would have to practice and experiment a long, long time before doing it “for real.” The great danger is paint seepage beneath the tape. You avoid this problem by using paint of the correct consistency and/or by using very strong tape. Unfortunately, the stronger the adhesive, the greater the chance of ruining the surface beneath.

                    #1426235
                    bobc100
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                        The only way I’ve ever been able to get near perfect lines is by painting the line, painting on either side of the line, and repeating the process until the line is as straight and uniform as I need it to be.

                        #1426312
                        plnelson
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                            Try a palette knife. Could even try non-painting tools like the actual edge of your ruler, a pizza cutter, paint scraper, etc. Doesn’t have to be sold as painting supplies to be used. I have tried using wire and string…didn’t work out unfortunately. Went back to the edge of a longer palette knife.

                            Do you use the palette knife for individual lines, (e.g. telephone lines), or for a clean edge of a large mass?  Do you paint in a photorealistic style?

                            I’m sure this wheel has already been invented because there are a lot of artists out there producing these results.  How do cityscape photorealistic or hyperrealistic painters such as Nathan Walsh, Robert Neffson, or Richard Estes work?

                            #1427037
                            plnelson
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                                The only way I’ve ever been able to get near perfect lines is by painting the line, painting on either side of the line, and repeating the process until the line is as straight and uniform as I need it to be.

                                 

                                I don’t understand what you’re suggesting –  doesn’t that just make the line thicker and thicker?    Any why would the “outside” line in this process be any more uniform that the original one?

                                BTW – several people suggested a palette knife – can anyone point to a tutorial or an example of using a palette knife for this in an otherwise non-palette-knife or classical-style painting?    I’ve found examples on YouTube of making thin lines with the edge of a palette knife, and they’re straight alright, but not very uniform.      There are a zillion online oil-painting tutorials and I haven’t found any that demonstrate how to get really straight clean edges and thin uniform lines.

                                #1427052
                                Phil Brink
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                                    I paint in a nearly-realistic style.  Its pretty close, but not perfect because I get bored after 30+ hours.  My only goal on detail is getting normal people to say, “it looks like a photograph.”

                                    The key is practice and combining techniques that work for you in a given situation.  I rarely do thin lines so I am not great at it.  My experience is that practice makes consistency, not a special technique.  Practice for all the situations you find common.  Sometimes you may get a great line with a single stroke, sometimes it wont be right.  Sometimes that can be fixed by painting on either side of the line to cover over the parts that aren’t supposed to be there.  Other times, it will have to be removed.  Sometimes you need more medium in the paint, sometimes less.  There is a lot of “it depends on the situation” when it comes to something difficult to achieve.

                                    Another aspect that has to be considered is if you are working on perfectly smooth supports or thread weave that is noticable.   Is your paint under the line perfectly flat?  Any uneven area will have to be treated differently than the others.

                                    Something else to try is rather “Bob Ross” in concept…but it should work.  Paint the color of the line in a wide stroke first.  Then paint everything over it and cover the area completely.  Then run the palette knife through the fresh layer.   Nice thin line and the lower layer is now showing.  Need a thicker line?  Try a nail or other metal pointy object.

                                    Practice and play with scrap whatever you have around until you find something that works.  Internet is a great resource, but people spent hundreds of years just trying things out as practice with a hope that a new idea will work out.  Give it a shot, I bet with the ideas you have already seen around added to the ideas here, you can come up with a great solution that works well for you.

                                     

                                    Those who crumble, cannot rebuild themselves.

                                    #1427065
                                    Ron Francis
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                                        I use a mahl stick as a ruling edge.
                                        This is the best video that I have seen showing how it’s done.
                                        This would be acrylic paint, but the principal is the same.

                                        Ron
                                        www.RonaldFrancis.com

                                        #1427093
                                        WFMartin
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                                            I have used a ruling pen many years ago, when I had courses in mechanical drafting.  You fill the pen nibs with ink, and draw it along a straight edge.

                                            However, that is with a very thin India Ink, and placed on smooth paper.  I cannot even imagine how I, as an oil painter. could possibly use a ruling pen (which I still own) with oil paint, and expect it to transfer effectively onto something as profoundly rough as the surface of a canvas!

                                            I believe Ron’s idea of using a straight edge, and a liner brush, filled with paint of the appropriate consistency would be the best method, so far.

                                            I paint rather realistically, I believe, but I have not ever had the need for painting perfectly straight, or uniform lines on my work.  Perhaps some day I will.

                                            Actually, early on in my painting career, I DID have the need for painting strings on a couple of stringed instruments, and I did that with a palette knife, as I recall.  I also recall that it wasn’t very good.

                                            wfmartin. My Blog "Creative Realism"...
                                            https://williamfmartin.blogspot.com

                                            #1428164
                                            Ted B.
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                                                A ruling pen, not a technical pen, works well …you just have to experiment with the viscosity of your paint.  They look like a tweezer with a set-screw to control the thickness. They have to be lightly drawn in the direction of the tilt, not vertically or “pushed”.

                                                They’re still available online.  Buy a new one that hasn’t been messed-with or re-ground.

                                                Radical Fundemunsellist

                                                #1428346
                                                plnelson
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                                                    A ruling pen, not a technical pen, works well …you just have to experiment with the viscosity of your paint.

                                                    Ted, ruling pens were discussed already in this thread.  I included a link to a demo of one used for this in my OP.     But as I commented, even in the demo it didn’t look like it worked that well.    Can you suggest a demo or tutorial showing how to get really good results with one?

                                                     

                                                    #1428549
                                                    ppeace
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                                                        I use technical pens on oil paintings all of the time. But I use them for the opposite effect. You won’t get a straight line because the ink barely catches and beads making a cloudy, dotted line. I never tried oil in a technical pen, probably too viscous, remember the 10% medium rule.

                                                        White lines on a painting on a white ground are easy, use a razor blade, exacto-knife…you may want to practice first.

                                                        Black lines can be done the same way, just paint a layer of black beneath the color you want. Don’t cut too deep!

                                                        BTW, even though it’s fun to guess what kind of lines you want but, as a technical pen user, what width are we talking here? What scale? I always thought the draw of photorealism was where you walk up close and everything is painted with dots or blotches.

                                                         

                                                        #1428686
                                                        marksmomagain
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                                                            I have anchored a piece of  thread, string and also a piece of clothesline (depending on the line thickness I was trying to acheive) on to a bench vise, applied paint to it, snubbed it tight, and then very carefully and patiently brought it down gently on to my painting.

                                                            I practiced on scrap surfaces first and also used thin paint. It works pretty good.

                                                             

                                                            I also use this method with dry media like one would use a snap-line.

                                                            #1430486

                                                            I’ve struggled to paint perfect, uniform straight edges and lines in oils, but I know it can be done because I’ve seen examples in galleries and museums.

                                                            Yes, of course it can be done, its not even difficult. You can do it easily on canvas, rough or smooth, on board , textured or not, it doesn’t matter. Here’s  some paint on canvas, with a matchstick to show proportion:

                                                            Rigger lines

                                                            The brush is a #6 “Supreme Taklon” synthetic rigger, they’re good, although a sable will do the trick. Be aware that a *rigger* is NOT a *liner*. They look similar, but a liner is a brush used by signwriters for “pinstriping”, which a video above refers to. It is NOT the technique I am talking about.

                                                            https://seniorart.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_142_238_239&products_id=4221

                                                            Yes, use an ordinary ruler laid directly onto the canvas. But put some tape *under* the ruling edge, to raise it off the surface a bit, so you don’t get beading or wicking.

                                                            gaffer under ruler

                                                            But here’s the trick: The paint has got to be thin, like ink. NOT – *NOT* – I said NOT like “soup”. Thin, like ink, or water. THIN! So you need not just ANY paint – you need a really saturated paint with a high pigment load, that isn’t sticky or buttery or thick, so when its thin, its still got a good pigment load. You’ve got to test your paint, not every paint is suitable! And don’t thin with medium. Thin with pure turps. And not some stupid politically correct low fuming turps. Only the most toxic carcinogenic Artists Turps will  dissolve your paint with the ferocity necessary to lay on these hair-thin lines. Seriously! As for paint –  I use Langridge Oils, especially the Mars Black and Burnt Sienna, they’re super-saturated and not sticky. And for whites, unbleached Titanium is good. Once again – HIGH PIGMENT LOAD! That’s what you’re looking for!

                                                            Experiment! Get the paint thin. DON’T load your brush! Just roll the tip of the rigger into it, drag the tip of the rigger across the palette with a rolling motion, to shape the tip and lose excess paint. Cartoonists, using a brush and Indian Ink, use that method. They dip the brush into the ink, then ROLL the inky tip across some spare paper to shape the tip into a fine point, then execute their line. This is the method we need to get a fine point, then RULE those lines!

                                                            And here we are, ruling a line, easy peasy B-)

                                                             

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