Must-read step-by-step instructions for preparing your painting surface.
Every painter is familiar with a stretched canvas. It’s a simple structure of cotton duck stretched from the four sides into a taught epidermis. The canvas skin becomes the foundation for a painting and it’s the ground that everything is built upon. It supports the gesso, the paint, the oil or acrylic mediums, and finally an optional varnish.
As with any foundation we should treat it with the utmost care. How you prepare the primary structure of any object affects the integrity of the entire artwork. Because this is an essential skill for anyone working with paint, we put together an essential guide to stretching canvas that you try in your studio.
Here are all the tools you need to stretch a canvas: staples, stapler, canvas, canvas pliers, sponge, nitrile gloves (optional), and the stretcher bars surrounding the tools.What to look for in stretcher bars
For this demonstration I’m using a mid-scale canvas at 34 x 23 inches. The brand of stretcher bar is Fredrix, a well-known professional company. There are a vast range of styles and brands of stretcher bars to choose from. The most important thing to look for is straight kiln dried bars. This prevents the bending of the wood and keeps the canvas straight and square.
Stretcher bars come in different sizes. The standard sizes are usually ¾ or 1 5/8 inch thick. However, you can find lots of different depths to suit your desired look. Typically, artists choose thicker bars when displaying larger canvases without frames. Ultimately the decision between these two depths is personal and aesthetic. Canvas above 36 x 48 inch inches should have thicker depth to prevent warping. A crossbar or double crossbar should also be included in the design of larger canvases. The canvas pictured above is ¾ inch depth and has a small canvas lip to stretch the canvas across on the front side. This is about as shallow you can get for a stretcher bars.
You need to leave an extra angled edge to prevent “ghosting”. Ghosting is when the stretcher bars are visible through the canvas and this happens when the canvas is too close to the bars. The canvas may even press against the bars or sit on them. If this happens, when you’re painting you run the danger of rubbing your brush against the bars through the canvas and producing an accidental rubbing in paint. This becomes like a ghost of the frame that is visible on the canvas surface.
A quick note to consider when using stretcher bars: the stretcher keys are not useless—they are the “key” pieces in keeping the canvas square. They allow the tightening of the canvas at future stages of the paintings life.
The lip on the front side of the stretcher bars should always be facing the down against the back of the canvas during stretching. Finally, it’s important to ensure the squareness of the frame. You can use a metal square in the corners to double check its at a right angle. And you can measure from corner to corner to ensure the distance is equal.
Measure the appropriate length for the canvas surplus at the edge of the canvas bars. It should be no less than an inch wrapped around the back side of the stretcher bars.Cutting canvas
You’ll want to cut the canvas to leave enough fabric to stretch around the back of the frame to staple. You don’t want a surplus because it makes it difficult for the canvas pliers to grab the fabric. Excess often creates bulk when hanging the painting on the wall in the future.
One rule of thumb is to cut a three inch border around the size of the frame. You can always trim more later, but this is a good guideline. If you want to make the most economical use of your material than you should measure against the thickness of your frame. Leave about an inch of fabric to wrap around the back of the stretcher.
Cutting canvas is really easy because canvas has a very clear warp and weft. You can cut an inch in at your measured mark and then rip the canvas the rest of the way. It rips only at the separation in the warp and will rip straight across. This is the simplest way to make a straight cut.
For this ¾ inch canvas frame we need about two inches of canvas surplus.Measure the two inches out, and make a two inch slice in the canvas at this mark.*After cutting a two inch slice, you can rip the canvas the rest of the way on a straight line caused by the warp or weft in the canvas. **Place the canvas in the center of the cut fabric. *Stretching the canvas
Tack the center of each side with a singular staple and use the canvas pliers to pull halfway taut on each side. You will be able to tell you’ve pulled it tight enough by noticing v-shaped pulls in the fabric forming on either side of the point you’ve tacked.
Keep practicing until you’ve mastered the use of canvas pliers. The pliers grab onto the edge of the fabric with a toothed mouth. Pull up, then pull the fabric away from you and downwards. The pliers will resist on a small rectangular wedge that acts as a fulcrum against the back of the stretcher bars. This provides a tight pull that is stronger than what you could do with your own hands.
A tight canvas is a strong canvas. It provides a resistance for the paint brush to react against, it won’t sink under pours of paint, or a lot of water/oil content. That’s why the use of canvas pliers is the best chance of providing a taut surface.
Notice the V shaped pulls being created by the use of the canvas pliers. This is exhibits an optimum tautness created by the pliers.This is the correct way to use canvas pliers: Grab the canvas, pull up and then pull forward and down. The small rectangular platform of the pliers rests against the canvas bars, and acts as a fulcrum to create an extra taut pull in the canvas.Next step is to staple the middle of each side.Once each side is tacked in the center, choose one of the longest sides. Begin to stretch with the pliers and tack staples working from the center out on each side. It is fine to do one half at each time leading towards the corners. Leave at least two inches at the corners untacked for now. Each staple should be approximately one inch apart. An easy way to measure this is to make it about the distance of your thumb pad.
Once you’ve tacked one side, move to the opposite side and staple in the same way. It’s important to alternate opposing sides. Then move to the short sides and apply the same strategy, work from the center out and stretch across.
Once you’re finished tacking all the sides except for the corners, it’s a good time to take a look at the front. If there are any bunches or defined ripples, remove your staples and restretch. If the ripples or wrinkles are small, leave them. At the end of our instructions there is a solution for how to remove these unattractive marks in the fabric.
Moving from the center to the corner tack one side, and then the other.The staples should be about a thumb pad’s distance apart or approximately one inch.*After tacking the first long side, finish the opposite side. *Tack the short sides. Now only the corners have been left undone.Tacking the corners
Corners are the most difficult part of stretching a canvas. However, once you understand how to fold them it is an easy task to repeat. Firstly, the corners will be slightly bulkier on one side when folded. Typically it’s ok for the top and bottom of the canvas to have the bulky folds. This is because the tops and bottom are rarely directly visible to the viewer. So if you can, decide how to orient your painting before stretching. This will allow you to know which sides should be tidy and which can be bulky.
Once you’ve decided which side is the going to be bulky, pull the fabric on that corner towards you. Smooth out the opposite sides canvas against the depth of the stretcher bars. Pull straight and away from the corner as if you are continuing out from the smooth side of the canvas.
On the side that will have the fold visible pull the fabric towards you.Fold the taut fabric in and bend it in half at the same time.Then, take the inner flap of canvas that is loose and out of your hand. Place your finger in this loose fabric to hold space for the canvas that you are holding taut to fold into. You are folding the corner like a bed sheet hospital corner. While folding the taut fabric into this flap, you need to simultaneously fold it in half, then you tuck it behind the loose canvas while stretching it away from the corner. You should try to stretch it so that it lays as flat as possible against the stretcher bar—this reduces the bulk of the fold as much as possible, and allows it to lay flatter against the canvas side.
Pull the loose outer fabric up and over the stretcher bar’s edge.Then, you take the loose canvas remaining on this side and pull it up and over. If the inner folded fabric becomes loosened, stretch it flat again and repeat the process.
You’ll see a tiny but flattened triangle of fabric under the fold. The point is to make it as minimal as possible by careful folding and stretching. Once it’s as flat as we can make it, pull the fabric up, and over. At the same time, try to make the seam line up with the corner and opposite canvas bar edge. This makes the fold as least noticeable as possible.
Once it’s flat, and lined up with the edge tack it down, do all four corners in the same way.
Once the fabric lays flat, pull up and over, and hold it down to staple.Tack the corner down.How To Patch Canvas Painting
Final touches on the canvas surface
Now it’s time to flip it over and check the canvas out! It’s not uncommon to have some wrinkles or a loose spot. It’s not the worst thing, but it doesn’t look great either. Don’t worry. There is a very simple solution to fix this. It’s easy to shrink the canvas with a bit of hot water. Shrinking it increases the overall tautness, and can remove unwanted starches that could be present in the fabric.
Simply take hot water and a large clean sponge. Wipe across the front and back side of the canvas. Then let it dry. And Voila! A perfect, smooth, clean canvas that is ready to prime for painting!
Wipe with a hot water soaked sponge.The hot water shrinks and smooths out any unsightly bulking canvas.You don’t have to be an art student or famous painter to create beautiful wall art. Canvas painting is truly for all skill levels and the supply list is short too. From beach scenes to abstract designs, you can create pieces that look chic and professional.
To get you started, we’ve compiled 39 DIY canvas painting ideas. Look through the photos to determine which ones match the style of your room and home. Find inspiration to create your own custom canvas masterpiece.
Transform your canvas painting into a professional work of art by framing your canvas. This unique wall art you’ve created will be a stunning addition to your home’s wall decor.
1. Abstract Quote Canvas
Find a quote that speaks to you and stencil the letters on pieces of tape. Adhere the letters to your canvas. Choose a mix of paint colors and paint them on the canvas in large strokes. When you remove the tape, you’ll end up with a beautiful canvas that inspires you with its message.
2. Splash Art
Source: Thrift Diving
Cover a canvas with paint so that it’s one solid color, then splatter vibrant colors across the surface. Create this DIY project outside to ensure the paint doesn’t splatter on anything valuable in your home.3. Pixel Painting
Design a pixelated pattern by creating a grid of colors that are the same hue. Draw equal-sized squares across the surface of your canvas, then paint each square a slightly different tone. Your professional-looking painting can be hung in a living room, bedroom or office.
4. Geometric Canvas
Source: Young House Love
Create a vertically lined canvas for your home or office. Use a pencil and yardstick to outline your design, then fill each space with complimentary paints like teal, aquamarine and white.
5. Puffy Paint Lettering
Make your DIY canvas a 3D art piece. Choose an inspiring phrase or quote and add it to your canvas with puffy paint. Make sure the paint has dried for 24 hours before hanging.
6. Cut-It-Out Canvas
Source: Brassy Apple
Paint the surface of a blank canvas with watercolor or acrylic paints. Cut letters to a word or phrase out of contact paper, then adhere it to the canvas for a two-toned masterpiece.
7. Twinkling Canvas
Give your artwork extra flair by installing battery-operated lights. Your DIY canvas can twinkle during the holiday or throughout the whole year. Oneohtrix point never replica.
8. Simple Metallic Accent Art
Source: Craft Warehouse
Two-toned art is easy to create. Paint your canvas a solid color, like red or blue, then brush metallic paint on half of the canvas to create stylish, modern art.
9. DIY Ocean Painting
Bring the coastline right to your living room or bedroom. Brush your canvas evenly with blues and greens for a simple ocean painting.
10. Pinwheel Painting
Source: Elise Blaha Cripe
For a trendy, modern look, create a pinwheel DIY canvas. Outline each triangular section first, then paint each portion a different color. Randomize the colors to make it appear natural.
11. Kid-friendly Love Art
Pull out the finger paints for this kid-friendly DIY canvas project. Stencil letters to spell the word ‘love’ or ‘home’ and let the creativity begin.
12. Farmhouse Flower
Source: Flower Patch Farmhouse
Floral images are some of the simplest objects to paint. Start with a flower like a daisy or tulip. Add more to make a bouquet or keep it simplistic with just a few.
13. Hand Painted Monogram
Decorate a canvas with a festive design and a single letter for monogram art. Draw your design first with a pencil then choose a color of paint that will match the other decor in the room.
14. Yarn Art
Source: Blu Kat Kraft
Looking for creative canvas ideas? Consider making yarn art. Your pieces can be painted in multiple colors like yellow, blue and green. Create a collection and hang them in your living room or hallway for a gallery feel.
15. Gold Chevron Painting
Recreate this professional-looking artwork with painters’ tape and acrylic paint. Make your chevron design in metallic paints or choose a rich color like navy or hunter green.
16. Simple Signature Art
Source: Life as Mama
DIY canvas art doesn’t have to be complicated. Cover a canvas with a single color, then paint on a quote and simple image, like mountains, trees or hearts.
17. DIY Herringbone Canvas
Add stylish decor to your bedroom or dining room with a colorful herringbone canvas. Create this piece in just a couple of hours with acrylic paint, sponges and painter’s tape.
18. Love-themed Watercolor
Source: House of Joyful Noise
With pink and red as your color scheme, design watercolor art that bursts with love. Stencil on a quote or lyric from a favorite song for extra meaning.
19. Ombre Canvas Quotes
To create this look, paint the blank canvas gradually with more paint and color to create an ombre appearance. Add quotes about gratitude or love to personalize your piece.
20. Beach Inspired Art
Source: Paintspiration Art
Layer your canvas with blue tones to resemble flowing water. Paint on a phrase or keep it simply nautical.
21. Painted Roses
Choose a favorite flower, like roses or lilies, to paint on your canvas. Incorporate details like leaves and stems to make it as life-like as possible.
22. Holiday Canvas
Source: Really, Are You Serious?
Dress your home up for the holidays with a festive DIY canvas. Keep it simple with a single color background and contrasting letters.
23. Striped Canvas Art
Decorate your walls in simple and modern style with striped canvases. Choose colors that match your other decor, whether that’s green, blue or purple.
24. Spray Paint Art
Source: Sum of Their Stories
Art should be enjoyable to create. Have fun filling the blank space on your canvas with spray paint. Mix traditional colors with metallics for a shiny finish.
25. DIY Kid Canvas
Involve the kids in a fun DIY canvas project on a rainy day or Saturday morning. Pull out a range of colored paints to form patterns of circles, stripes and polka dots.
26. Ombre Art
Source: Here Comes the Sun
By gradually intensifying the color across a canvas, you can create the ombre effect. Choose calming colors like green and blue for a relaxing ambience.
27. Abstract Fluid Painting
Boost the mood in your bedroom or guest room with stunning abstract art. Try fluid painting to recreate this piece that guests will mistake as professional.
28. Vintage Style Canvases
Source: The Painted Hive
Find a photograph—like one of a childhood home or favorite outdoor spot—that you’d like to turn into a painting. Blur your lines and colors for a vintage feel.
29. State Canvas Art
Whether it’s your home state or the place you studied at in college, design artwork that sparks fond memories. Draw the outline for your state in advance, then paint a two-toned piece. Add dots or hearts to mark special towns and cities.
30. Stenciled Painting
Source: The Pleated Poppy
Fill a canvas with stencil shapes—like circles and diamonds—then paint each piece in a random color. Build blank space into your design for balance.
31. All-white Art
DIY canvas paintings don’t need an overabundance of color. Try an all-white art piece, complete with an inspiring quote and image.
32. Dandelion Painting
Source: From My Little Pink Couch
Keep your DIY canvas project simple. Paint a dandelion on a pastel background of green or light pink. Hang your floral decor in your bathroom or guest bedroom.
33. Splatter Painting
Splash a canvas with bright colors like orange and pink. Throw on as much paint as you want. This DIY canvas can be hung in your living room, bedroom or basement.34. Simple Quote Art
Source: A Small Snippet
Incorporate several fonts for a lovely quote canvas. Choose a color scheme, like grey and white, for cohesion.
35. Wrapping Paper Artwork
Stretch pieces of wrapping paper across a canvas as the foundation for your artwork. Paint over the wrapping paper with metallic paints to accent your design.
36. Modern Contrast Canvas
Source: The New Domestic
If you want wall ideas that look professional, consider painting a canvas in a contemporary design. Use bright colors, like orange or red, to make the wall piece pop.
37. Large Canvas Art
Cover a large canvas with a neutral background color. Choose a simple, abstract design so you can be creative—without having to worry about minor details or perfect symmetry.
38. Inspirational Art
Source: Silhouette America
Brighten your walls with art that inspires you. Paint vibrant colors on a canvas, then add a simple image and phrase using black paint.
39. Cheery Sunflowers
Practice your painting skills with a simple floral design like a sunflower. Frame your artwork for your bathroom or bedroom.
With a few canvas ideas in mind, create artwork that will look beautiful on your walls. Hand-painted pieces are often kept as keepsakes and handed down for generations. Design custom home decor to accent your new statement piece canvas painting.
Do you know how to pack your paintings for shipping? Packing paintings can seem like a daunting task and many artists worry about whether they’re packing them correctly – it’s certainly true that much damage can be avoided by packing artwork properly. In this video tutorial, art handler Peter shares his professional expertise with simple instructions to help you pack your artwork like a pro.
Our video demonstrates how to pack a painting as well as a framed photograph. Take a look at some of the video’s highlighted points…
Setup
First of all, you’re going to need some supplies (0:14):
- Packing tape (tape gun recommended)
- Artist tape (like masking tape but it’s acid free and it’s easily removable)
- Exacto knife or a pair of scissors
- Measuring tape
- Glassine (a paper that is water- and grease-resistant, and it’s not going to stick to the surface of your painting)
- Foam or a blanket (soft surface)
- Bubble-wrap or sheets of Styrofoam (for padding)
- Cardboard box(es)
- Cardboard corners
- Brown paper
And for a mounted photograph or anything high glossy:
- Nitrile or art handling cloth gloves
Let’s Begin
But first, make sure your hands are clean!
- Glassine tips (1:45):
- Put your painting face down on the glassine, leaving enough room to wrap around the edges.
- Don’t use packing tape, only artist tape here!
- Fold the end of artist tape to leave little nub to grab the tape with (so that it can be easily removed when it comes time to unpack).
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- Tape all of the longest edges first (as when wrapping a present).
- Try to tape onto the glassine itself.
- The less tape that actually goes onto a piece, the better.
2. Bubble Wrap tips (3:03):
- Place the surface of your painting face-down against the flat or the smooth side of the bubble wrap. If you put the raised side of the bubble wrap against your piece, there is a chance that it might leave an impression of the bubbles on your painting.
- You may need to wrap a piece in multiple layers of bubble wrap.
- You’ll want to make sure that you have at least two inches of extra bubble wrap on either side.
- Now you can use packing tape across the seam of the bubble wrap to secure it.
- Push down on wrap before folding to leave extra padding on the sides of the piece.
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3. Boxing tips (7:56):
- Your box is going to be pushed and slid everywhere on the delivery truck, so make sure to completely tape up all the sides of your box.
- To make a box top, you’ll need a scoreline for the cardboard to easily fold; to do this, run the dull end of your knife (blade not extended) along a line you’ve created with your pen & measuring tape.
- Keep room for extra protective padding and use a box a little bit bigger than your piece.
- If packing more than one piece into a box, put some cardboard between them so that the front of the canvases are facing each other in the box.
- After taping, attach to the large side of the box the packing labels as well as the exhibition forms that we emailed to you.
- We advise against the use of packing peanuts. If the box is damaged the peanuts will spill out of any hole in the box and your work may get damaged as well.
Packing Framed Art (13:49):
When packing a framed piece of artwork, especially one with glass, we do things a little bit differently.
- Use wider artist tape and tape off the glass in a star pattern- that way, if it were to break during transit it wouldn’t damage your artwork.
- Then, wrap the whole piece in brown paper (again, as you would wrap a present).
- Adding protective cardboard corners is one of the most important elements to packing a framed piece.
- Next, wrap in two layers of small bubble wrap (and more large bubble wrap, depending on the size of the box you’re using).
- Again, leave at least two inches on the sides for extra padding.
- Add a cardboard base layer (before or after the small bubble wrap).
Index:
0:14 – Supplies
0:57 – Set Up
1:45 – Glassine
3:03 – Bubble Wrap
7:56 – Boxing
9:31 – Making A Box Top
11:27 – Padding
12:13 – Multiple Works
12:31 – Closing the Box
13:15 – Attaching Forms
13:36 – Packing Advice
13:49 – Packing Framed Art
14:50 – Cardboard Corners
With over 30 years of experience, Agora Gallery offers artists the opportunity to present their work to a broad range of national and international art collectors and buyers. Looking for an opportunity to enhance your career? Visit our Gallery Representation And Artist Promotion page for more information.
Have more questions? Comment below or email us at [email protected]
Are you going to be shipping your artwork rolled in a tube? We’ve got a guide for that too!
This post is also available in: Spanish
ArtRage Canvas
The ArtRage Canvas is the sheet of material on to which all of your paint strokes go. It sits underneath your Layers and acts as a backdrop for everything you do. This section explains how you can navigate around your Canvas and how to change its visual and textural properties.
Navigating the Canvas
As you work with ArtRage you may find you want to change the position of the Canvas, or rotate it or zoom in or out to see different detail. There are a number of different ways to do this. Mouse and keyboard shortcuts provide a quick and easy way to move around, but the Canvas Positioner can be used if you want more accurate control.
Menu Options
At the top of the View Menu you will find a Canvas Position menu that allows you to control zoom level and reset individual navigation properties of the Canvas. You will also find the Canvas Positioner option if you want to open the Positioner.
Mouse and Keyboard Shortcuts
To navigate around the Canvas using the mouse:
Move the Canvas: Right click and drag and the Canvas will move.
Zoom the Canvas: Hold down Ctrl (Windows) / Cmd (Mac OS X) and right click and drag right and left, and the Canvas will zoom in and out.
Rotate the Canvas: Hold down Option (Mac OS X) / Alt (Windows) and right click and drag, and the Canvas will rotate.Instead of using a right click you can use a left click if you hold down the spacebar. For example, to move the Canvas you can hold down the spacebar and left click and drag, to rotate the Canvas you can hold down the spacebar and the Option / Alt key and left click and drag.
If you have a Multitouch input device and are using an operating system that supports it you can use Multitouch Gestures to manipulate the Canvas.- Use two fingers to drag on the Canvas to move it.
- Use two fingers and pinch inward or outward on the Canvas to scale it.
- Use two fingers and twist on the Canvas to rotate it.
Canvas Positioner
The Canvas Positioner can be kept open if you find you want to make many precise adjustments to the Canvas position while you are working with ArtRage. It can be opened using the easel button on the Menu Bar, or with the Canvas Positioner option in the View Menu.
Move The Canvas: Click and drag on the move icon in the panel to move the Canvas.
Zoom The Canvas: Click and drag up and down on the magnifying glass icon in the panel to zoom the Canvas in and out. You can also click the percentage indicator text in the Zoom Button to set zoom level by entering a number.
Rotate The Canvas: Click and drag in the outer ring of the panel, this causes the Canvas to rotate. The dot on the ring shows you the direction the top of the Canvas is pointing. If you click the arrows around the edge of the ring the Canvas will immediately jump to that angle. You can also click the rotation indicator above the top arrow to set the rotation by entering a number.
You can close the Canvas Positioner by clicking the X button in the middle. You can move the Canvas Positioner by clicking and dragging in the area outside the rotation ring.
Behind the Canvas
If you move the Canvas so that it does not fill the ArtRage window you will be able to see the area behind it. That area is tinted with a single color that you can adjust if you want to make the Canvas clearer.
In the ‘Interface’ section of the ArtRage Preferences Panel you will find the ‘Background Color’ option which can be used to change the color beneath the Canvas.
Canvas Properties
The look of the Canvas and how other tools interact with it is controlled using settings that are available in the Canvas Panel. You can open the Canvas Panel using the Canvas Settings option in the View Menu.
This panel contains all of the options available for defining how your canvas looks.
At the top of the panel is a preview of the current canvas, and if a preset has been selected its name will appear here.
Click the top preview area to get a menu of canvas options including the ability to reset your canvas, store default canvases, and load presets from the Canvas Collection.
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The following options are available in the Canvas Panel:
- Canvas Lighting: The texture of the canvas and the paint strokes that you apply is created by a ‘Lighting’ system. Turning off the Canvas Lighting removes all texture effects so paint texture will vanish and the canvas will appear perfectly flat.
- Canvas Color: Click the color sample to choose the color of the canvas. Click and hold to bring up a Popup Color Picker for quick selection.
- Opacity: Controls how opaque the canvas is. Transparent Canvases in ArtRage are represented by checkered squares. When Exporting files it is important to remember that a transparent Canvas is not understood by all file formats, and some other applications don’t recognize them even if the file format does. For more information see the section on Importing and Exporting.
- Metallic: Controls how metallic the surface of the Canvas is. Metallic Canvases reflect light differently and if this value is high the Canvas Texture will become much more visible.
- Grain and Pattern Tabs: These tabs give access to specific controls for the Canvas Grain and Canvas Pattern.
Canvas Grain
The texture of the canvas is defined by a Grain image. The grain image defines the high and low points of the surface of the canvas which, in turn, interacts with the painting tools as you work.
When you select the Grain tab a set of controls appear for selecting and manipulating the canvas grain.
- Preview Control: This displays the current Grain image. Click in this area to select a new image either from disk or from the Grain Collection.
- Grain Size: Controls how big the grain is. The higher the value the larger the grain will be.
- Roughness: Controls how rough the Canvas Texture is. The value can be taken up to 100% or down to -100% to invert the high and low points of the grain. The closer the slider is to its edges, the rougher the grain will be and the more it will affect paint strokes.
Canvas grain images are black and white, they use the brightness of the image to determine what is a high point and what is a low point in the texture. Dark patches will become dents in the Canvas, while light patches will become peaks.
You can create your own Grain Images and import them to the Grain Collection by clicking the grain preview and using the Resource Collection panel to import a new item.
Canvas Pattern
Canvases can have colored patterns applied to them to represent colored variations in the surface. For example, a hand made paper might have tiny colored threads in it, or a natural surface such as wood or stone might have color variations.
When you select the Pattern tab a set of controls appear for selecting and manipulating the canvas pattern.
- Preview Control: This displays the current Pattern image. Click in this area to select a new image from disk or from the Pattern Collection, or to clear the current image.
- Opacity: Controls how opaque the Pattern is against the canvas.
- Scale: The Pattern image is applied in tiles to fill the canvas. This slider controls the Scale of the pattern image. 100% indicates that the Pattern will be at its normal image size.
Default Canvases
Clicking the preview at the top of the Canvas Panel opens a menu that allows you to set and clear the Default Canvas. If a Default Canvas is set ArtRage will use that canvas whenever a new file is created.
If you have a Default Canvas set you can clear it using the same menu. If no Default Canvas has been set ArtRage uses a basic paper when new files are created.
Resizing the Canvas
If you want to resize your Canvas there are two ways to do it: Resize the Canvas along with its contents, or expand or crop the Canvas without changing its contents.
Resizing the Canvas is like taking a piece of patterned elastic and stretching it, the patterns expand with the elastic as it grows. Expanding or Cropping the Canvas is like taking a piece of paper with a picture on it and either sticking more paper to it to expand the space you can draw in, or slicing off part of the paper, reducing the area available for drawing in but not changing the size of the contents.
These two types of resizing can be achieved using the ‘Resize the Painting’ and ‘Crop/Expand the Canvas’ options in the Edit Menu. Both options bring up a panel that allows you to define the new target size for the Canvas.
Resizing
To stretch or shrink the Canvas and all its contents select the ‘Resize the Painting’ option from the Edit menu. This option brings up a resize panel that allows you to enter a new size for the painting.
The basic size settings in this panel work in exactly the same way as the ones in the New File Panel. See Creating a New File.
There are two important new settings:
Preserve Original Aspect: If this item is turned on, the size you entered will be automatically adjusted to maintain the original width to height ratio of the painting. For example, if you have a 200 x 200 painting (square aspect) and you have this item ticked, if you set Width to 300 Height will automatically adjust to 300 to maintain the aspect. If you want to change the aspect of the painting, turn this item off.
Percentage Size: You can size the Canvas to a percentage of its original size if you wish. Next to the Width and Height items are percentage text boxes that allow you to enter a percentage size to use.
If you edit the Pixels Per Inch setting when you are in Screen Mode the size of the Canvas will not change (remember that Pixels Per Inch just tells the printer how many pixels you want it to print in an inch, so you’re not actually changing the screen size of your painting when you edit that setting). The print size will update to reflect the change.
If you click OK the entire Canvas and all of its contents will be changed in size to match the new size you requested.
Cropping / Expanding
To change the area of the Canvas without changing the size of its contents select the ‘Crop / Expand the Canvas’ option from the Edit menu. This option brings up a Crop/ Expand panel that allows you to enter a new size for the painting.
The basic settings in this panel work in exactly the same way as those in the Resize panel detailed above. There is one additional set of controls:
Position Of Contents: At the bottom of the panel is a preview showing you where your current Canvas contents will be inside the new area of the Canvas. When youchange the size using the controls at the top you can drag the preview below around to position your painted contents.
If your new Canvas size is smaller than your painted contents you will lose any content that is not on the Canvas after the resize. You can Undo the crop if you want to after it is completed.
The menu to the right of the content preview allows you to quickly select default positions for the content inside the new Canvas area.
If you click OK the Canvas will be resized to the new size but the contents left at their original size.
Crop to Selection
The Crop To Selection item in the Edit menu allows you to crop the Canvas down to fit a selected area. Select the area you wish to appear in the new Canvas space and select this option. The Canvas will be trimmed to fit just t
Manuals
- ↑http://kgrichardson.com/Home/repair.htm
- ↑https://www.chrischalkart.com/painting_blog/how-to-repair-a-damaged-or-torn-canvas-painting/
- ↑https://www.chrischalkart.com/painting_blog/how-to-repair-a-damaged-or-torn-canvas-painting/
- ↑http://kgrichardson.com/Home/repair.htm
- ↑https://www.chrischalkart.com/painting_blog/how-to-repair-a-damaged-or-torn-canvas-painting/
- ↑https://www.chrischalkart.com/painting_blog/how-to-repair-a-damaged-or-torn-canvas-painting/
- ↑http://kgrichardson.com/Home/repair.htm
- ↑https://www.boatingmag.com/photos/diy-canvas-repair-tips#page-12
- ↑https://www.boatingmag.com/photos/diy-canvas-repair-tips#page-12
- ↑https://youtu.be/kb4tCcnA6jo?t=2
- ↑https://www.boatingmag.com/photos/diy-canvas-repair-tips#page-13
- ↑https://www.boatingmag.com/photos/diy-canvas-repair-tips#page-13
- ↑https://youtu.be/bc16SQ8YqwY?t=104
- ↑https://youtu.be/xtmRctVy1uM?t=66
- ↑https://www.boatingmag.com/photos/diy-canvas-repair-tips#page-5
- ↑https://youtu.be/bKcnjRP63rI?t=44
- ↑https://www.boatingmag.com/photos/diy-canvas-repair-tips#page-5
- ↑https://www.boatingmag.com/photos/diy-canvas-repair-tips#page-12