Alcohol Ink After Party - Tiles In Color

1. Intro: [MUSIC] In this class, you will learn an easy way to create vivid colorful abstract ceramic tiles with alcohol inks, I will share the steps and some tips that will help you add color to your tiles. Hello beautiful people, my name is Trena Brannon and I have a passion for color and a passion for helping others, that's why I'm excited to be here teaching on Skillshare with you. I have many identities among them, I am a children's book illustrator, a surface design, a mixed media artist, I'm also a founding contributor for the Alcohol Ink Art Community. I just love coloring, my favorite art supplies is whatever I have in my hand and in this class I have alcohol ink and I'm going to be showing you how to make a beautiful ceramic tile. This after party is targeted towards those of you who really like vivid colors and want to create something to add joy points to your environment. If you've never used alcohol inks before, I recommend that you watch the alcohol ink party intro to alcohol ink class here on Skillshare. But you don't have to, you could come to the after party, you don't have to go to the party first, I'll show some basics about how to use alcohol inks as well as some safety things for you to be aware of. In this class, I will cover safety and supplies, preparing the tiles to receive alcohol inks, a simple fun technique for adding color to your tiles and finally, how to steal your tiles. You'll also get a student handout with a summary of the steps, a list of supplies that include links and also additional alcohol ink resources. For the class project, you will create coasters. The great benefit of using alcohol inks on the tiles is that you can wipe the ink off and recreate a design until you find one that you want to keep. You can use the tile over and over to practice. Using this technique you'll learn in the class, a small tile gives you the opportunity to get to know the technique on a smaller scale, which you can then apply to a larger scale. The techniques I'm showing you on the tiles can be used on other surfaces that play well with inks. When you participate in the class, you'll see the features and the beautiful blending that the inks create and each piece will be unique. It will be fun to see what everyone is making, so let's get started, I'll see you at the alcohol ink after party. [MUSIC] 2. Your Project: Hello, I'm glad you're here. In this video, I'll tell you the steps for making coasters as your projects. You'll create a colorful tiles similar to this, using the inks and the technique that I show you during class. I'll show you a couple of ways to add a nice trim around your coasters and also add little felt pieces to protect your table. I'll step through the complete list of supplies in the next video. Please take photos of your tiles and share them in the class project gallery. If you have any questions, please post them in the discussion area. I'll be checking it often as well as one of your classmates may know the answer. This is a sharing and supportive community, one of the many things that I love about Skillshare. Let's get started with our lessons. Supplies and safety is next. See you there. 3. Supplies and Safety: Hello and welcome back. In this lesson, I will be explaining the supplies used in class and safety practices. The supplies and products that I will be using in class are listed in the student handout located in class resources. The smell of alcohol can sometimes be strong. Work in a well ventilated area, open a window, or have a fan in the room. The inks are very pigmented and will stain. You'll want to wear old clothes or an apron, and definitely use gloves to cover your hands or use a barrier cream. Cover your work surface. I use a reusable craft mat with an inexpensive plastic tablecloth underneath which I can reuse. Never ever put the alcohol inks into a spray bottle. There is resin in the inks that you don't want in your lungs. They should never be airborne. Do not use them with things that come into direct contact with food and beverages. Also, the ink is flammable, so please be mindful of the safety precautions. When it's warm enough outside. I set up a table in the garage and leave the garage door open. I learned that tip from my neighbor, Nita. We have ink play dates together. You will need alcohol inks. There are many brands I'll be using, Pinata and Ranger. You can use whatever you have. If you want to know more about the different brands, please check out my alcohol ink party intro class here on Skillshare. I'll be using isopropyl rubbing alcohol. It comes in different percentages. I'm using 99%. For the techniques I'm showing, they work best with rubbing alcohol over 90%. But if you do not have the same percentage, that's okay. Of course you can use what you have. Just be mindful that the ink effects may have a different results than what you are seeing in the class. Also, if you want to put the rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle to try different techniques, that is okay. The alcohol makes the inks more transparent and it helps them to flow. I like to pour the alcohol in a smaller bottle for ease of use. You may also want to use metallics in your design. A tip on the metallic inks, they are quite thick. Depending on the techniques that I'm doing, I will use it straight from the bottle or use a diluted mixture for a more subtle look. I start with a ratio of two-thirds bottle of rubbing alcohol and five drops of metallic ink in a 14 milliliter bottle. You can test to see what ratio you like. You can easily add more drops of ink if you want or more alcohol. I also use the alcohol for cleanup. You'll need tiles. Tiles come in different sizes and different shapes. I'll be using square tiles for my coasters. They have a slight gloss finish to them, which adds to the vibrancy of the inks. I bought my tiles at my local hardware store, and they are very inexpensive. One advantage of alcohol inks on tiles is that you can clean off the ink with alcohol and redesign until you get something you like. Next, you'll need some type of blower, Ranger ink blower tool or equivalent. For safety purposes, the recommendation is not to use a straw for blowing. You can also use an air compressor where the small tip to blow the inks. Another tool that I use when I'm creating is the color wheel. The inks will blend to the color wheel so it's great to have it handy when you are choosing your colors. If you are not familiar with color wheel or color theory, there are many great intro classes here on Skillshare. You'll need paper towels or rag for cleanup. Here's a tip. Save your paper towels for collage or backgrounds for other artwork. You'll find that after cleaning up or wiping down your tiles with your paper towel, you'll have a beautiful blend of colors. To seal your artwork, use a water-based sealer. There are many different types. I use Liquitex Gloss Medium Varnish, and also I will use a spray sealer depending on the finished that I want. For my tiles, I will use Liquitex. To apply the sealer, I'll use a foam brush. You need a strong glue and some type of felt for the bottom of your tiles. To trim the edges of your coaster, you'll also need a marker or small pink brush and then an ink that compliments your design. I'll be used in a gold pin. You may also find it helpful to have a piece of scrap cardboard or something flat to hold your tiles. Just make sure that it is thick enough to hold your tiles flat when you pick it up. To get started, you don't need all the colors, although I'll tell you, once you start dripping color, you might find a lot of joy in creating with the inks and feel you need to get all of them. Here's a list of supplies as well as you have your student handout with links. If you have any questions, please post them in the class discussion. In the next video, I'll show you how to prepare the tiles to receive the alcohol ink and also share some basic adding color techniques. See you in the next video. [MUSIC] 4. Prep the Tiles and Ink Basics: [MUSIC] Hello and welcome back. In this lesson, I will be explaining how to prepare the tiles to accept the alcohol ink and some basics for dripping color. In order for the alcohol inks to adhere well to the tiles, the tiles need to be free from dirt, dust, and fingerprints. To clean the tile, drip a few drops of alcohol ink onto the tile and then wipe it clean with a paper towel or lint free cloth all the way to the edge. That's it. Now it's ready for ink. Let's drip some ink. I have my gloves on, my surface and clothes are protected, my window is open, and I'm ready to drip some ink. On this single tile, I'll demonstrate how to add and blend color. If you took the alcohol ink party intro class, this will look familiar. If you did not, that's okay, I'm starting from the beginning. This is the tile I prepared. As you will see, you do not need much color to cover the tile. I'm using ranger indigo and pinata lime green. They are close to each other on the color wheel and will blend beautifully. I also have my rubbing alcohol in this little bottle. The goal is to create a design that I really like. I pick up my board to make it easy to tilt the tile to move color. The inks are highly pigmented and this is a small surface, so I don't need much ink. I'll start with adding a little rubbing alcohol and then add a couple of drops of green and one drop of blue. As you can see, the color is very intense and starts to move. I tilt the board to encourage that movement. I'll add more alcohol and continue to tilt the board to help that color move even more. I repeat these steps as needed to get a nice blend. [MUSIC] You can also use a cotton swab or little stick to move color, like this little area here. I thought I might need a little alcohol to help move the ink, but there was enough wet eat to fill that space. You can add more alcohol to push some of the color away to create fades. Next, I'll add some more alcohol and start tilting the tile to help move color in the direction I want to form a design. The inks naturally blend together and you can see there's some dark areas and light areas. I really like that contrast. That's something that I strive for in my designs. To make the light areas I can just add a little more alcohol. I also like to add a metallic to my designs. I have some pinata rich gold. The metallics are quite thick, always be sure to shake them. I'm adding alcohol to help the metallics move. If you find it's too thick for your taste, you can use the diluted recipe rather than full strength of the metallic ink. Here's a tip, if you have too much color, use a second tile or some mupole paper to catch the ink. This can be the start of your next project. You can add alcohol or add more ink to create a new design. A benefit of using the tiles with alcohol inks is that you can wipe the tile clean. You may want to do this if you don't like the design or if you just want to practice with the inks. Use a paper towel or lint free cloth to wipe away any wet ink. For dried ink and to wipe the tile completely clean, drip alcohol on the tile and use a clean paper towel. Be sure to use the clean part of the paper towel, otherwise you just wiped that ink right back on there. Here's a tip. Save the paper towel for collage and the lint free cloth for other projects. You will see that you have a beautiful colorful piece once you have used them for cleanup. In the next video, we'll jump right into adding color by blowing the inks. See you there. [MUSIC] 5. Add Color with Air: [MUSIC] Hi and welcome back. In this lesson, I'll demo a technique to add color with air for different type of abstract design. To create this set of coasters, I want them to have a similar look. I set them up two-by-two on scrap cardboard so I can drip color in a similar place on each tile and then move the color with air. I have to tell you for full transparency, this is my second take on filming. I did not like the first design. I wiped the tiles clean and I'm starting over. But look how pretty this paper tile is. All is not lost. I'll use it for a collage on another project. I use the color wheel to pick up my colors. I decided on warm colors, red and yellow to start with, knowing that they will blend into different oranges. I picked a red-violet, which is next to read. By looking at the color wheel, I can tell all these colors will blend nicely. I start by dropping a few drops of alcohol on each tile. This time I'm starting with one color of ink, ranger watermelon, in a corner of each tile. I'll then use the blower tool to move color around, trying to put the blower in a similar position for each tile. Understanding the design will be abstract because of the features of the ink no two will be exactly alike, one of the things that I love about the inks, by the way. By doing the same steps for each tile, they will be similar enough that you can tell that they are a set. You can see it creates a different effect than the tilting. Both techniques beautifully blend. It's nice to have variety. There are a few splatters that blow across the tiles. I see that as adding more interest to the design and I like it. Next, I add pinata some bright yellow in a similar spot on each tile. Again, understanding that I cannot control the outcome, I'm just looking to make interesting blends and textures that are similar. Next, I add a little alcohol in a different area and add ranger white plum, and then blow the color. I'm not trying to create a specific design. I'm looking to create interesting blends that make my heart smile. That's how I know I'm digging the design. I continue to fill up the tile with color while leaving some white space to provide contrast. Notice that I'm using only a small amount of ink. It dries fast and so I continue to drop alcohol to encourage the inks to move. Blowing the air creates these beautiful borders and also creates these organic shapes and textures. You can hold the blower at an angle or straight up and down and see that it creates a little bit different results. I'll take a moment to pause and look at the design to see if there are places where I want to add more ink or more alcohol or even perhaps another color. I encourage you to just have fun with the process. Of course, I'm going to add some gold just because I'm a metallic enthusiast and need some in my design. This time, I will use the diluted pinata rich in gold alcohol. Since there's quite a bit of alcohol in the recipe, it will push the colors to move a bit. See how it pushed that color away. There will be a subtle presence of gold in the overall design, which is really pretty. I continue to add gold and blow air. [MUSIC]. I think more yellow is needed in this area, so I'll add it. It's just a matter of adding inks and or alcohol to create an abstract design that you liked. [MUSIC]. I need more red-violet. [MUSIC]. I'm taking another moment to look at the design. I'm loving these little organic borders that are forming as the ink dries and pulls. I'm also digging the interesting overall look. The hardest part of creating abstracts is deciding when to stop or when to add something more. I do feel like I need a pop of color, some pink. So I'm going to add Pinata Senorita Magenta. I start in the corner and blow. [MUSIC]. Then add a little gold. I did that. I repeat for each corner. By adding that diluted gold, I'm also adding more alcohol to help it move. I don't need to add more alcohol from my little bottle. It's in there with the gold. [MUSIC]. I really like the splatter that happened when I blew the diluted gold, so I try to get that on all the tiles. I also want to add more yellow in some corners to balance out the colors for a similar look on each tile. At this point, I'm just trying to balance colors. It is important to know when to say when and just stop. So I did. When you are dripping and blowing, I want to encourage you to embrace the process and get to know the inks. Remember if you are unhappy with the outcome, you can always wipe off the tile. Please upload your tiles so we can all see them. If you have any questions, please note them in the discussion section. I promised to respond. Other students may have the same question or may know the answer and can respond. We are all one big helpful community. In the next video, I'll show you how to seal your beautiful artwork and make the tiles into coasters. 6. Seal Your Artwork and Detail: Hi and welcome back. In this lesson, I will show you how I seal my tiles and also how to add some finishing details to turn your tiles into coasters. To seal your inked artwork, you'll want to use a water-based sealer, I use Liquitex, gloss, and varnish, or a spray depending on the artwork. The reason I like Liquitex is that it increases the vibrancy and dries clear. I will use Liquitex on the tiles. To apply, I use a foam brush, I pour a small amount along the tip of the brush, not too thick. Also a tip, it's a good idea not to pour over your art painting. I lightly brush across from edge to edge, and then I check to make sure there are no bubbles. If there are no bubbles, I'm good. If I see any bubbles, I smooth them out with the foam brush. You can see the brush strokes slightly when you tilt it, but I'm okay with that, I think it adds texture to show it's an original piece and it was hand painted. For a larger piece of art or a painting where I do not want a brushstroke, I will use a spray varnish. I always spray outside. I set my painting upright so the spray does not pull in any one area and then I spray three coats allowing them to dry in-between. Whatever finishing method you decide, be sure to read your product information. I used the Liquitex on all four tiles already so they could be dry and I can show you the next step, which is to turn these tiles into coasters. To add a finishing touch around the edges, I used a permanent goal leafing marker. You can also use a sharpie or some brand that's permanent, or you can use a paintbrush and the complimentary color ink to paint the trim. As an example, you can pour out a little ink holding the tile between your fingers so the edges are exposed, and paint along the edge, you may need to do two coats. [MUSIC] I like to use the leafing pen because it just requires one coat and it's easy to apply. When using a metallic pen, you need to shake it. I highly recommend that you make sure that the top is on tightly before you shake, and then when you take the top off, take the top off away from your art, otherwise you might get a little bit of splatter that you don't want. Holding the tile between my fingers so the side areas are clear, I pump the leafing pen to get it started and then paint around the edges. I take my time so that the marker tip will not slip onto my artwork. Now if that does happen, immediately take a paper towel and wipe it off. If it does not come off easily, add a little bit of alcohol to your paper towel and gently wipe away. This is why I seal my artwork first to protect it just in case I have a little accident while I'm doing the trim and I have to clean it. I have already added trim to the other tiles. The last step for the coasters is to put little pieces of felt on the bottom, this will make a cushion for the coasters when they sit on your table. I'm using a strong glue to make sure they stick well. Oh no, the whole of my glue is clogged, I'll use a straight pin to get it flowing. This is also a good tip for your inks if ever they are clogged, just use a straight pin to open that little hole backup and get a flow. I added the little felt to all four corners of each tile. [MUSIC] Now they are ready. Up next is a summary video, I'll see you there. 7. Summary: [MUSIC] Congratulations, you have finished the class. I hope you enjoyed the techniques and had fun. We covered safety using alcohol inks and supplies for coasters, preparing the tiles by cleaning them with alcohol to receive the inks, a simple and fun technique for adding blooms of color to your tiles with the blower, and finally how to seal your tiles and detail them. Be sure to print the handout with the summary of the steps, the list of supplies with links, and additional alcohol ink resources. If you take away one thing from the class, I hope that it's seeing how easy it is to work with the inks and blower to create vivid pieces of art that are functional and beautiful. If you liked this class kindly leave a review and follow me here on Skillshare that you'll hear about my upcoming classes. It is truly been my pleasure having you in class, take care and stay positive. [MUSIC]