Create Useful Watercolor Painting Tools with Thermoplastic - A Studio Fu Class

1. Introduction: So, my favorite water bottle had a broken handle. And so, while I was scrolling the big Mega online retail place, potentially ready to order its replacement, I stumbled into this stuff called polymorph thermoplastic. And I thought, OMG, I can fix my water bottle because it turns out thermoplastic is one of those things that they use in three D printing, and it comes in a hand moldable format, too. But what does that have to do with water color? When the magical little beads arrived, I fixed my water bottle, and I immediately started crafting little helper things around the studio, small tools. And I'm going to teach you how to make three different types of little helper doodads for your own art space. And you're going to fall in love with polycaprecton, also known as thermoplastic. Hi, I'm Jen Dixon, and this is Studio Fu watercolor painting tools in thermoplastic. Studio Fu is derived from the words Kung fu, which literally means time spent at skillful work. Studio Fu classes are here to help you make the most of the time you spend in your art space and practice. Short classes with easy to implement tips and tricks. So let's get started. 2. Materials and Project Overview: You don't need a lot to work with hand moldable thermoplastic. But if you want to make textures in it, it does help to have a variety of metal or glass objects to press into it. You'll also need hot water, cold water, and something metal to stir it around with like a palette knife, spoon or fork. The dish should be heat tolerant glass, I'm using Pyrex ceramic or metal. Otherwise, the plastic will stick a lot more. I work with it on foil because I know it won't stick, and I can pick up the whole thing, bend it, or whatever. Paper towels are handy since there is water. And, of course, you need thermoplastic beads. Thermo what? According to Wikipedia, a thermoplastic or thermo softening plastic is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and then solidifies upon cooling. Polycproctone, PCL, is a synthetic, sem crystaline biodegradable polyester with a melting point of about 60 degrees Celsius and a glass transition temperature of about negative 60 degrees Celsius. Thermo y. Also, according to Wikipedia, polycaprolactone is also used for splinting, modeling, and as a feedstock for prototyping systems such as fused filament fabrication three D printers. So why get the go? Well, you have things to repair. My broken water bottle is what started all this. You want to make tools that you wish existed, don't exist yet, or that worked better. You like making stuff. Hey, that's enough. Thermo how? How do you use PCL, the basics? Get it hot, squish it into shape. Let it cool, or cool it quickly with cold water. Optional. Say whoa and then obsessively wonder what you can make or fix next. A few things to remember. Use metal and glass with PCL. It's less likely to stick to those things unintentionally. Don't use boiling water to melt it. You don't need a thermometer, but avoid boiling or mix with a little cold water. Have fun. Your project, make tools from thermoplastic, and then you can feel like a manufacturing wizard. Post photos and tell us about them in the project. The caps are optional, but I would love to see them if you make some. Have enormous amounts of fun. 3. Project 1: Brush Pucks: What is a brush cleaning puck? It's a disc or object at the bottom of your paint water cup to gently rub the bristles of your brush against to help rinse them clean between colors while painting. I have a silicon one with suction cups on the bottom of it for my large water bucket when I paint an acrylics. But for water color, I used to use a softly ridged seashell. I used it for years. Now I have the ability to make as many different sizes and textures as I want. Thanks to thermoplastic. There isn't anything difficult about this first project, and it's perfect for starting with PCL. When melting the beads, you'll see the white ones go from opaque white to clear. That's how you know it's hot enough. If your blob is still a clump of beads kind of milky in color, then your water temperature needs adjusted. When stirring it around, the beads will begin to stick together and change opacity. If they also stick to what you're stirring with, that's normal. But as the plastic cools a little bit, it'll become more like taffy as it cools, then you'll be able to use its own stickiness to remove it from whatever you're using. If you feel beads inside your blob, stretch or flatten it and dunk it a while longer. You want to achieve a smooth consistency. The plastic is typically not too hot to handle, but do use caution if you're not using a thermometer for precise monitoring. I haven't burned myself yet, but I have dropped thermoplastic that surprised me by being a little bit hotter than I expected. If you lift it out of the water with a tool, it will typically cool to a comfortable but pliable temperature really quickly. I found red beads seem to melt easiest. White are a close second, and black is kind of tough and seems to need hotter water, and you got to work a little bit faster. You can reheat the thermoplastic as much as you want with hot water, and I sometimes use a homemade tea warmer to keep my water filled Pyrex bowl warm for just that little extra working time. To make your pucks, heat one or two tablespoons of beads, and when ready, roll it into a ball in your hands. I use a glass lid from an old scented candle to press my ball flat on the foil, but you can use the palm of your hand or a little ceramic plate just the same. You'll find what works best for you. Press your chosen texture item into the PCL. If it feels resistant, then your thermoplastic may not be warm enough. So peel it off the foil and dunk it for a few seconds to soften. Then try the impression again. You'll get the hang of it and exactly how hard to press, I promise. I have tried forks, strainers, steel rods, ball chains, and even a potato masher, which, by the way, made an awesome texture. Perhaps you'd like to get extra creative and craft a wire coil or use old letter press blocks. Go nuts. I'd love to see what interesting textures you create. A quick tip if you've made your puck too big to fit in the bottom of your water jar. Dunk the edges in hot water for just a few seconds and then use kitchen scissors to trim a little off. The scraps can be melted into a future project, so there really is no waste. Congratulations. You are now a hand moldable polymorthrmoplastic polycaprolactone wizard. And you have effortlessly clean watercolor brushes, too. Life is good. 4. Project 2: Brush Rests: This next project is one I wish I'd thought of years ago, but here we are. I've seen plenty of beautiful, usually ceramic handmade paint water cups with built in chez dents or holes to hold watercolor brushes. They're usually kind of expensive, and I also prefer glass because it's clear. So most of the time, I use these repurpose jars from used up candles. So I thought I might make my own clip on brush rests. They can be a little fiddly de sculpt at first, and you might have to melt down a few failed attempts. But now that I have made a few of these, I cannot imagine not having them. The idea is simple. Roll a little log or ball of PCL, then press into a flat oval or really long flat oval, if you're making one with more than one brush in mind. And then press it in half half in and half out of the jar rim. I mentioned they can be a little fiddly to scalp, but they're also easy. But I did have a few attempts where I had my plastic too thin, and then I pressed it into the glass, only to nearly push the rim of the glass right through. So it'll take a little practice, but you'll get it. When bending an oval of hot thermal plastic over the rim of the jar or the cup, give it a little wiggle, and you can use its own water in the jar itself to help cool it, and just make sure it's loose enough. I went back and forth, but make sure it's loose enough that you can easily flip it back onto the jar edge. You'll have a little directional curve to the slot because of the roundness of the jar. And I didn't make mine that distinct so that I could tell the inside from the outside of the brush rest. So it's kind of like when you're plugging in USB cable, and you always have to spin it around. Don't forget to experiment with holder dents of different widths and depths. A word of warning. Make sure you put some foil around your brush handle if you use it to make a dent in the hot plastic or better yet, use the metal feral of the brush to make the dent. I had one blob of plastic stick to the varnish that coats the brush handle, and that was no fun to unstick. I should have seen it coming, but in the moment, I just didn't think. And if having a jar top brush rest isn't your jam, you can always make rests for your desk, which is a great way to keep a wet brush from laying directly on your desk, and it also prevents it from rolling away. And don't be afraid to experiment, get creative. You could design one of these to clip onto a jar, but have it with a little row of holes instead as an alternative way to hold your brushes. I plan to make one like that myself. You're going to start thinking of all kinds of weird little helper tools now. I just know it. 5. Project 3: Replacement Paint Tube Caps: Ever lost the tiny cap from a tube of watercolor paint. Some are so small, and if you lose one while you're outdoors doing some sketching, chances are good, you will never find that again. In the spirit of being prepared, this is how I made a replacement cap for my paint. One important thing before we begin, is that it has to be for a metal tube. The thermoplastic will likely seal a plastic tube shut tighter than a mummy's tub. So if you lose one of those, I don't have a solution for you just yet. I'm demonstrating this on an oil tube so that everything is a little easier to see and follow, but it's the same process for a smaller cap. Get a blob of thermoplastic heating up in water. You'll have time to wipe the threads of the tube doesn't need to be perfectly clean, but you want to have the screw threads clear for making a working impression in the PCL. A cap is simply a ribbon of thermoplastic around the tube threads, pressed into the grooves as best as you can fill them, and then you put a little disc of thermoplastic on top and smooth the two parts together. As it cools, gently twist the cap forwards and backwards to make sure it works. It's likely to be stiff at first, but just like the brush rests, you need to work the plastic a little. The difference with the caps is that you are making a seal. So be consistent in how you twist the cap, it's cooling because you want movement but no wiggle. And that's all there is to it. I suggest making one for the experience, but maybe tuck it in your sketch kit, you know, just in case. 6. Final Thoughts and Bloopers: Thank you for joining me for Studio Fu, and I really hope that you've found some creative and fun uses for thermoplastic in your art practice. If you found this class useful, then I'd love it if you'd leave a positive review and maybe mention what about it you liked best because that really helps other students find exactly the right classes for them. And heck. I like to know. And if you want to stay connected, you can find me at gendix com or on most social media platforms, you'll find me as at Gen Dixon Arts and on YouTube at endxon. I have a lot of other classes you might like to check out, and I hope to bring you many more. See you soon. As at Gen Dixon. At Gen Dixon Arts. We love a tasty beverage. Thank you so much for joint. Well I want to do this again. Mike chump that out. This has been so much fun, and I hope it's been useful. So until I just stop while I'm ahead. I really hope that thermoplastic becomes one of those. This has been so much fun, and I can't wait to see you again. Great. That's dumb. You can always melt it back down again. Do that again. Are you almost dead mountain? Can we do that another time? I'd be super. You are so cute. Right. Thank you so much for G bubble. Tasty beverage. Yeah, good enough. Surely, I've got what I need out of that. Stop.