Project: Painted Backpiece
Style: Punk, Streetwear, Maximalism, etc
Estimated Length: 3 days including drying time
Difficulty: Beginner
In our last post, we talked about the history of painted jackets. Hopefully, that gave you some inspiration because today I’m going to show you how I paint mine.
Supplies:
-jacket
-acrylic paints
-brushes
-fabric medium
-black Sharpie
-cardboard
-push pins
-paper
-pencil
-scissors
-plastic cups
For this project, I chose to paint my cotton, military-inspired coat seen here. I’ve been amassing a pin collection on the front for about a year now, so I wanted to start adding some decorations to the back to match.
The first step is to sketch out a design. Ideally, you want your design to fit on an area with little to no movement or ruching to keep it from cracking. I recommend making a simple design with high contrast colors, and if you want to include lettering, keep it short. Nobody wants to read a full dissertation on your clothes!
Once I had sketched out something I liked, I used acrylics to paint a scale draft. I chose this bright orange accent color to contrast with the olive green material and really illuminate the “eyes” on the moth’s wings. After playing around with several “eye” designs, I found that the circles were striking enough on their own without much additional detail.
Before you start painting, there’s a few things you’ll need to do to prep the material. First, wash the jacket and let it dry completely. Once your jacket is dry, insert a piece of cardboard and careful pin the material down to give yourself a flat surface to paint on. Try to place the pins near the very edge of your panels to avoid making visible holes.
Finally it’s time to lay down the first coat of paint. Mix equal parts white acrylic paint and fabric medium in a disposable cup. The fabric medium will make sure the paint stays flexible once it dries. Now with a thin brush, outline your design and fill it in with white. Let the paint dry for at least an hour before adding a second or third coat to the base. The more base coats you add, the brighter your colors will be.
Let that dry overnight, then take your Sharpie and outline your design. My tip is to cut the major shapes out of your design and trace each part individually to create a perfect replica on your jacket. If you do make a mistake, just paint over the area with a few coats of white to erase it.
Once you're satisfied with your line work, mix your colors in separate disposable cups, equal parts acrylic paint and fabric medium just like before. Then, start filling in your colors starting with the large single color shapes before moving on to the smaller details. Let it dry overnight and go over any patchy spots in the morning. The end result should look something like this.
Hope you guys enjoyed the tutorial. Feel free to post your finished jackets on Instagram and tag us @mhcdiy for a chance to be featured on our social. We’ll see you soon for another tutorial.
Comments