Stencils for painting: varieties and applications

For a long time, the house was decorated with drawings, which were most often located on the walls. Wall painting enlivens the interior, creates coziness in the house, emphasizes individuality, regardless of whether the pattern is simple or complex. To date, a wide variety of stencils are used for drawing a pattern, which have their own characteristics.

A stencil is essentially a template on which a pattern is cut out, transferred to a prepared surface for painting.

By applying the template to the surface, you can decorate not only the wall, but also any other plane.

Thanks to the use of a stencil, you can visually adjust the space of any room, masking flaws or emphasizing advantages. By working with templates, you can achieve stunning design changes without any special skills, because applying paint to the surface is not only easy, but also very fun. Paint templates are a great opportunity for anyone to feel like a designer.

Most often, stencils are used to decorate walls for painting. The pattern itself always differs in color from the main surface. For a general drawing, one or several stencils can be used.

Today, there are a variety of materials used to make stencils.

They are divided, depending on the strength, into disposable and reusable types:

• Disposable templates are made from materials with a structure that can withstand a single exposure to paint. After transferring the pattern to the surface, they are thrown away.
• Reusable stencils are made from materials that can withstand repeated exposure to chemical components, and they are also resistant to scratches from the tools used.

PVC or polyvinyl chloride for templates are made in different densities and colors. Vinyl templates are disposable stencils. They have a flat surface, where there is an adhesive base on the back side, which allows you to firmly fix the template in the place of drawing.

To apply volumetric patterns, polyvinyl chloride is used, which has a thickness of several millimeters. Instead of paint, plaster is used as a substance, filling all the holes of the stencil, which is removed only after complete drying.

Disposable types of templates can be made of cardboard, parchment paper, foil, masking tape. All of these materials do not have sufficient density and resistance to moisture and other components contained in paint or plaster.

Reusable templates are made of plastic and acrylic. They are durable and resistant, they are not afraid of moisture or other components that make up the dyes.

For surface decoration, patterns of a variety of style and direction can be used, for which a variety of methods are used.

The simplest option includes drawings using only one color. A template with a pattern cut out in it is applied to the surface and painted over in the selected tone. Sometimes it is allowed to use a gradient when there is a smooth transition from a lighter tone to a darker one in the drawing. For simple options, use of other colors is unacceptable.

The complex option includes patterns where several colors are used. Multi-color drawing is done using several pre-marked templates. In order for the drawing to look good, and its fragments coincide, you need to correctly combine all the marked places.

Sometimes a drawing that is transferred to the surface does not need to be painted over. Such templates do not have cut out parts inside the form, they only have an outline. They are also called anti-stencils or reverse templates. When the template is applied to the surface, the space around it is painted over. After removing the stencil, its outline remains on the surface, which has a base color.

Volumetric drawings made with a putty and coated with paint or varnish after complete drying, allow you to achieve a 3D effect. To complete such patterns requires great skill and careful execution.

Images can be related to different topics. They are selected based on their own taste and the purpose of the room.

There are several directions into which patterns and designs are subdivided:

• The geometric direction includes templates with circles, squares, triangles, and images with brush strokes.

• The "Damascus" trend is famous for its drawings, which depict all kinds of forged products or patterns consisting of sharp points.

• Plant and animal subjects are the most extensive. Trees, bushes, flowers, various types of animals can serve as images. In addition, individual fragments of the plant world can be used in templates: flower bud, tree leaf, branch.

• The children's direction includes templates with the image of cartoon characters, anime characters, as well as fabulous images of nature.

• The curb directions are characterized by the image of various interior elements, namely: corners, columns, as well as templates that allow you to decorate frames with inserts.

• There is also a mosaic direction, where the pattern looks like a mosaic.

• Holiday templates depict a variety of special occasions. It can be a wedding day, and New Year, and March 8, and February 23, as well as other festive events.

As a rule, the choice of this or that stencil depends on the type of room that is planned to be decorated, and on the location of the surface to be decorated. But there is also a general set of rules that must be followed when choosing a template with a specific pattern.

When choosing a picture, you need to take into account not only the general style of the room, but also the pieces of furniture that will be there, as well as accessories that complement the style.

When choosing a stencil, you need to clearly know what surface it is intended for. Almost all types of templates are suitable for walls for painting. For wallpaper, reusable templates are suitable, the pattern of which can only be translated using paint. Volumetric types of patterns, consisting of putty, will not stick to such a surface, they are intended only for surfaces to be painted.

For the floor, as well as for walls with wallpaper, it is better to focus on stencils for painting. But in this case, you can use not only reusable options, but templates designed for one-time use.

The type of room matters when choosing a pattern for a stencil. For the kitchen, images with objects related to the plant world are most often chosen.

For a children's room, a drawing with a children's theme or an image of animals would be an excellent solution. They are perfect for decorating walls, ceilings and floors. And the bathroom is better decorated in a marine theme.

For living rooms and bedrooms, the pattern is selected according to the interior of the room, using the zoning method or decorating the entire surface.

The hallway, as a rule, has one or more mirrors, so you can apply a pattern using a stencil not only on walls, but also on a mirror surface, as well as use the surface of furniture. The main thing is to correctly beat the conceived composition, and not to mix patterns of different styles in one space.

The pompous and luxurious art deco style requires a special approach, and therefore templates with geometric ornaments and figures that are small in size are best suited for it. Stencils with monumental images can also be used, but they are not used as often.

For the antique style, images of Ancient Greece are best suited, giving sophistication and mystery to this room. It is customary to depict columns, statues and vases on the walls near the entrance doors. To highlight a certain area in the room, images of ancient gods or heroes of mythology are used.

The modern style dictates its own rules. In this case, stencils depicting geometric shapes will be appropriate.

When choosing a stencil for walls, ceiling or floor, you need to decide which is better: buy a ready-made one or make it yourself.

An industrially produced template has clear lines, as it is made on professional equipment. In order to independently make a stencil, you will have to make a lot of effort, in addition, there is a possibility that the contours of such a template will have uneven edges. However, a self-made template will cost less than a ready-made version. The final choice always rests with the owner of the premises.

If the choice fell on a template made in an industrial way, then you need to pay attention to some nuances:

• First of all, this is the price of the stencil. It depends on many factors. The more complex the pattern, the higher the cost of the template. Large and complex drawings of famous brands cost over 500 rubles.
• When buying, you should take a close look at the stencils so as not to confuse them with stickers intended for walls. These elements, with which walls are decorated, have many similarities.
• The selected template must be carefully examined: as a rule, in a high-quality specimen intended for repeated use, small jumpers are firmly connected to the base, and the stencil itself has no kinks.

Previously, a variety of devices were used to translate a drawing through a template. The paint was applied using linen bags, pieces of potatoes, sea sponges, and also using small sticks, at the ends of which cotton wool or pieces of wool were wound. But today the tools used to apply paint have a different look, and they are much more convenient to use. All kinds of brushes, sponges, rollers and even sprayers are presented in a large assortment.

A brush is most often used to apply paint. The stencil brush has a rounded shape and dense structure.Bristle hairs are trimmed to the same length. These design features allow for drip-free paint application. Brushes with stiff bristles are necessary for applying the base, while those with soft bristles are used for tinting.

Foam sponges allow you to apply paint thinly and evenly. They are most often used to create a base layer or when working with large details.

For beginners, a stencil roller, which has a special rubber base with convex pattern details, will be an excellent tool. It is easy to work with it, the paint is applied in a thin layer, without smudges. The drawings will have a uniform appearance, without halftones and transitions, but they will look very neat.

Sprays or aerosol cans are often used for stenciling. They are easy to use, but it is worth keeping an eye on the even distribution of the layer. In addition, the spray head often has to be cleaned from time to time, as it can become clogged with paint.

In order to transfer a drawing to the surface, in addition to tools and a template, you need to purchase paint. Almost all types of paints are suitable for this process. Acrylic, oil, water-based and other types have both advantages and some disadvantages. And in order to figure out which paint is better to buy, you need to consider each type in detail.

The undoubted leader among all analogues is acrylic paint, which has a lot of advantages. It is very convenient to work with acrylic paint; if a layer is mistakenly applied, it can be removed using a regular sponge dipped in water. Therefore, it is best for beginners to use this particular type of paint. In addition, it is non-toxic; during work, you do not need to use protective equipment for the respiratory tract.

Drawings transferred to the surface using this paint remain in good condition for quite a long time. The paint perfectly tolerates temperature changes, is resistant to ultraviolet rays. The pattern is characterized by a flat surface and the brightness of the selected colors for a long time. In addition, you can use acrylic paint on any surface.

Oil paint is also often used for stencilling patterns. But it's worth remembering that when working with it, you need to prepare the surface well and use protective equipment, since it is toxic. It is somewhat more difficult to work with it than with acrylic paint, but it lays down just as well. With its help, you can create smooth transitions on the pattern, and the pattern itself remains bright and saturated for quite a long time.

After choosing a stencil and paint, you can start working, observing a certain sequence of actions.

After careful preparation of the surface, you need to attach the template, checking the tightness and evenness of the location. After fixing the stencil in the desired position, apply paint with a brush, roller or applicator. You need to act as carefully as possible so that the layer turns out to be even. Then you should wait a while, the applied layer should dry out, only after that you can remove the stencil.

There are many ways to use indoor templates.In some cases, they perfectly replace wallpaper, the pattern goes over the entire surface of the walls and consists of repeating elements, or on the surface they depict individual patterns connected by meaning.

Sometimes the drawing does not occupy the entire surface completely, but is located only in a certain place. A good location can be called a pattern near a switch or outlet, because these areas are more exposed to contamination than others, and therefore the applied pattern hides traces well. The pattern near the head of the bed in the bedroom, near the table in the kitchen or on the wall near the sofa in the living room also looks great, thus highlighting the relaxation area.

The composition looks original, originating on a wall or ceiling and smoothly transitioning to other surfaces. The main thing is to find the right template, as well as correctly calculate the location of the picture.

In the next video, you can watch a master class on making a reusable do-it-yourself stencil for stencil painting.