Saturday, February 22

Light Through Water


Today I want to show you a technique that resembles the effect of light shining through water. This technique would also work for sunlight shining through clouds, or perhaps starlight or moonlight shining down on an object. I've used the technique to create a shaker card, which I intended to resemble a goldfish pond filled with light and sparkling bubbles.


Stamp the images on a piece of smooth cardstock and colour with pencils. You'll need to colour the whole image, including the background. Try to lay down lots of colour so that you'll have plenty of pigment to create the contrast between light and dark.


This bit is a little daunting, I must admit, but the results are definitely worth it. Take a nice soft, clean eraser and drag one of the long edges in a straight line, from the top of the coloured image to the bottom. As the eraser moves along, it takes away a layer of colour. As you can see below, it starts off as quite a crisp line, then starts to blend and blur as the eraser makes it's way through the pencil. This gives the impression of light dispersing as it gets deeper into the water.



It's important to CLEAN THE ERASER with each pass you make. You don't want to start out with a dirty eraser or you won't get that nice crisp start to your light beam. Make each beam of light wider at the bottom than the top, again, to give the impression that the light is dispersing as it makes it's way through the water.


I added a third fish over the top of the background to give the finished card some depth. It was secured in place with foam tape, which brings it flush against the acetate sheet making it appear to be in the foreground of the scene.


Stamps and Dies:
  

17 comments:

crafty-stamper said...

Absolutely brilliant technique and love the stamps
Carol x

Crafting Queen said...

Stunning colouring and technique!

Faith A at Daffodil Cards said...

WOW! That is so clever.
Faith x

aussie aNNie said...

Wow and thank you for another GREAT tutorial to use and try...x

KathyA. said...

Beccy,this is brilliant! Thanks for sharing.

kiwimeskreations said...

What a wonderful technique - thanks Beccy
Blessings
Maxine

Nancy Soetaert said...

Great idea, thanks for your awesome tutorial.
Nancy

Lori m said...

Fabulous card and great tutorial, stunning effects, hugs, Lori m

ewinka Nowa said...

Piękny shaker !

Margreet said...

Stunning Becky. Thanks for sharing.
xxx Margreet

Colinda said...

Beautiful, love the lightbeams and the third fish is a great way to get more depth in your card!
Enjoy your weekend,
Colinda

Aimeslee Winans said...

Beccy, you are just full of the coolest tips, thank you for the tutorial, xoxo

Teresa said...

So neat! The paper on outside of the card reminds me of fish scales. Love the light beams!

terrie said...

What an awesome technique and the effect is stunning...I can't believe this was done with an easer.
Thank you Beccy for this technique and the card turned out fantastic.

SiskiyouSue said...

Possibly my favorite card ever! Thank you for showing your technique. This is great!

Donna Ellis said...

Oh my, Beccy! I have enjoyed every project with your new gold fish set, but more... the techniques are exquisite, and this technique-laden beauty is my fave! Loving the eraser technique (or even with a stencil) and the dimensional aspect of the placement of your pretty fish! The colors are amazing! Gorgeous card! hugs, de

Mel C said...

This is wonderful Beccy, thanks!