I often get asked if I adjust the heat setting on my burner when I do pyrography. The answer is no. I am a set it and forget it type of person. To accommodate this, I have other ways I use to control and alter the burn results. In this blog I will explain the methods I use to change the color of my burns without adjusting the heat setting on my burner.
Click on the image to the left to watch a YouTube video version of the tutorial.
Let’s get started.
DIAL IN THE HEAT
Before I start burning, I always get the heat adjusted to produce a medium to dark tan result.
I’ve been using my burner and pen tips long enough, that I have a general idea of the lower heat setting that I start to get noticeable burn results. I start my burner at that heat setting and check the results.
If I can’t detect anything, then I will increase the heat setting and wait for the pen tip to warm up. Then I check the burn results.
I continue this process of incrementally increasing the heat, waiting 10-15 seconds for the tip to warm up, and then checking the burn results.
On this particular piece of plywood, I had to set my burner to 4.3 to get the results I was after.
Every time I switch pen tips, or art projects, I start the whole process over.
Every board and pen tip will require different heat settings to produce a medium to dark tan burn result.
This writer pen tip needed a heat setting of 5.25
METHOD 1 – REBURN
Re-burning is my most commonly used method to control and alter my burner results.
As you can see in this photo, my burner is set to 3.5 (or close to it). I am burning uniform strokes on the board, and have just about finished one layer in a small area.
Now I’m re-burning back over the patch starting on the left and working towards the right. As you can see the color is darker on the left half of the patch where I’ve added a second layer of burn strokes.
This photo shows layer 3 being burned onto the patch.
It is possible to get extremely dark burn results by just re-burning over an area. My burner remained on 3.5 for this entire demonstration.
This method works for any type of burn stroke. In this image I’m using circular motion to create a little patch of color.
As I continue to re-burn over it, the patch gets darker. Since I’m using circular motion, the color isn’t uniform.
In my last example I’m using zigzags to burn in a small patch of color. Zigzags are my preferred burn stroke for creating fur.
Just like the previous two examples, the color gets darker the more you re-burn over it. When you get to the desired color, you just stop burning.
Here are the final results. I obviously didn’t burn all of the patches to an extremely dark color, but if desired it is possible.
METHOD 2 – HAND SPEED
Altering my hand speed is another way to change my burn results.
I’m starting out with the same pen tip and heat setting I used for the re-burning demo. With this first example, I’m moving my hand pretty fast. This results in the metal not being in contact with the wood for very long, so the color is pretty pale.
With each patch of color I create, I’m slowing down my hand speed a little more.
If you have the patience to move your hand slow enough, you can get extremely dark burn results even with a low heat setting on the burner.
I obviously lacked the patience to create a really dark burn result. 😊
METHOD 3 – BURN LENGTH
Burn stroke length can alter the color of the burn results.
This image shows 3 different burn patches. Each one is slightly different in color and height. The shortest one is the darkest. The longest one, that I’m burning in, is the palest.
All of these patches of color were created with the same pen tip and heat setting as the previous two demonstrations. Why the color changes has to do with the amount of time the pen tip is in contact with the wood.
With the really short burn strokes, the tip isn’t in contact with the wood for very long. Plus, the time from when I lift the pen tip and set it back down to start another burn stroke is very short. This combination means that the heat is building up on the pen tip and this produces darker burn results.
I tend to use this when I need a really dark burn result in a small area.
As you can see from the picture, a wide range of color can be created by just altering the length of the burn stroke. Would I use this method to create dark burns in a large area? No. It would take too long. Instead, this is a method I use when working in small areas that need to be dark.
METHOD 4 – PRESS AND PAUSE
Press and pause is another way to get darker burn results in a small area.
This burn stroke is exactly what it sounds like. You press the pen tip to the wood and pause for a brief amount of time.
Then you lift the pen tip up and away from the board, and repeat the process in a new area. The pen tip does not move while it is in contact with the board. Also, I don’t exert pressure on the pen tip. Instead, I let it sit gently on the board and let time and heat do the work for me.
Obviously, the longer you hold the pen tip in place, the darker the burn results will be.
Also, darker burn marks tend to have the pen tips shape. Look closely at this burn patch and you can see that it’s not creating a solid line. Instead, I have a row of half-moon shapes.
In this example, I’m not holding the pen tip to the board for very long, so the burn results are lighter in color.
I want to mention that this technique will work even on low heat settings. I’ve reduced the heat on my burn to 2, and I’m getting a tan burn result.
If I hold the pen tip in place for a longer amount of time, I can get darker results even on this low heat setting.
This technique is another one that I tend to use in small places. Another application for this method is to create a textured background.
METHOD 5 – LIFT AND WAIT
My last, and least used, method is the lift and wait technique.
I left my burner on heat setting 2 and I’m trying to burn a patch of color. It’s really difficult to see the burn results because they are so pale.
I lift the pen tip up and away from the board and wait. This lets the heat build up on the pen tip.
When I touch the tip to the board, I get darker results. The results are not sustainable, so I can only create a very short burn stroke on this heat setting.
This is another instance where the longer you wait, the darker the results.
The results aren’t super dark, but there are two reasons for this. 1) The heat is on a very low setting for plywood, and 2) I lack the patience to wait for extended periods of time.
I increased the heat setting to 3, and the burn results are much easier to see.
Lift and wait.
And a much darker burn stroke is produced.
Like before, the longer the wait, the darker the results.
This technique can be handy if I have the heat set to a really low setting because I’m working on something that is really pale in color. This gives me a way of getting some rather dark results. Since I don’t time my wait time, the color output is always a surprise.
IN CONCLUSION
That’s it for this blog. I hope the information is helpful. One thing I’d like you to keep in mind, is that I’m just sharing things that I do in my artwork. It is up to you to decide what, if any, of the techniques you want to incorporate into your own artwork. The most important part of pyrography is learning what works best for you!
Until the next blog,
Brenda
Nov 1, 2022
Want to subscribe?
- Click on the “Leave a Comment” field at the end of any post (blog) and a subscribe option will appear.
- Put something in the comment field (if you put “test” or “just subscribing” I won’t make your comment public)
- Fill in the sections for your email address and name, and then click on the “notify me of new posts via email.”
- You will get a confirmation email from WordPress confirming you want to subscribe.
- Click on the confirm button in that email and you’re done.
Please note that I do not send out emails. If you have a WordPress account there is a way to subscribe within the WordPress system, but I cannot provide specifics on how it works as I don’t know.