In this blog I will be discussing the basic burn strokes that I use in pyrography: uniform strokes, circular motion, pull-away strokes, and zigzags.  I use these burn strokes alone or layer them up to create numerous different textures.  The most important thing is that any shader will work for this.  Not only that, but almost any type of pen tip can be used. 

I have made a video version of the information, and I highly recommend watching it.  The reason is that I think the concepts are easier to understand in the video format versus a static picture. Click on the image to the left to watch the video version of this tutorial.

Please be aware that I’m providing the briefest of explanations in this blog.  I am really counting on you to watch the video to learn the information.

I apologize in advance if some of the photos aren’t great.  Normally I go through the source video files to get screens shots for the blogs, but I didn’t do that with this blog.  I wasn’t originally planning on writing a blog.  Once I decided I would, I used the video I uploaded to YouTube and got screen shots from that.  Basically, I was being lazy and didn’t feel like searching through hours of raw video footage looking for the screen shots I needed.

UNIFORM STROKES

We’ll start with uniform strokes.  This picture shows the burn stroke being created using 4 different Colwood shaders.  The letter Colwood uses to identify the shader is listed above each one.  

I show this composite shot to help illustrate the fact that you can use any shader to create the all of the burn strokes I use.

Uniform strokes means that the color of the burn stroke remains constant throughout the entire burn stroke.   My only complaint about uniform strokes is that I find it a rather boring burn stroke to do.

Like all of my burn strokes, you can use any shader with it.  In fact, you can use other pen tips like this writer pen tip.  The only difference between the pen tips is the width of the burn stroke created.

A lot of the body on the Ford Buick was created using uniform strokes.  It is the burn stroke to use when smooth, flawless color is needed.

Another use I have for uniform strokes is to apply a base layer of color to areas like the background on this tiger.  In situations like this, I’m not worried about the color being perfect because later on I will layer other burn strokes over it to give it texture.  

CIRCULAR MOTION

Circular motion is literally burning a continuous chain of circles.

Open circular motion means that you can see the underlying wood between the loops on the chain of circles.

Closed circular motion means that there is very little to no gaps in the loops.  The burn patches to the left of the open circular motion depicts this.

Using a writer pen tip to create circular motion produces a small tight burn stroke.  It’s a little difficult to get a closed loop with it.

I like to use circular motion on things that are round, fluffy, and have tonal variety.  The mist or fog on this artwork is a perfect example of that. 

I also use circular motion to create the impression of distant foliage in this artwork.

A lot of portrait work is created with circular motion.  I like to use circular motion because it doesn’t tend to create lines.  Plus, it’s great for areas that frequently change in tonal value. 

PULL-AWAY STROKES

Pull-away strokes are burn marks that start darker than they end. 

This burn stroke creates gradient shading.  I tend to use it in smaller areas that have at least one clearly defined edge.

My most common use of pull-away strokes is to give an object a rounded appearance.  Like this Celtic knot on the side of a harp I burned.

I also use pull-away strokes to create gently curved feathers on bird wings.

I love to burn pull-away strokes on leaves.  The strokes radiate outward from the vein lines, so the leaf looks like its curving upward from the vein. 

Not only do I like how it looks, but pull-away strokes is one of my favorite burn strokes to create.

ZIGZAGS

Zigzags are lines burned in an up-down or left-right direction.

The burn stroke is shaped more like a bolt of lightning versus a sewing machine zigzag stitch.

The look of the zigzag changes depending upon how much metal is in contact with the wood.  Use the razor edge to get thin sharp lines.  Use the flat of the shader to get thick, soft burn strokes.

Creating animal fur is probably my most common use for zigzags.

I also use zigzags to create choppy water.

Another use for zigzags is to create distant evergreen trees.

CONTROLLING FOCUS

Let’s talk about controlling the focus level of an object.  This photo shows three circles that have different focus levels.  The far-left circle has crisp clearly defined edges.  The middle circle has softer edges.  The far-right circle is out-of-focus.  Let’s talk about what it takes to create each style.

First of I want to talk about how pen angle controls focus.  If the pen tip is held at a steep angle, you don’t have much metal in contact with the wood.  This produces thin burn strokes.

As the angle decreases, more metal comes in contact with the wood, and the width of the burn stroke increase.  Looking at the series of burn strokes, the far-right burn is very thin and crisp looking.   The far-left stroke is wide and a soft looking.

Let’s apply this to zigzags.   We start out at a steep angle, so we’re using the razor edge of the shader.  This produces thin, crisp lines that are good for in-focus fur texture or fur on an animal that is close.

The flat of shader produces thick soft lines that would be good for out-of-focus fur or fur on a distant animal.

Now for the circles.  We’ll start with the left one.  The key to burning an object with crisp edges is keeping the pen tip in optimal position.  Look at how the toe or front edge of the shader is on the inside edge of the circle.   The body of the pen tip is angled over the body of the circle.   The entire pen tip is contained within the bounds of the object that is being burned in.

It’s important to rotate the board as needed, so that the pen tip remains in optimal position as you burn along the edges of the circle.

With the middle circle, use the flat of the shader and burn on line pencil line for the circle. 

With this method, the pen tip will overlap onto the area outside of the circle.

The overlap doesn’t stray very far past the circle edge, so the circle maintains a round shape with soft edges.

I want the color to be a bit darker, so I turned up the heat on my burner.  This created a bit of a problem.  The heel or body of the pen tip went much further past the edge of the circle that it should have.   This happened because I didn’t rotate the board.

To fix, rotate the board and re-burn along the problem edge.  Make sure to use the flat of the shader so that the edge stays soft.

The out-of-focus circle is created by burning circular motion along the pencil line.

You want to vary how far past the line you burn.  Also, vary the color a little bit.

This will produce a circle that appears out-of-focus.

IN CONCLUSION

This is the end of this blog.  I hope you found the limited information found in the blog helpful.  As I said at the beginning, I had intended for this information to be in video format only.  I think that the video format makes this type of information easier to understand.  Leave me a comment and let me know if you agree. 

Brenda

Jan 11, 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.