Working with a new pyrography tool sometimes can be so intimidating. But the thing is, woodburning is so exciting. The tips provided below will help you get started (for the beginners) and will work as a reminder to those who are used to. Don’t skip any of them, they are all important.
According to Instructable, the first you need to do is to make sure you completely understand your tools.
Know the materials you need/ Get Familiar with the Tool
Now you get to use the pencil. Whoo! Draw out an epic design of your own-it doesn’t have to be a dragon. Though I personally have never met anyone who didn’t like dragons. If you either can’t stand drawing or are terrible at it, you could either get someone to draw it for you, or print a template or stencil from online. My sketch was freehand, so I can’t upload a template, but I’m certain you all have much better ideas than I.
Of course, a wood will need a pencil to outline the design. A knife is also useful as it helps to cut out the woods’ base shape.
Designs are rampant, there are lots of places a woodburner can acquire them. And according to Arts of Manliness, you cannot run out of design ideas.
Find a Good Design
For my first project, I chose the above design of a quaint cabin in the mountains. The options are limitless for what you can burn onto a piece of a wood. So far, I’ve worked with basic, black and white designs, but as I get better, I’m sure I’ll get into more advanced shading techniques and whatnot. To find designs and patterns to work with, just google anything you’re interested in with “black and white illustration” added to the end: “mountains black and white illustration,” “wildlife black and white illustration,” “Minnesota Vikings black and white illustration.” You’ll more than likely get some great results to choose from.
Finding the best designs to use can never be challenging, search engines like google will provide an endless list of designs you can choose from (in picture form). In addition, viewing YouTube videos can also help.
DIY Candy recommends that you shouldn’t be in a rush. Just let the Woodburning pen do its work. As a woodburner, you should only concentrate on moving the tool slowly.
Take your Time
Try Out the Different Accessories: Experiment with the different tips that come with your tool before you get started on your final project. I found that the basic tip worked the best for me, but there are several tips that came in my kit, so I’d try them out to see which one is your favorite.
Try as much as possible not to force it or push it because if you do so the pens’ tip will be damaged and you don’t want that to happen.
Almost all types of woods can be used for pyrography. Hardwoods will require extremely hot pens while soft woods will require pens that are slightly hot. Keep in mind that, sanding before hitting is also an important. Note that, the above ideas are not the only ones you can use, there are still more.