White foam boards, a Neuland No.One® Estatics and a fretsaw. This is all you need to breath life into the figures you draw.

 
Let’s get started!

First, decide what you would like to draw. Then, take a foam board and cut it so that your image fits on the board. If you don’t feel ready to just start drawing with a marker, simply draw your image with a pencil before drawing the lines with an Estatics marker.

I decided to use this marker because its ink is alcohol-based and permanent, which is pretty convenient considering the foam board’s smooth surface. The lines will dry very fast and won’t smear when sliding over it with your hand. Moreover, many foam boards are covered with paper that won’t allow water-based ink to dry properly. The solution: our Neuland No.One® Estatics. 🙂

Draw the outlines

As I already mentioned, you can draw your outlines with a pencil first and then use the marker. It’s important that you draw really fat outlines. You’ll understand why later on.

Start sawing

Now grab your saw and cut out your image. If you don’t have a saw at hand, you can also use a cutter. The curved lines are a bit harder to cut, so the fretsaw is the best tool to use here. This is kind of a large motor-operated jigsaw.

A good fretsaw usually has built-in bellows to remove the sawdust.

The saw blades I used are as thin as the blades of a jigsaw, which reduces the “waste” and makes it easier to cut curved lines.

Take your time when sawing and try to do it as precisely as possible. Now, you’ll be happy to have thick, strong lines. When you have difficulties sawing precisely, it’s not that big of a problem. 😉

Go over your outlines

You’ll probably have some white spaces around the outlines after sawing, particularly if you’re not that experienced using this tool. But that’s alright. Just grab your Estatics marker and go over the outlines again.

Increase vividness

Now, we need the famous shadow marker: a grey Neuland No.One® Art. Use this marker to draw a shadow next to the outlines on one side of your image. You can also paint in areas that are supposed to be a bit darker. And don’t be shy to use fast strokes.

Done!

Unbelievable, this didn’t take long at all. And just look at the effect. Isn’t it genious? If you want, you can attach an invisible thread to the back and hang it somewhere. Or you place your artwork on a shelf. It’s definitely stable enough.

Have fun creating your own.

🙂

You need:

  • Foam boards, such as Kapa Plast or Kapa Line in the respective size
  • Marker for your outlines: Neuland No.One® Estatics, item no.: 8165.0100
  • Marker for the shadows: Neuland No.One® Art, item no.: 8059.0101
  • Fretsaw, e.g. Hegner Multicut
  • Maybe some sandpaper if your edges are a bit fringed

You would like to order from Austria or Switzerland? No problem! Simply enter the item numbers in the search box of the respective shop and get started.