When it comes to pyrography, there are four basic texturing tips. A pyrography pen can be used to create texture that can really bring your burning to life. With the right pyrography burning tips, you can give your artwork a realistic three-dimensional appearance. I want to give you a little insight on the four basic texturing tips.
The Skew
The skew has a straight, often knife like edge. Its narrow edge gives it the ability to burn very fine, crisp, and precise lines. It’s designed to etch as it burns and is excellent for burning straight or lazy curved lines. It is also limited to filling in areas by crosshatching and other similar methods. There are two main types of skew tips, the solid point skew and the wire tip skew.
The Writer
The writer, like a pencil, has a pointed or rounded end, which allows it to go in any direction while in contact with the surface. This makes it ideal for writing or burning tight curves and circles. It can be used to fill in and shade areas, although this can take some time and look grainy. There are also two main types of writer tips. You have the solid tip writer and the wire tip writer, north american style.
The Shader
The shader can come in many shapes and sizes, but essentially it is designed to scorch larger areas of wood or other material. It is especially good for gradient tones, shading, and filling in. The main types of shader are the trowel-shaped solid point shader, the trowel-shaped wire tip shader, and the wire tip flat shader. The base of the shader is very good for filling in black areas, such as on signage or in the background of a picture. Gentle overlapping of layers can also produce soft gradient tones, such as those used in portraits. The toe of the shader can be used to draw thinner lines or to texture. It is also the ideal tip to use to heat transfer a pattern.
The Spoon Shader
It’s no surprise that the wire tip spoon shader is shaped like a spoon. Its base covers less area than a flat shader, but, because it has no hard edges, there is less chance of developing dark, overlapping lines when burning gradient tone. This makes it ideal for soft, gradient, tonal work but less ideal for mass filling in of large areas. If you think of the spoon shader as a fat pencil, you will see that it’s capable of being pushed in multiple directions. This makes it ideal for soft-effect stippling and also filling in by moving it in a circular motion.
A little texture can go a long way
When you open your mind to the possibility of using texture in your pyrographic work, you open up a whole new world of possibilities. I hope that this page helped shed some light on the different types of texturing tips. It truly is amazing what can be done to a simple piece of wood with the right tools.