There seems to be a lot of interest out there in making distressed signs. With so many ways to make one, it can be a little confusing to say the least. In the big picture, it doesn't really matter how you achieve the look, as long as you enjoy the process. Having a background as a sign painter/ scenic artist in the film industry, I've had the good fortune to take my sign aging skills to a whole different level. In the film industry, it's all about speed and being believable, not to mention, the ability to work on all types of surfaces under extreme conditions.
Here's a short post on creating a simple aged sign. I'm also working on a more detailed post on creating a similar type of aged sign, but will include more of the process and materials involved. The one thing I always tried to stress when asked about making aged signs is just look at the real thing. You can find many examples around your town or city, or on the internet. You should also start a detailed file on different types of signs, on different surfaces. For colour reference, I use a common fan deck you get from the paint store. Gee...who would have thought it could be that easy. And don't overlook the fact that the colours have long lost their intensity. Always try to start with a muted pallet, it makes the sign look old with little effort.
I like to play around with different looks, great way to waste time. This sign was more about the aged look than the sign. I start off with a piece of cheap plywood, something with a rough grain. I keep the copy really simple as that's not the focus of the project. I then add an age to the wood, a simple color wash of raw umber and black, nothing fancy. I also apply a release to the wood surface before applying the base colour. I'll go over using release products in the next post. I then coat the board with the base colour and do the layout.
With the layout done, now it's time to do the lettering and boarder. As I mentioned before, keep it simple. Although the white looks like it's straight white, it's actually a mix of white / raw umber and raw sienna. The lettering took around 15 mins. to do, free hand, The trick is to use the right brush. The paint is just your regular latex house paint in an eggshell sheen. I find eggshell works well for lettering.
The finished sign. Once the paint had dry, I used warm water and a scrub brush to remove the lettering colour and base colour. With the release applied the the board, it makes it a simple task to remove the base color, thus exposing the aged board, no sanding involved. With a little block aging ( will explain in next post) to tweak the sign, the project is almost done. All that is left is to do a wash coat to settle the colours. Hope you enjoyed the post. Thanks for all your emails, its always nice to hear how many of you enjoy my blog and tolerate my writing skills. Thanks
Here's a short post on creating a simple aged sign. I'm also working on a more detailed post on creating a similar type of aged sign, but will include more of the process and materials involved. The one thing I always tried to stress when asked about making aged signs is just look at the real thing. You can find many examples around your town or city, or on the internet. You should also start a detailed file on different types of signs, on different surfaces. For colour reference, I use a common fan deck you get from the paint store. Gee...who would have thought it could be that easy. And don't overlook the fact that the colours have long lost their intensity. Always try to start with a muted pallet, it makes the sign look old with little effort.
Great post, thanks Rick
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