Scratch Art Tutorial

Some of you might have seen my first scratch art piece on the “Portfolio” page. That was one of my very first art pieces that I did when I started art class. Since then, my art teacher likes going around and showing her other students what she calls “The best scratch art any student of mine has ever done”. And that’s a lot, since she’s been teaching kids for decades. This is my reaction on the inside:

(I really like the Sprouse twins, so I couldn’t pass up that gif.)

So it’s been a couple years, but I did another scratch art!

Tip: When you look for a picture to do for scratch art, make sure there’s LOTS of contrast. In black and white form, it should be as close to just black and white as possible. Make sure there aren’t much greys in the picture. This makes life so much easier.

So once I found a good picture to do, I printed it out.

Tip: Print out your picture in the exact size you want. Then tape it (with masking tape or painter’s tape so it doesn’t peel your art work) on to the actual scratch art paper, the picture you printed facing up.

Here’s what mine looked like with the piece of paper taped on it. This is how to outline your scratch art drawing. Make sure the picture is on the exact spot where you want your image.

Tip: To outline your scratch art, use a colored pen. Press down on the paper hard to outline the details you want to scratch. Using a colored pen helps let you know what you’ve already marked and what you haven’t. This should leave marks on the actual scratch art paper. Once you have marked the whole picture, remove the piece of paper and you should see that your scratch art paper has markings that you can use as an outline.

Once I finished pressing down with a colored pen, here’s what it kinda looks like and here are the things you need to get started scratching:

You can kinda see the pen markings here. And also, obviously you need something to scratch with. I have a simple pen holder and three scratch knives with different tips. A smaller, sharper one for details, and a couple bigger ones to cover larger areas.

Tip: Make sure you have a practice sheet! Scratching takes practice, so test out your tools first! And if your pen isn’t scratching easily or effortlessly, you’re probably holding it wrong. It should scratch smoothly.

 

Tip: Unlike pencil, you can’t really undo or erase scratch art. So BE CAREFUL!!!! If you really messed up, try using a black pen to cover any mistakes.

 

It takes practice and patience, but it’s lots of fun!

Thanks for taking the time to read this! And if you want me to do more tutorials, please let me know in the comments!