As resin art becomes increasingly popular, beginners need to understand the basics of resin products and techniques. Whether you are creating jewelry, sculpture, or resin artwork on canvas, resin can be a great medium to create with as long as you have the right resin art materials and knowledge.
Understanding Resin
Resin is an epoxy-based resin that comes in two parts: resin and hardener. You mix the components together to create a durable, glossy, hard surface when it cures. Different resin products can be used for different resin art projects depending on their properties such as hardness, flexibility, and curing time.
You can purchase resin art materials from lots of different stores and online retailers, but make sure to read the instructions carefully before starting any resin project. For starters, make sure you buy an ASTM-D certified resin for your work since that ensures safety. (Pourfect is ASTM-D certified resin that features auto bubble release mechanism)
Other Materials Needed With The Resin Art Kit
You will need resin and hardener as mentioned earlier, but other items are recommended such as mixing cups and sticks, gloves, safety glasses, resin dyes, resin pigments, and mica powders (metallic pigments), glitter, and other decorations. These are all optional but can add a lot to your resin art projects.
Before you start pouring resin into any of your art projects, it is important to understand the few basic terms about resin such as mixing ratio, pot life and cure time. Read this blog to understand the basic definitions.
Tips For Resin Art Beginners
Start small
Resin art is fun and rewarding, but it can also be very time-consuming and expensive if you don’t know what you’re doing. Start with smaller projects such as jewelry or resin castings before moving on to larger works.Read the instructions carefully
Resin mixes and hardens quickly, so make sure you follow the instructions carefully. Read carefully the mixing ratio and whether it is by weight or volume. For example, Pourfect's Art resin comes with a mixing ratio of 3:1 by weight whereas Pourfect 1:1 Art Resin comes with a mixing ratio of 1:1 by volume. How you mix makes all the difference in what you will get as a final product.
Calculating resin required
It involves mathematics. You can estimate from experience but as a beginner, we recommend you use a resin calculator online, available for free.
Wear safety equipment
Resin art materials can emit strong fumes and contain chemicals, so always wear safety glasses, gloves, and a respirator when working with resin art materials.
Take your time
Resin art projects take time to complete but the results are worth it. Take your time in mixing the resin and hardener, apply resin carefully to the project, and make sure you let it cure for the recommended amount of time.
Make sure your resin is fully cured
Different resin systems can take different hours to fully cure - Fast Cure takes ~4 hours for surface dry, Art resin takes ~24 hours to cure. So make sure that you give your resin art projects enough time before using them or touching them.
Experiment with different resin art materials
Resin comes with a variety of pigments - opaque, translucent, metallic, magnetic, glow-in-the-dark, or those with cell effects. You can explore and use different pigments to create unique resin artwork.
Practice makes anyone perfect
Resin art is not something that you will master overnight. Take your time and practice as much as possible so you can continue to improve your skills.
Clean up properly
Resin art supplies and tools should be cleaned up properly after each use. Use denatured alcohol or resin cleaners to clean resin off of surfaces, brushes, and other resin art materials to make sure they are ready for your next resin project.
With these tips in mind, resin art is a great way to create beautiful artwork with as long as you have the right resin art materials and knowledge. Whether it is jewelry making, resin pouring, resin casting or resin painting - resin can be a great medium to work with. With practice, patience and creativity, resin art projects will be your new favorite hobby!
Happy pouring! Get your hands on Pourfect for perfect pours.
