Welcome to the Mayco Archive site!

Designer Liner on Molds

• Print
• Email

Details

Last Updated: Thursday, 09 November 2017 18:01

With its hollow, metal needle tipped precision, Designer Liner allows the artist to draw thick to ultra-thin lines all in one stroke. Rich, concentrated pigment keeps all lines bold and maintains a dynamic contrast between the line work and background. Designer Liner works great from cone 06-6 temperatures and fires to a matte finish without a glaze over the top.

Try all types of lines to create depth and visual interest in your designs by rendering objects with three-dimensional appearance including shadows and reflections by incorporating various drawing techniques such as cross hatching (crisscross lines), stippling (also know as pointillism), scrumbling (uneven color layering), or to create calligraphy-like line-work.

Most artists know that Designer Liner can be used for precise lines on decorative pieces ... but did you know that it can also be used for brushwork?  Artists can use CB-106 #6 Script Liner Brush to paint on designs. This method allows for maximum detail and line weight variation. The painterly approach enables artists to create depth by using thin lines which recede to the background and thicker lines which push to the foreground.

Simulate the line work of watercolors, ink wash, drip art or marble by spraying the Designer Liner with a bit of water, essentially to thin the pigment. Artists will be all to replicate visual effects of the blending and bleeding of watercolor paintings which have many levels of value (light and dark) for shading.

Although Designer Liner is nearly fail-proof, there are a couple precautions that are good to know before getting started. If applied too thick, the Designer Liner may shiver or pop off the bisque during glaze firing, especially if the Designer Liner isn’t glazed over with two coats of clear glaze. Oppositely, if the Designer Liner is too thick and underneath a clear or translucent glaze, it will often separate from itself and create a break in the line. These don’t seem to be definite results but are possible outcomes with many variables, like the kiln firing program used and the interaction of others glazes under and over the Designer Liner.

High fire glazes combined with Designer Liner such as the Stoneware Glaze Line from Mayco will make the line work blur or turn somewhat fuzzy, a pleasing aesthetic effect we often refer to as a happy accident. This is due to higher temperatures and the pull of gravity upon the glazes as they liquefy during firing which drags the Designer Liner. Conversely, if the bisque is fired horizontally flat on the shelf with stoneware glazes, the Designer Liner will not have nearly as much movement.

Designer Liner can be used to design decorative accents, the main imagery, or simply to elegantly sign the bottle of your artwork. Whether you use pattern making, repeating shapes, lettering, or illustrative brushwork, Mayco’s Designer Liner is sure to impress.

Here is a sample of our recent mold shapes for the upcoming holiday season. More mold techniques here. 

Floral Teapot Board Simulate watercolors, ink wash, drip art or marble - Designer Liner can do it all!	Funky Owl on a Branch Experiment with "drip art" using Designer Liner.
Colorblock Coffee Cup Chalkboard Whether you use pattern making, repeating shapes, lettering, or illustrative brushwork, Mayco’s Designer Liner is sure to impress.	Fruit Whiteboard   Replicate visual effects of the blending and bleeding of watercolor paintings.
Buggy Gator Chalkboard Try all types of lines to create depth and visual interest.	Learn more about Designer Liner.