Sunday, May 28, 2017

Materials List for Sketch Easel


As promised, here's a materials list for putting together the sketch easel and the diffuser. These are all referenced in my new Gumroad video.

Sketch Easel

Materials

Oak plywood 1/4 x 24 x 24
Southco adjustable torque hinge (3)
3/8" Sheet Metal Screws Stainless Steel (12)
1/4-20 x 5/16 x 3/4 Inch Tee Nuts (2)
Thumb Screws, 1/4-20 x 3/4-Inch (2)
Small brass hinge (1)
Nalgene jar (2-Ounce)
1/4 x 1/16-inch Neodymium magnets (17-20)
Spring clamps
Gorilla glue
Magic Sculpt 1 Lb. or Plumbers' epoxy putty
Wood stain
Tung oil finish
Metal watercolor set
AmazonBasics 60-Inch Tripod
QB-4W quick release platform (square type for Velbon or Amazon tripod) (2)

Optional
Polyethylene coated (freezer) paper (For making an oil palette)
Friction lid support (optional, if you want to make a camera bar)

Tools
Drill Press, 10-Inch (optional) or handheld electric drill
Brad point dowel bit 1/4 inch or Forstner bits (for drilling flat bottomed holes)
High speed drill set—small drills for screw pilots and 5/16 Inch drill bit for T-nut.
Nail set or just a big nail.
Spade bit, 3/4 inch
4 inch belt sander (optional)
Sandpaper, 80 grit and  240 Grit
Circular saw with a plywood cutting blade (Optional. Your lumber supply or hardware store will usually be able to cut the wood for you if you don't have a saw)
Electric jig saw
or a Hand saw and a Coping saw
Aluminum ruler
Phillips screw driver
Round (rat tail) file (you could also use sandpaper on a thin piece of wood)
Sharpie marker

Light diffuser

If you want to make the diffuser from scratch, you'll need white rip stop nylon and a dressmaker's pencil2mm carbon fiber rods (for small diffuser) or .125" carbon fiber rod (for longer spans), plus a cross connector. You'll also need twill tape and access to a sewing machine.

Square diffuser

For the diffuser mounted on the pedestal base, which fits on its own camera tripod:1/2 in. x 2 in. x 4 ft. "appearance" board
QB-4W quick release platform (1)
1" sheet metal screw (4)
QB-4W quick release platform (1)

Trapezoid diffuser
For the base that fits on the sketch easel's gripper, you'll need to extract the hardware from a Helping hand magnifier tool

Aluminum frame diffuser
For the aluminum frame design, you'll need an: Aluminum hanging file folder frame (makes two diffusers)

Branch diffuser
For the branch diffuser, you'll need the white rip stop nylon and a branch with a flat growth habit. I used gray birch and let it cure a few months before I used it. I ran coated picture wire around the slotted tips of the branches before sewing the seams. You'll need a needle and thread because you can't machine-sew the edge.

Artist's umbrella
If you do use a traditional artist's white umbrella, I've found the Jullian gives good light, but it does get damaged if it hits the ground too hard. To keep it from taking down your easel, you can clamp it to a C-stand (century stand), which is heavy, but sturdy, and you'll use it for a lot of other uses.

Kite option
Alternate methods: Instead of buying the parts separately, you can buy a cheap white kite for $10.00.
It's 30 inches across, and includes the kite sticks, twill tape, and white rip stop nylon.
You can also use white corrugated plastic for diffuser, and save having to deal with fabric and frame.
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This information is in reference to the video "How to Make a Sketch Easel," which shows you how to build both the easel and the diffuser.

The 1080p HD download is available now for just $14.95 from Gumroad.
The DVD version is available for $24.50, and it includes a slide show. The DVD is also available on Amazon.

(I couldn't get to a good enough wifi connection to upload it to Sellfy and Cubebrush, but I should have that by Tuesday.)

1 comment:

Bob said...

I've seen artists on hiking trails using "conventional" (studio) easels who would benefit tremendously from your innovation.

A good source for neodymium magnets: All Electronics (www.allelectronics.com)