Creating Complex Spraypaint Stencils by Hand

Step 5 Cut it Out

This is the most tedious part of the task, and some find it the hardest. If you're cutting laminate I suggest using an X-Acto #11 knife. If you're working with cardboard or foamcore you'll need something bigger. One very common mistake that stencil artists make is using dull blades. I don't know how it gets into people's heads that an X-Acto blade will last forever, but they sure don't. My rule of thumb is that I change the blade for each new plate I cut, or whenever the tip breaks, whichever happens first. If it starts to feel dull, change it-- a dull blade will lead to mistakes every time because you need to push it through the work, meaning you'll eventually slip and cut something you didn't mean to. I typically go through about three to five blades per stencil plate. It seems wasteful, but the right tools make all the difference. Also be sure you have a cutting matte, which you can buy at an art supply store. The "self-healing" mattes will stand up to years of cutting and give you a nice, even surface to cut on.

If you mess up, you can lay electrical tape over the cut and trim away the excess with your knife. If you wind up with a part of the stencil that feels too delicate or flimsy, you can reinforce it with wire. I like the kind that florists use to tie plants to those little poles. Just lay the wire across and secure each end with a bit of electrical tape. You can also use wire to reinforce "peninsulas" by creating an little arc, like a bridge, from the protruding piece of material to somewhere more stable. If the wire is a centimeter or so off the surface plane of the stencil it won't show up when you paint it.

When cutting I always try to cut the most detailed areas first, for two reasons. With laminated sheets, the more material you remove, the flimsier they get. So this means that the first cuts you make will be the easiest, as the material is the stiffest. Secondly it's best to handle the hardest parts when your blade is sharpest. When cutting curves, you may find it easier to move the whole stencil plate as you move the knife. This can reduce the tendency to bend the blade tip, which will break the delicate bit of metal that forms the point. Don't even try to cut curves with an X-Acto missing it's tip, it makes it far harder to control. Be prissy about your blades-- they're cheap to replace and make all the difference in terms of the precision of your cuts, and in turn the level of detail you can render in your stencils.

As an alternative to this whole process you could go use a laser cutter. Laser cutters will let you create patterns with unbelievable accuracy and detail. But they're definitely not punk rock.