Robust fabric for making a bag for a 3d printer

You may need to combine different materials to get all the qualities you're looking for. Here are some ideas:

Canvas and denim are strong, abrasion-resistant fabrics. Another option is ripstop nylon, which is manufactured to be strong, lightweight, and resist rips and tears. The weight of your fabric will determine how strong it is. For additional strength, make sure to reinforce your seams (and again at stress points).
For protection from sharp edges, consider a quilted lining, or leather (pleather, vinyl) sewn in corners or other stress points.
You can waterproof canvas-like fabrics by waxing, or buy already waxed canvas. You can also buy commercial waterproofing spray, typically sold in outdoor stores. Even with waterproof fabrics, you'll need to seal the seams after sewing to make sure it is fully waterproof.

Other waterproof fabrics include oilcloth and laminated cotton, but these are probably not sturdy enough on their own to carry a heavy device. Instead, you could consider sewing an inner case out of the sturdy fabric, and an outer waterproof case out of the oilcloth.
You could consider vinyl / PVC for this as well (personally, I think it'd be difficult to get a good seal on the corners, but I've never sewn with it)
Ripstop nylon is generally at least water-resistant; check the particular brand to be sure and spray where necessary

All of these materials are sewable on your standard machine!

Make sure to use a sharp, appropriately sized needle, and don't sew too fast
Denim and canvas will be fine as long as you don't sew too many layers at once
Same for garment-weight leather (although small bits would be easy enough to do by hand if you're worried)
Oilcloth, laminated cotton, and nylon tend to "stick", so it's recommended to use a teflon foot. You can also place a piece of tissue paper underneath the fabric if it is sticking to the feed dogs.

After researching these options, I would probably try ripstop nylon, leather-like corner reinforcements, and waterproofing spray. Camping forums ("make your own gear") are good sources of info and product recommendations for ripstop nylon, as it is often used in camping gear and hammocks.


What will permanently fill the hollow backs of alloy pendants?

It would be helpful if you could determine the exact type of alloy your pendants are made of, and if they are painted or coated in any way (in which case they may require sanding, chemical etching, or a primer to get the best bond). There are many multi-use products that could work, but you will achieve the best result using an adhesive made specifically for the metals in your pendants and for your application. For example, if your pendants will be exposed to water/humidity, or UV light, look for an adhesive made to withstand those conditions, or apply a protective top coat after the adhesive is dry. If you need to retain a certain degree of flex, or if you need the bond to dry clear, look for adhesives with those properties, and so on.


Is there a purist method to join/lock the edges of an origami magic ball so it's still squishable?

For certain corrugations which are "rolled" in order to get an object with rotational symmetry, you can overlap the two edges of the paper and have the model keep its shape. However, I doubt this would work with the magic ball since it's an action model. Its point is to be squishable and just arranging the layers one over the other prevents this in two ways:

Squishing introduces a lot of tension which just arranging two corrugated edges above each other can not withstand.
Overlapping multiple layers introduces some asymmetry: if you overlap just a single row of the corrugation, you create a stripe which has two layers of paper while other places have just one. This will cause any deformation to not be laid out equally over the whole model, and this will not only look bad but also locally increase the tension which makes the model come apart. Using more rows than just one in order to make a stronger lock only increases this effect. Perhaps if you use a sheet twice as wide as the original in order to get exactly two layers of paper over the whole surface, it might be enough to withstand some squishing, but the layers would come apart along the free edge anyway.

Basically, if there is a long free edge, this technique might work for static models, but not for a squishy ball. So, the only way forward would be to get rid of the long free edge. Imagine we were not folding a corrugation but just forming a cylinder out of the sheet and wanted it to stay in one piece. You might try to make pleats around the perimeter of the cylinder so that there are many short spans of free edge instead of one long span. The wall of your cylinder would then look something like this:

    |
  ^ |
  |||
  |V
^ |
|||
|V
|

Joining two edges when the walls have such pleats would probably work. Now imagine treating this pleated paper as if it were a plain sheet and folding the corrugation on that.

I haven't tried this in practice but it might work.I am, however, afraid, that in practice these extra layers would change the behavior of the structure, and in practice you would still get noticeable artifacts.


Depending on the material you will be casting in the mold, you may find that you can make use of a product called Hand Moldable Plastic. This product is shipped as small beads which are heated in boiling water per the instructions. I've used a hot air gun, which works faster and increases the chance of burning your fingers.

Once the white beads are heated, you can flatten and join them into sheets. Doing so will cause them to cool and become hard again. Heating the plastic once more, you can then form them around the part you wish to mold.

I've used a pasta press to form the HMP into 1 mm thick sheets. It cools quickly but also heats quickly when using a hot air gun.

A vacuum former will pull the stock material into crevices and details while this manual method may not provide the same level of detail. You can reheat the plastic as many times as needed and knead it into the model being molded, but I think some detail may be lost.

HMP is a material similar to that used in plastic milk jugs. It may release the acrylic easily, but I suggest to test it on a non-critical item to be certain.


I found a good article which considers various different glues and compares their performances when used to glue small crystals to various different types of material. It appears to be an updated version of this slightly older article from the same website.

Neither article mentions satin specifically, but the later one considers some similar materials, and the author does mention satin in response to queries in the comments sections of both articles (Ctrl+F "satin" on either page if you want to check). The advice given there is that either Gemtac or E6000 would be the best glue to use for satin. E6000 is stronger and better, but has very strong fumes, while Gemtac is non-toxic and thinner.

I hope this is the kind of answer you're looking for!


What artistic elements to add to a car to diminish a difference in color shade?

Add high contrast polka-dots all over the car. This will totally upstage the hand painted areas and make the fact that they don't match moot. It could be any other pattern, like zig-zagging lines, but polka-dots are the most effective due to the euphoria polka-dots trigger in the human mind.

BTW - You will never be able to just cheaply match an original or pro paint job. Auto paint is a multi-layered process involving wet sanding the layers, applying a clear top coat, etc... with specialty paints. With metallic (or flake) paint that gets even more involved. Pro painters often brag about the number of layers of top coat they use in metallic finishes to get "depth" to the effect. And even then, using the same color will not match because of fading, even if slight, of the original paint.


A couple of years ago, I got some goose eggshells from a friend. The best solution I could come up with for dyeing them was to fill the shell with water and then (try to) plug the hole with wax. It made for a rather unsightly blob around the hole, and as you said, the plug could lose cohesion at odd moments, sometimes with rather, um, disastrous results.
(For an egg blown the old-fashioned way with two holes, I guess you'd have to plug one hole, fill it, plug the other hole, and then deal with the double failure points.)
I've been blithely saying "plug the hole with wax", but my experience is that it's far from that easy. I wonder if there's a technique to it that we're missing. (Duct tape? Medical tape? Candle wax instead of beeswax? Haven't tried any of these.)


I make shirts, decals, signs, etc for a living. The best way to go is to buy a pack of inkjet shirts transfers (if you have an inkjet printer) If you have a laser printer look for the laser transfers. Staples, Target, Office Depot, etc. carries them. You will need an iron, and of course blank shirts. Blank shirts you can get in a multipack to save money. Make sure to follow the transfer instructions. If you need any help with the letters to print out, just let me know. Also if you go with these transfers you can add more details like a picture or logo. Again, if you need help I will help you out. Free of course.


How can I keep my warm hands from making polymer clay too soft?

I might try two things, one handle the clay as little as required, the less you touch it the less heat it will absorb.  And maybe try something like Wristband coolers.  The link is to one brand, but the idea is that you can cool down your whole body with these.  It is a band that wraps your wrist (where you have a lot blood vessels).  I'll run my wrists under cool water on hot summer days and it will cool me off just as well as a bucket over the head, without the mess. So being able to cool down your hands should be possible and might work well enough to get you where you need.


What is the way to clean kneaded eraser?

I can see black patches on it.

That is a part of normal use. Those black marks are graphite, charcoal and etc. that the eraser picked up from your working surface. That is the eraser doing its job as intended.

What you are supposed to do is fold / knead away those "dirty" parts back into the eraser so that non-black (the erasers original colour) parts are exposed so that you don't get unwanted or inefficient transfer. From rapidfireart.com on How to Clean a Kneaded Eraser:

  Because kneaded erasers absorb graphite, they will become dirtier with use. To clean a kneaded eraser, you can stretch and knead it until the color turns light grey. Eventually they will become too dirty to use as graphite, charcoal, dust or other particles accumulate in the eraser.

So, at some point, you won't be able to keep using it and then it will be time to seek a replacement.


it's not a rolling tool, but a paper burnisher will do as you require. One form of the tool is a rod style handle with a rounded end similar to a ball bearing. In various sizes, they compress the paper when forced along a line, allowing the fold action.
Other forms are variations of this concept with the common factor of a rounded tip to prevent cutting or tearing of the surface being burnished.
In a production environment, one would expect that a die press is used with a rounded edge on the device contacting the paper.


How many two-page spreads (160gsm A4 paper) should be bound together in one signature?

"Normal" signatures are often 4 pages, but with 160grams paper, I prefer signatures of 2 since it makes the book lay more flat. It also helps to make a very sharp fold.


Options for gluing thick paper to acrylic sheet

To prevent warping, you can dry mount, or use high-quality double sided adhesive sheets.
Cut the sheets to size beforehand (leaving, if desired, a small border of a couple of millimeters around the sheet to prevent it from sticking out from underneath), place the sheet onto the photo carefully, applying pressure from the center outwards.


What are some waterproof materials that meet my criteria for folding origami stars and cranes eggs?

You could try using palm fronds, which can be woven to make beautiful stars and patterns:

For more details about the craft of palm weaving, see this question and the links given in its answer (disclaimer: answer posted by me).

They're obviously waterproof, since they come from plants which are naturally found in wet conditions. They come in long strips, which are (perhaps surprisingly) pliable enough to be folded into intricate shapes but also strong and tough enough to stay in shape. They should be inexpensive, at least if you're living in the right region (e.g. somewhere there's a strong Catholic community with a tradition of palm-weaving). The only criterion they don't meet is being able to come in multiple colours, but it might be possible to paint the palm fronds before folding them, if you can find a paint that works well on organic material like this.


This is an article that I have posted on my website for quite some time. I hope you find it helpful.

Plastisol / Screen Printed Transfers

  These are transfers that are screen printed by an outside transfer company or by yourself with the use of screen printing equipment

  Durability – Very Good, often outlasts the life of the garment.

  Look/Feel – Identical to screen printing

  Ideal For – Higher quantities, where a repetition of one design is to be printed

  Ease of use – Excellent, just order in transfers and then heat apply with a heat press for the specified time, temperature and pressure

  Advantages – Allows the user to create a screen printed look and feel with just a heat press.  Also will allow you to maintain a blank shirt inventory and apply transfers to size, style and color per order as opposed to the preprinted inventory that is associated with traditional screen printing.

  Disadvantages – There is a turn time associated with your custom screen printed transfer order.  And if you decide to offer stock images, like many beach/boardwalk shops, you can potentially have a large transfer inventory.

Overall Rating: A

Inkjet/Laser Transfer Paper

  Paper that can be printed through a desktop inkjet printer or laser printer/copier, then heat applied to your garment.

  Durability – Average to Above Average.  For the money, this is one of the best options and is easy to maintain.  Remember to wash the item in cold water, inside out for the first few washes.

  Look/Feel – This varies with the brand of paper.  Light color paper is traditionally a softer feel than opaque or dark color paper.  Each has a bit of a plastic like feel to it, right off the bat.  The “box effect” will surround your design with most papers unless you trim around your design with scissors or a vinyl cutter.  We recommend only buying Heat Press Heroes transfer paper, which is designed for our presses to have the best quality.

  Ideal For – Lower quantities and personalization, photo realistic prints where durability is not in high demand (ie. tourist destinations, mall kiosks, fairs, flea markets, family reunions, 1 time wear – promotional).

  Ease of use – Average. When dealing with inks and transfer papers knowledge of color correction, dpi, drying time and proper application must be obtained.

  Advantages – Quick, inexpensive photo quality prints can be created and transferred over to your garment in a matter of minutes.

  Disadvantages – This process is not the most durable over the long term.  Also in most cases the paper needs to be trimmed around with scissors or an optic eye cutter after being printed to eliminate having a box/window around your design.

Overall Rating – B+

Heat Transfer Vinyl

  Vinyl material that can be reverse cut on a vinyl cutter, then weeded and heat applied to a garment.

  Durability – Excellent, when properly applied the heat transfer vinyl will outlast the life of the garment without cracking, peeling, or fading.

  Look/Feel – Ranges per material.  Some materials offer a very soft finish that is matte or dull, while other materials are thick and glossy on the garment.  Specialized materials such as flock have their own characteristics as well.

  Ideal For – Lower quantities and personalization, used a lot for names and numbers on sports uniforms, some materials offer a real nice feel for use on fashionable apparel.

  Ease of use – Good, the general process involves cutting, weeding and then heating.  The most detailed portion of this process is weeding.

  Advantages – Excellent durability and a professional look, a garment can be created very quickly and the process can prove to be profitable on as little as one unique garment.  Can be heat applied virtually anywhere on the garment.

  Disadvantages – No photo quality or color gradients can be achieved.  Doing more than 3 layered colors can become labor intensive.  Intricate detail can be labor intensive.

Overall Rating – A

Digital Print/Cut Media

  Media that can be printed and cut out on a solvent based printer/cutter, and then weeded and heat applied to your garment.

  Durability – Very Good, when properly applied some print/cut medias will outlast the life of the garment without cracking, peeling, or fading.  The concern with this process is the ink.  However, when printed with the right type of solvent-based inks the durability can last for a life cycle of a garment.

  Look/Feel – Ranges per material.  Some materials offer a very soft finish that is matte or dull, while other materials are thick and glossy on the garment.  Specialized materials such as glitters have their own characteristics as well.

  Ideal For – Lower quantities and personalization, used a lot for full color graphics, some materials can be applied to practically any type of fabric.

  Ease of use – Average, the general process involves printing, cutting, masking, weeding and then heating.  With proper training and the right equipment this process can be very easy to use.

  Advantages – Very good durability and an extremely professional look, combines the durability of the heat transfer vinyl method with the photo-realism of a printer.  This process can offer an excellent solution for dark colored garments or tough to do fabrics, as well as basic t-shirts.

  Disadvantages – Cost of equipment and the learning curve (some machines do come with training).

Overall Rating – A+

Sublimation

  A process that involves the printing of a design with special type of sublimation ink and then heat application to a “compatible” garment.

  Durability – Excellent, this process will often outlast the garment.

  Look/Feel – Excellent, the process involves the dyeing of fabric, so there is virtually no feel to the transferred image.  Very high photo quality results and detail can be achieved.

  Ideal For – Lower quantities and personalization, photo realistic prints where durability is in high demand.  Yields very professional results.

  Ease of use – Below Average, when dealing with inks, especially sublimation inks, knowledge of color correction, dpi, and proper application are critical.  The very nature of the aftermarket inks being loaded into the recommended Epson printer can create problems with clogging if strict instruction isn’t followed.

  Advantages – Highly detailed, photo quality prints can be created and transferred over to your garment in a matter of minutes.  The feel and durability are second to none.

  Disadvantages – Cost of inks.  The process of sublimation is also restricted to application onto light colored garments.  Another disadvantages is that these garments must be comprised of at least 65% polyester in content.  Blanks can often be hard to find and/or expensive.

Overall Rating – B

To view article on my website, click here.


Looks like a double crochet three together (dc3tog).

It's commonly used as a decrease stitch but in this case there are likely a chain or two on each side leaving the space for the two maroon single crochets.

It looks like a complex stitch but it's really just three unfinished half crochets that then get finished all at once. Working through it once or twice should be all you need if you're comfortable with double crochets in general.

The steps are:

  Step 1: Yarn over.
  Step 2: Take tip of hook insert into next st in row.
  Step 3: Yo hook and draw yarn through st. (3)
  Step 4: Yarn over and draw through two loops on hook.
  Step 5: Yarn over.
  Step 6: Take tip of hook insert into next st in row.
  Step 7: Yo and draw through stitch.
  Step 8: Yarn over and draw through two loops on hook.
  Step 9: Yarn over.
  Step 10: Take tip of hook insert into next st in row.
  Step 11: Yo and draw through once more (5 sts on hook).
  Step 12: Yo and draw through 2 loops on hook (4sts on hook).
  Step 13: Yo once more and draw through all 4 sts on hook.

The link above also includes a video tutorial.

Note, that for the pattern above, steps 6 and 10 would be the same space rather than the next stitch as they're being worked in a chain space rather than in stitches.


There is cotton felt, there is hemp felt. Pretty much anything that has fibres (plants including) could be turned into felt. If you can't find it in the desired colours you can always dye it.


How do I turn old post-it notes into a quilt

The "post-it" notes, if on standard sticky notes paper, cannot be made into a quilt directly. If you want to do this in future, you should look into coloured and starched squares of high thread-count cotton or linen to write on, use fabric markers to write the notes with, then just use them as normal quilting squares afterward.
Real Quilt
If you want a quilt using your old paper sticky notes as a design, you will have to copy/print them onto fabric. The printers that can do this directly don't use very permanent ink, so great for T-shirts that only need to last a couple of years, not so good for quilts. You can also do it yourself by making the notes into collages, copying the collage squares using a colour laser printer and transferring the image to fabric using gel medium. Again, not extremely long lasting/colour fast. You can also use photos and other elements. One explanation of how to do this is given at Cloth, Paper, Scissors, see also the image below:
.
You can sew the cloth like ordinary patchwork/quilting until you have the desired size for your quilt, then use plain cloth for the "back" of the quilt or make enough to have your post-it design on front and back and then complete using batting, etc. Just remember the quilt will lose its colour with frequent washing, so will not last that long if you use it often.
Wall Hanging / Art
If what you really want is a wall hanging or poster that just looks like a sticky note quilt/collage, you can use the method above or just stick the notes onto whatever backing you want to use (paper/canvas/board) with a suitable glue stick in the collage design you want, then apply a good matte acrylic varnish once you are satisfied with your design. If you use a canvas or fabric as the backing and use a really good quality varnish that dries "flexibly" you can even use decorative stitching on it and hem the edges to make it look more like a quilt.
Remember to stretch the canvas/fabric on/over a suitable frame or board before starting to glue the paper squares on. Also apply varnish to both sides when finished if you want the paper to look textured like the canvas/cloth. This works better with coarser thread (more textured surface) such as rough linen or canvas, or even old burlap/sisal bags.


How to mix burnt umber with the 3 primaries and black/white

To get a kind of burnt umber, I think (I can't test it now) you need around 3 parts black, 3 parts red, 1 part blue and 1 part yellow.

Let's assume the first picture I found googling for fur is the kind of reference you have:

For painting fur, and especially to get a warm glow in your painting, I suggest painting a layer of red (with yellow mixed in as desired). Let it dry. This will be your base layer.
Mix some black and red (or use the 'burnt umber' recipe, as the cooler colour will contrast nicely with the warmer one, emphasizing it), and dilute it with water, as you want the next layer to be quite transparent (at first, anyway). Apply this mix to the cured base layer, using a brush to create the texture you want. You can change the proportions of the solution to get darker and lighter areas.

Alternatively, you can apply a much darker, semi-transparent layer on top of the warm red base layer, giving you the dark area as seen in the image to work up from. Using a small brush, you can paint in the strands to get a more detailed picture, mixing it with white to get the sheen, which is quite important for the realistic appearance of any kind of hair.


Glaze additives aren't always appropriate for adding to a clay body, but sometimes they can be. I've never used silver nitrate or even heard of its use in glazes, but then I've never been a Raku artist. It sounds like a lot of fun, but I don't have the equipment or the community for doing it, so I've always stuck to plain mid-fire stoneware.

If you have silver nitrate on hand, why not experiment with adding a small amount to your Raku body and see what happens. That's kind of the spirit of Raku anyway; experimentation. Raku (as I'm sure you're aware) isn't typically intended to be used other than as a beautiful object of art. It isn't even necessarily expected to be durable (at least not for decades). Since the kiln set-up is so casual, you probably aren't going to do any damage to your equipment. Just be sure to take the usual Raku precautions, maybe protect your kiln shelf with a disk of bisqued clay and wear appropriate clothing, gloves, eye covering, etc.


I do not think you have to worry about commercial casein paints in tubes unless you are leaving them alone for months. Doubt they would spoil, one site said you can refrigerate them if you wish, but do not freeze.

Maybe you are thinking about egg casein which is mixed fresh from egg whites? Or other methods that start from powders? Those would go bad but the tubes seem to be stable.

"Casein paint tubes may harden a bit if they aren't handled frequently. Squeezing the tubes circulates the emulsion with the pigments, keeping them moist and pliable."

FAQ 1 - good overview of casein tubes. source of quote.

FAQ 2 - more focused on freshly mixed caseins

FAQ 3 - about underpainting with casein, talks about true casein spoiling though


On what factors does choosing pencil shading technique depend?

In it's basic form you are looking to choose your shading technique based on what you want your end result to look like. I only draw in pencil and usually that is a mechanical pencil or a basic HB2.

Most of what I will refer to here is the first drawing book I really read and used: Dragons: Learn to draw step by step

  There are different types of shading techniques like criss cross, straight lines, circular shading, and dot shading

Other names for those are crosshatching (criss cross), hatching (straight lines), circular strokes (circular shading), stippling (dot shading). You also forgot to mention blending and basic scribbling. I am sure there are some other but I think that covers the basics.

The following picture from the book shows some of those shading techniques, done in pencil, in action.

Click image to enlarge and see finer detail

While these techniques are used with pen and ink they are not exclusive to those tools (Blending not so much). Since pen and ink are more permanent then say pencil some guides recommend that you do you rough drawing in pencil anyway. That would include shading as well.

Using pencil is a simple way to get a soft and subtle appearance.

  [W]hat factors does choosing shading technique depend?

Nothing really other than your desired end effect. As you can see in the above picture it is still a dragon regardless of the shading technique used. Personal preference would play a large role in this.

You could use a combination of cross and regular hatching as a means of having different levels of darkness but that is not the sole way of doing it. In the end it does not matter and pick whichever one would compliment the work best or whatever you think would look better.


Is it standard to fill in every cross stitch square or is it acceptable/preferable to leave some blank?

All of the cross stich projects I've done did not fill in the background with a solid color. This is typical in embroidery -- the design itself is stitched in, and the base fabric is used as the background. Not only is this faster and simpler for the crafter, it helps the design stand out from the background both texturally and visually.

Sampler by Catharine Ann Speel, photo from the Philadelphia Museum of Art

The only exception I can imagine to this is a pillow or other item that might be handled; if you want to have a smoother feel to the finished project, fill in every square (particularly since cross stich canvas is often quite stiff). Again, though, this isn't necessary -- the two pillows I made that included a cross stitch pattern were much more for display than cuddling, and therefore the background was left unstitched.


Punch it

Given the size of the holes you are doing this might not seem like useful advice but I would bet that this is what the artist in the picture did, as those are not perfect circles. Outside of this you could use a small punch to get a perfect circle.

The way you get that to work is put a lot of paper (or some other thick material) underneath so that the "work" paper will be less likely to tear out.

For larger holes or if punches are not available

Whatever you need to do that feels comfortable so that you can do one continuous cut. As with all cutting make sure you are using tools that are sharp!

  Should I only turn the knife on its place or really move it?

Keeping the work stationary for me is a problem especially for circles, as you are moving your wrist and arm around more, which could put strain (cramping from repetition) on you faster (which in turn is asking for small mistakes). This can also reduce your control of the cut. I am in favour of moving both the work and your hand at the same time. I find this makes the motions easier and they take less time.

  Should I hold the knife vertically or diagonally on the paper?

While the cut would naturally be at a slight angle with what I am describing, I would try to avoid doing so and try to cut as vertically as possible. Cutting on a diagonal can weaken the edges of the cuts making more susceptible to damage.

It is definitely important to try and do the cut in one pass. Hesitation or multiple cuts can create nibs or stray fibers. This is fixable of course but you have to remove more material which can affect the shape. However if done right corrections like that can be hidden as most people won't notice.

  Should I apply pressure or not?

Not sure of the best answer to this other than not too much. You want the knife to do the work. As long as your tool is sharp you should not have to put too much force into it.


You won't notice a lot of differences between using vine and willow charcoal.
Vine (of the grape) tends to be slightly darker in tone, is physically a little harder than willow, and I believe it has a somewhat finer structure. Vine is thinner and usually a little straighter than willow. The latter can come in a larger variety of thicknesses, which can be convenient when wanting to make broad strokes. Willow also tends to have more knots, which can have adverse effects while drawing (e.g. sudden changes in hardness and breaking in unpredictable ways).
Note that these characteristics can differ even between brands (different production processes, different climes, different wood species, different storage, &c.).
I suppose that historically vine charcoal was used more often in southern Europe (such as Italy during the renaissance), whereas in the north people had more access to willow.

If you can get your hands on it, it might be worthwhile looking into 'Nitram' charcoal.
I have no experience with it - I actually just found out about it - but it is supposed to have deeper colours while being as easy to erase as regular charcoal, and it comes in different hardnesses (H, HB, and B). It is easier to sharpen to a finer point for detailed work than regular charcoal types. It also leaves less dust, which might be especially appealing to people with allergies or sensitivities.


Which is warmer for slipper socks—wool or acrylic?

Warmth in clothing comes mostly from trapped air, which is a good insulator.  Water is a good conductor of heat, and water vapor can transfer heat.
With acrylic, depending on the characteristics of how the fiber was made and how the fiber is used to create a fabric, it can be a better insulator than wool.  However, clothing presents a challenge because the body perspires and gives off moisture.  Depending on what happens to that moisture, it can defeat the insulation properties of the trapped air.
"Breathability" is kind of a misnomer.  Fabrics aren't an air-tight seal around your body.  The term really describes more what happens to the moisture.  In the summer, you will be coolest if the perspiration is evaporated, removing body heat.  Synthetics, like acrylic, aren't as good as many natural fibers at getting the moisture away from your body and evaporating it, so you feel hot and sticky.  It isn't so much the insulation value of the fabric preventing the hot air from warming you, as not getting much wicking to keep you drier, and the benefit of evaporation to make you cooler.
It would seem logical that holding that moisture in better would help keep you warm in the winter, but there's more going on.  Heat moves from a hotter area to a cooler area.  The bigger the temperature difference, the more heat moves.  Its ability to do that depends on the material its doing it through.  An insulator slows it way down.  During the summer, there typically isn't a huge difference in temperature between your body and the surrounding air, so the heat isn't under a lot of "pressure" to move, and the insulation value of the fabric doesn't play a big role.  It's ability to wick and evaporate moisture is the most important characteristic in keeping you comfortable.
A different process is at work when you're outside in the winter or inside using slipper socks at floor level and want to keep warm.  There's a much bigger temperature difference between your body and the surrounding air, and your body heat wants to move to the surrounding air.   The moisture is very efficient at transferring heat away from your body, whether or not it evaporates.  Think of something like water-cooling that uses a closed loop of water to transfer heat without evaporating it.
A synthetic material like acrylic can become saturated with moisture, so it's basically just holding a heat conductor against your body.  Wool has a unique property.  The fibers have a crimped structure that traps a lot of tiny air pockets.  At the same time, it has the ability to absorb and wick a lot of moisture.  Eventually, there will be enough moisture to reach the outer surface and evaporate, but there is a very long, convoluted, capillary path between you and the outside air, so the moisture can't do a good job of siphoning heat.
This makes wool warmer for a purpose like slipper socks.  There are also blends of wool (particularly Merino wool), and synthetic fibers, like acrylic, that do a good job.  The wool manages the moisture, allowing the synthetic to provide good insulation.  The synthetics are much less expensive, so you get the warmth at a lower cost.


Are there any downsides when painting with a cyan-magenta-yellow palette instead of the traditional yellow-blue and-red?

Cyan, magenta and yellow are actually the primary colors you should use when painting with inks and paints.
(I'm surprised we didn't have this kind of question asked before, because most of us are taught the wrong primary colors in school and by paint manufacturers)
Fair warning: the information in the following section is WRONG but it's what most people learn about the color wheel.
The typical color wheel that is printed in (some) art books and on paint boxes looks sike this:

The primary colors are: red, blue and yellow.
Every child learns that:

Mixing red and green yields brown
Mixing red and blue yields purple
Mixing blue and yellow yields green

But have a closer look. The wheel is not uniform and yellow has a much bigger area than all other colors. The color right next to red is magenta, which is actually lighter than the two colors it's supposed to be mixed of. And anyone who ever tried mixing a vibrant purple from red and blue was disappointed by the muddy outcome.
How it actually works
There are actually 2 sets of primary colors and both of them are correct, but they apply to different ways of mixing color.
White light is a composition of every visible color. If you shine a red light at a spot, then add a blue light and finally a green light, the center where all colors add up, is white. This is called additive color. This applies to all TV, phone or computer displays and anywhere where color is made by mixing light.
If you mix red, blue and green paint on a paper, you end up with (at least almost) black, though. Your paints don't work the same way as light. You need to take color away (subtract from the mix) to end up with white. This is called subtractive color. This applies to all printers, pens, inks and paints and anywhere where color is made by mixing substances.
The primary colors of additive mixing are: red, green, blue. (RGB)
The primary colors of subtractive mixing are: cyan, magenta, yellow. (CYM or CYMK)
The primary school art class colors red, blue and yellow aren't even a valid set of primary colors!

(Image source and more detailed information)
And here is another example of CYM color wheel that displays how adjacting colors mix:

Can only 3 colors suffice?
Unless you use high quality inks, the answer is still: no.
The color wheel is an idealized model based on wave lengths of visible light. We can manufacture color filters that absorb all but a single wave length (color) and mix colors additively in a perfect way. But as far as I know there are no pigments that reflect only a single wave length, which means that there is no paint of a perfect primary color.
The chemical and physical composition of pigments and the binders and additional ingredients in paints influence how the paints look when mixed. Linseed oil, for example, has a slightly yellow tint, which always influences the oil paints it's mixed with.
Many paints, especially cheaper ones, already contain a mix of different pigments. They may look like a primary color to your eyes, but they physically react different than a pure primary color pigment when being mixed.
Most yellows, for example, contain chalk or white pigment to make it more opaque without adding more of the expensive yellow pigment. You'll never get a rich, lush green by mixing a cheap yellow paint with blue.
(Side note: that's why the ink for inkjet printers is so obscenely expensive. I dare say that inkjet printing is the closest we've ever come to perfect subtractive color mixing, and it still isn't perfect at all. A printer has to use very pure, high quality ink to be able to mix all colors. And even then you need an additional black ink cartridge because the mix of all 3 primary colors doesn't yield a perfect, opaque black.)
In addition to that, it's simply more convenient to have certain colors premixed, because it can be very tricky hitting just the right hue when mixing a color from just the primary colors.
And lastly, it can be a matter of cost. Especially brown mineral pigments like Umber and certain chemical pigments are cheap to manufacture in high quality, so mixing the same hue from more expensive primary colors is a waste of resources.


How do you choose a stitch length when straight stitching an arbitrary fabric?

Stitching lengths:

  2mm is the short stitch length that should be used for lightweight
  fabrics, for satin stitching, and decorative stitching.

  2.5 - 3mm is the average stitch length range that should be used for medium weight fabrics.

  4 - 5mm is the long stitch length range that should be used for
  basting and topstitching.

Stitches for Dummies puts it this way:

  The average stitch length for mid-weight fabrics is 2.5 to 3 mm/10 to 12 spi.
  The average stitch length for fine fabrics is 2 mm/13 to 20 spi.
  For heavier fabrics, basting, or topstitching, use 4 to 5 mm/5 to 6 spi.

Personally, I baste by hand and use a shorter length stitch for strength when necessary. This video explains where I am coming from!


It looks to me like you're conflating the tanning with the dyeing processes:

Tanning vs Dyeing

Tanning is how you turn a piece of rawhide into leather - it does change the colour, but that's not the main purpose.

Dyeing is how you change the colour of an already tanned piece of leather.

Telling Veg-tanned and Chrome-tanned leather apart

There are two main ways to check if a piece of leather is chrome or veg tanned. The first is stiffness - veg tanned leather is normally quite stiff, and can be impressed when dampened.

The second is colour; undyed veg-tanned leather is a salmon-pink fleshy colour (like you have), whereas undyed chrome tanned leather is normally blueish-grey.

Your leather

Looking at your picture, it looks to me like a piece of veg-tanned leather that's been surface dyed rather than through dyed - the dye has been applied to the surface and hasn't had a chance to soak right the way through. This is quite normal for pieces of leather that were bought undyed and dyed at home.

Unless you have other reasons to be concerned, I'd say that the tanning is perfectly fine and you have nothing to be worried about there.

Yes, the dye will fade and rub off more quickly than if it were through-dyed, but you can always apply more dye if you need to. Applying some sort of leather finish such as dubbin should slow the fading.


Name of internally lit translucent carved art

With thanks to Chris Meyer from Sector67:

It's lithophane.

Sorry I wasn't clever enough to check with the source in the first place, but thanks for asking the question that triggered that!


Blade

You want to have a sharp knife with a sharp angle.

For example, I found this image on Aliexpress but don't know about this particular store. The left blade is more stable than the right one, in my experience, but is also more difficult to find.

As you can see, the blades can be replaced. This should be done rather often. Especially for fine details you need a sharp blade.

Don't use a stanley knife or standard hobby knife like here:

You need the sharper angle of the first picture to cut sharp turns.

I personally use a much smaller blade (though with the same angle), because I have found that the big blades bend too much under pressure and therefore break earlier. Also, with a smaller blade, your hand is more close to the paper, which I find comfortable.

It's a bit difficult to see because of the shadow, but it has a normal end (like the right one on the first picture). We don't need the extra stability on such a small blade.

My knife is the SDI0491. I got it as a present, so I don't know where it was bought, but if you search for the serial number you can find it. This website seems to be the producer's page.

My snap blades are called BD-100 NT Cutter Spare Blades and you can find them here (unfortunately, I can't find any other page than shops).

Terminology

The knife I'm using (last picture) is sometimes called a D type cutter. You can find a product overview of some producer here (I haven't tried these knifes, but they look similar). It seems characteristic to D type to have a smaller blade.

Haft

You should have, like on the first and third pictures above, a haft with a rough surface around the place where you hold it, for better grip.

I prefer a plastic haft over a metal haft because I have the impression that with metal hafts your hand can get a bit sweaty.


How do hard, soft, and medium charcoal pencils compare against their counterparts in graphite?

I have used both charcoal and graphite for art projects. I have personally never combined the two in a single project.

Charcoal

Charcoal is generally much darker, bolder and messier. It's easy to fade charcoal or wipe it off the paper entirely if you make mistakes. Charcoal, due to its brittle nature is also easy to smudge or gently wipe to assist in your shading efforts.

Charcoal artwork needs to be treated after you're finished with the work as the particles (essentially dust) will fall from the artwork over time and may either leave dark streaks on the artwork or just cause the art to fade as the particles fall over the art or off of it all together.

Graphite

Graphite is a slightly harder to shade with, and doesn't usually get as dark as charcoal. Some of the darker graphites, like an 8B, tend to look glossy and reflective when used over large areas. This is something charcoal does not do.

Graphite can be easily shaded with the help of tortilons, though, and varying pressure in combination with pencil grades can give you a very wide range of shades to work with. Graphite also lasts on the paper without particles falling off and can remain in-tact for years as long as its not being touched or rubbed.

Paper

The paper you use plays a big role on the art itself. Some papers, like newsprint are great for quick charcoal sketching and practice. Charcoal easily wipes from newsprint and it's cheap, while graphite is hardly visible. Higher quality papers are less forgiving of errors, but the finished product will look nicer.


Can I use the same brush for oil and acrylic painting?

The most important thing is to keep your brushes clean and dry between uses. Use a mild soap and lukewarm water (marseille soap is my favorite) to clean your brushes after you have used them, whether acrylic or oil. Rinse them in warm water, flick the water out and then dip them in acetone. The acetone will dry out the oils, turps and waters, leaving your brush nice and dry.

I should say however, that not all brushes are created equal and not all surfaces are forgiving. A good rule of thumb is that if the ends of the individual hairs are splitting, you can groom the ends, but sometimes it’s just time to get a new favorite brush.


Maintaining/improving drawing skills without having the time to draw

The following exercises can be done with most writing or drawing utensils while focusing on other things. They will train your imagination, and will maintain your hand-eye coordination and finger and hand movements involved with drawing:

Take your utensil of choice, find an even and blank surface and doodle.
This can be done while listening to lectures or podcasts, and could even help you concentrate better.

Write differently. Instead of your regular handwriting, experiment with other types. Try writing in cursive, mirrored, with your other hand, or only using capitals, &c.
This is easy to do while doing your homework or taking notes.

The following things can be done in the margins of your (note)books, or on small pieces of paper you happen to carry, like receipts. They will need temporary attention, however:

Do small exercises. For example, experiment with different kinds of hatching, try giving simple forms (spheres, cubes, pyramids, blobs) a convincing apparent three-dimensionality, combine different colours to see how they interact, or draw only residual shapes (the shapes between objects), &c.

Make quick sketches of objects around you. Limit the time you spent on a single drawing. Try to alternate what you focus on: shading, proportions, volume, contrast, composition, &c.

Hang up a single or a few sketches by (old) masters (e.g. Annibale Carracci, Albrecht Dürer, Francisco de Goya) where it is that you study, and observe these whenever you feel like you can use a short break from your homework or studying.
Pay attention to the lines: the accuracy and swiftness with which they were put on paper, the changes in their thickness and what they signify. Analyze the hatching, and how those lines relate to each other and to the contours of the object drawn. This will hone your observational skills, enhance your knowledge of drawing, and likely increase your urge to draw (which is either a good or a bad thing in this situation :).


Can white gesso be diluted to make it translucent?

A single layer of white gesso will likely show the underdrawing through. I thin my gesso for easier application and usually do three or more coats to get a good solid base. However, you would be using less gesso to keep it translucent, so the canvas may get less of the protection the gesso provides.

You could use acrylic medium to seal the canvas, essentially it would be like using gesso binder without the pigment. Go with matte medium since gloss will change the look of the canvas and top layers may not adhere as well.

You could also use rabbit skin glue as a base coat, it is clear and will seal the canvas. Traditionally this would be the first covering on the canvas before applying gesso or under painting. It comes as dry granules that you mix with water and cook a little before applying, so its a little more complicated but it will do the best job at providing an archival clear protective coat to the canvas for what ever you want to put over it, oils or acrylics.


Is it possible to make a charcoal lump stop leaving marks?

There are a few ways you can do this.

You didn't say whether you wanted to maintain the natural colours within the coal or not, but if you do, you can use a clear spray lacquer, coat it in clear furniture varnish or any other coating that will seal the coal.

The suggestion by @BellaSwan of using  clear acrylic spray or nail paint will do the trick too but it will take a lot of nail paint bottles to coat a reasonable size chunk of coal.

If you wish to colour the coal lump, then you can use whatever kind of paint you choose; emulsion, eggshell, chalk-based, even gloss.


How can I make a regular corner punch from a fancy one?

If you are just trying to remove the hearts feature, or any feature for that matter, from the punch then you would have more luck disassembling the punch and cutting off those portions. I don't know how your particular one comes apart but some are designed to be reassembled. Consider the following one where you are able to remove the cutter:

What you could do now is use a hacksaw or rotary tools to remove the areas that you do not need. Vises or clamps can help keep the cutter stationary while you are cutting. Be safe and use eye protection when doing metal work.

You might risk small indentations from the heart recesses but I don't think, if it does happen, that it will be significant.

I suppose you could just use a rotary tool while the cutter is depressed but that would be more difficult and would damage the surface of the punch as well.


How can I stop my thread from bunching when using a sewing machine?

Are you absolutely sure the upper thread is threaded correctly, especially through the tension control knob? (I would go ahead and re-thread the machine, since it's cheap to do.)

Other things to make sure of (most of which you've already done, but just for completeness' sake):

The presser foot is fully down (on many machines, the tension isn't engaged unless the foot is down)
The tension control knob is set correctly.
The bobbin is inserted correctly
The bobbin thread is wound in the correct direction
The bobbin thread is raised correctly (with the presser foot up, pull on the bobbin thread: it should unspool freely with very little resistance)
The needle is sharp and straight
The feed dogs are engaged/the bobbin winder is not turned on

Also, something that helped an old finicky machine I used to have was to clean out the bobbin area - the accumulated fuzz seemed to make it more prone to tension issues, somehow.

If none of that helps, I'm afraid it's time to visit the repair shop.


How to starch crochet snowflakes (and other lace items)?

This question is difficult to answer without knowing exactly what your finished unstarched piece looks like. Even with a lot of "extra" stitches in each row you should be able to eventually create a flat piece.

I haven't made snowflakes in years so I don't remember the exact process but if I were to do one today I would probably do something like this:

Wet the finished piece with water
On an ironing board (because the cover/padding is soft) I would lay the damp (or wet, doesn't matter) piece out as flat as I could and then using straight sewing pins I would start stretching and "anchoring" all the the edges by poking the pins down into the ironing board padding. If you have a fancy ironing board cover you might want to rethink making pin holes in it but a fabric cover is okay.
Once your piece is stretched out and evenly anchored with pins let it air dry (it should hold its shape).
Get your iron and turn it on to a heat setting appropriate for the type of yarn/thread you used, hopefully your thread can tolerate at least the lowest steam setting. You will be pressing the snowflake before starching.
Now with your iron heated up (and hopefully steaming) carefully remove the pins from one point only of the snowflake and gently press the iron onto that point. You might want to use a thin cloth or pressing cloth between the iron and the snowflake.
Repeat for all of the snowflake points and gently press with the iron. You should now have a nice flat snowflake. Allow it to fully cool.
This is point where you mix the starch. If I recall I used Lacy's Stiff Stuff (available at U.S. craft stores). I would think that Mod Podge could also be used but I haven't tried that. The consistency should be just thin enough to soak into the fiber without gooping up on the surface. You want it to be able to penetrate but not puddle too much underneath.
Carefully place the flattened, cooled snowflake on a piece of waxed or parchment paper and carefully apply the stiffener/starch with a craft brush, allowing the starch to soak into the fibers of the snowflake. Get as much stiffener as you can to soak in without it pooling underneath.
While the stiffener is still wet I like to add a bit of superfine iridescent glitter because I'm crafty. Allow the snowflake to fully dry.
Carefully peel the snowflake from the waxed paper and admire your handiwork!

That's just one way to do it. As I was typing I realized that you could skip the ironing step entirely and just soak the newly-crocheted piece in the stiffener until it is saturated then place it on the waxed paper and "coax" it into shape as it dries with your fingers and/or pins as above.

Make sure you use waxed (or parchment) paper between the snowflake and the ironing board (or other pinnable surface) if you're using pins. Let it dry fully and you have the same result.

I have used both methods. Going through the ironing steps at least let me know what the finished product would look like and if it's even going to look good before wasting stiffener.


Roy Lichtenstein, 'Roy I' by Chuck Close


With the first coat you should dissolve the  crushed shellac flakes in denatured alcohol with a bit more shellac than usual, and stir in an emulsion of premixed marble dust, a touch of linseed oil and fresh egg yolk until you get the right consistency for painting. If it doesn’t dry fast enough for you, consider adding a few drops of saponifying ‘japan drier’.

I can’t give you mixture ratios because shellac comes in lots of grades, but as an explanation, the marble dust gives hardness, the linseed oil suspends the marble, the egg yolk binds the shellac with the oil.


Remove scratches from a (resin or plastic) stuffed animal eye

The eyes are almost certainly molded thermoplastic of some kind rather than a cast resin (casting resins are too expensive and time-consuming for a high-volume, mass market item like these eyes, and are generally risky for items that may end up in a toddler's mouth).  The specific plastic probably depends on how old the stuffed animal is, and where the eyes were manufactured.
Without knowing the plastic, it will be hard to fill the deep pockmarks.  The fill material may not bond to the eyes, and may have a different refractive index so repairs could end up as very noticeable dots.
However, there are a couple of things that might make the damage a little less apparent.  You would probably want to remove the eyes for repair and then sew them back in to avoid damaging or staining the fabric (if it's synthetic fabric, the heat suggestion will likely melt it; if it's natural material, polishing the eyes will soil it).

Heat: Thermoplastic can be remelted.  You don't want to apply so much heat that the eyes melt into a blob; be careful to use just enough heat to soften the surface.  If the heat is too high, you can scorch the surface, so use a heat gun at the low setting.  Hit the surface for a few seconds until you see signs of the plastic getting shiny.  Then stop and let the eyes cool back to room temperature.  You can repeat this a few times.  This may make some of the damage less noticeable, but don't expect to be able to have deep scratches or pockmarks level out.

Polishing: Fine scratches and damage with a "frosted" look that makes the damage very visible can be improved to make it less noticeable by polishing.  There are plastic polishes, but you can use ordinary toothpaste, which is mildly abrasive.  Polish the surface with an old toothbrush and some toothpaste.  Clean off the toothpaste residue, then buff the surface with a cloth (a soft, natural material like cotton; synthetic materials may scratch the plastic).  It will help, but this won't work miracles.

Or, don't "fix" it at all.  This is a sentimental item.  The scars tell a story.  Love it for what it is and its history.  Don't try to turn it into something new.


For a few reasons, I'd go with holiday ornaments. These are available in clear plastic, rather than glass, which is less of a breakage worry. They're also cheaper and lighter than glass jars. And they're already nicely spherical!

an example from Michaels craft store

Ditch the metal collar and ring.
Fill with a colored epoxy resin.
Add a decorative cork.

The main advantage of this is that it wouldn't spill. Also, if it does crack from being dropped or struck, the epoxy would hold the pieces together, reducing the chance of injury or mess.

But if you want the internal liquid to slosh about and look very potion-like, that's also feasible:

Ditch the metal collar and ring.
Fill with colored liquid.
Add a decorative cork, and glue securely in place.

That shouldn't spill either, assuming it's well-glued.


How to stretch a canvas without extra fabric?

You can staple it right at the outer edge of the frame instead of wrapping it over and stapling it at the back. You will still lose some of the canvas, though (if the canvas you are using has clean edges, not prone to tearing, it could take as little as 1 cm on each side). You may want to put some glue (PVA) at the edges of the canvas and where the staples are to strengthen it and prevent tearing of the cloth, just in case. For that option you will need an outer frame, understandably.

If you have no intention to use an outer frame you can actually stretch it as an ordinary canvas but  wrap it at the back just enough to be able to staple it (basically the same as the above, just wrapped at the back). Thus you will have your edges as part of the painting, instead of having the whole image at the front.

Gluing the canvas to a panel (which you can frame as desired) may be another option. I’ve never done that, though and I don’t know what the best glue would be for that purpose (it will also depend on the medium you used to paint with).


Why and how do some people use circular knitting needles when working flat / not in the round?

I personally only use circular knitting needles. To work flat on circular needles, you do not need to do anything special. Just turn them around when you reach the end of your row, as you would normally, never join. If you think of it as two separate needles with a string holding them together, it may be easier to imagine how it works.

I believe there are quite a few advantages to using just circular needles:

You only need a set of circular needles rather than a set of straight needles and a set of circular needles.
You can't lose the "other needle".
Once your work starts getting bigger and heavier, it will rest on your lap instead of on the end of your long needle with seemingly increased weight due to the lever effect.
You don't poke the person next to you.
You can get long cables that support big items like blankets.
Various brand of circular knitting needles have removable cables. This allows you to move the knitting to the cables and remove or change the needles. This is especially helpful in a few small ways, for example picking up dropped stitches with a smaller needle becomes easier, but you can also store your knitting away on the cable white reusing the needles.


Which glue should be used for adhering thin paper?

To be honest it sounds like you might be being a bit heavy handed with all of the adhesives you mention it is often the case with adhesives that less is more.

White glue : you will get the most control if you apply it with a brush, if you just squirt it onto the paper and then spread it around it will soak though. You could try getting some cheap nylon brushes (the flat type are best) and use the glue from a small pot rather then direct from the tube and keep a piece of scrap card to make a few strokes with the brush onto to make sure that the glue is evenly distributed on the brush and take off any excess. You only need a really thin film to get a good joint, ideally it should be thin enough to look  transparent rather than white.

Spray Mount : again you only need a very light mist for it to work, try spraying from further away and just use one quick pass over the paper.

Another option is double sided tape, this tends to be a very neat and clean solution although there is a bit more effort involved in cutting it to the right shape. Usually the best approach for complex shapes is to apply it to what you want to stick before you cut it out so you cut the cutout and the tape at the same time (obviously leave the backing on the reverse side while you do this.


How to draw a head from all angles from imagination?

I've got some manga art books that are helpful - they give guidelines for drawing heads/bodies at all sorts of angles, whether by using skeleton frameworks, or just drawing freehand.

Also, if you're happy taking a sketchbook around with you, try doing 20-second speed sketches of real people (using pencil, biro, or whatever medium you prefer). Real people don't tend to stand still that long, so you'll have to be quick, but it's a great way of practising natural head positions. (Places like shopping centres or looking out of café windows can be helpful - some places put you below head level, and other put you a storey or two above where people walk).


How can I paint consistently coloured lines with acrylic paint?

In my experiments so far I am having to go over each line several times to stop the background colour from showing through the acrylic. Even when the background is only white.

This is probably caused by the quality of your paint. Pigments are usually the most expensive ingredient in any paint, so the cheaper the paint, the less pigments are in it. In order to cover your background color you need to create a layer of pigments over it. If your paint doesn't contain enough pigments, that can only be achieved by putting several layers of paint over each other.

There are usually 3 categories of paint:

Hobby quality: Very cheap, full of fillers and almost no pigment at all. Mixing colors is a gamble at best and impossible at worst. Useless for any crafting project. These can be found in dollar stores and similar shops that don't usually have art supplies.
College / art student quality: Good price-performance-ratio with acceptable amount of pigments. They're often offered in a wide variety of colors that usually mix well. These are best fit for crafting projects and can be found in most craft shops and some DIY or construction stores.
Artist quality: Most expensive but usually contain the most (and purest) pigments and least additives. They're often thicker in consistency than collage quality paints and some very special pigments (like ground up semi-precious stones) may only be offered in artist quality paints. Use these when you need absolute coverage of any color in small areas (like miniature painting) or when you need consistent coloration despite extreme dilution of the paint.


How can I best repair or protect this torn cover?

There are several ways to repair, one of the easiest would be to use book repair tape. There are several different ones available through Dick Blick.
Two that I have used in the past and have worked well are Lineco Spine Repair Tape and 3M Scotch #845 Book Tape. The first is basically a cloth tape available in both black and white. The 3M tape is a thick, clear tape if you want still want to be able to see the spine.
I prefer the 3M tape (mainly for being able to see the spine). My recommendation is to cover the entire spine of the book and to extend the tape at least 1" from the top and bottom. Then fold the tape down in between the cover and the book pages. Trim the foldover into a trapezoid shape for ease of insertion. Once you have taped the spine, leave the book closed for a day or longer so the adhesive in the tape can bond securely to the cover.


What important tools does a small tailoring outfit need?

It sounds like she already has a basic "starter kit" for sewing. So, instead of getting her a comprehensive kit, I would try to focus on one or two high-quality items that would save her time, or make her work easier in some way. Here are a few suggestions.

An adjustable-size dress form. Make sure you get an adjustable one, because presumably her clients are not all the same size. The link I provided is for Singer, which is generally a good brand of sewing supplies although I haven't used their their dress forms. Here's a blog where they reviewed different brands.
A serger or overlocker - this is a machine that looks like a sewing machine, but instead of sewing a seam it trims and wraps the raw edge of fabric. It's a huge time saver compared to putting in a hem.
A set of multiple rotary fabric cutters in different sizes. This is the tool that looks like a pizza cutter that your wife already has, but she might appreciate having more than one. Or a new blade for the one she already has; they do get dull over time, and you don't even notice how dull your current blade is until you use a sharp one.
A cordless iron.
A set of thread in all the colors, so she doesn't have to buy new matching thread every time she starts a new project. Make sure it's good quality thread that flows smoothly and doesn't stick and get caught and make a giant snarl every 5 minutes.
An abundant supply of sewing machine needles. So many that she can switch needles whenever the old one gets dull without feeling at all guilty.
A better table, chair, or lighting for her workspace. This works best if it solves a problem that your wife has mentioned to you. If you want to install something in a way that will make dust, that probably shouldn't be something you surprise her with, but if you do make sure the sewing machine is back inside its case and fully covered. Ditto for any fabric storage cabinets.
More storage space. There is not, and never has been, enough space in the home of any sewer for all their fabric. I'm not just talking about buying her a new cabinet; I'm talking about clearing some junk out of somewhere in your home and saying, this space is now yours. And maybe put in a new cabinet or some shelves. This is the least expensive suggestion, but the most work for you. As an added bonus, when your wife sees you working on this, tell her you're clearing out the space for one of your hobbies (preferably one she finds annoying). She'll be extra pleased when she finds out it's actually for her.
A gift certificate for a tune-up for her sewing machine. It looks like Sears will do repairs on a Kenmore, but I couldn't tell if they also offer adjustment and cleaning. They have DIY manuals on their site, so you could study up and do the tune-up yourself. Be sure to use the right kind of lubricant and not just whatever you have lying around (tip: 3-in-1 oil is not good for sewing machines).

Whatever you get, make sure it's high quality. Do some research and find a brand that has a good reputation for both quality and customer service. Make sure they have a good replacement policy in case the item breaks at some point in the future. If you buy from someplace like Amazon or Ebay, check whether the manufacturer will still honor the replacement policy (ask me about the broken set of knitting needles for which I can't get a free replacement because the gifter bought them on Amazon instead of directly from the supplier).
Make sure she actually has space to use the item and space to store it. That might mean you need to get into her workspace and take some measurements.


Propaganda 'style'
Below some specifics can be found.
Without more input it is hard to pinpoint what exactly attracts you in the image, so I've made a quick analysis.
Characteristic features are:

emphasized and clean outlines;
(comic art) realism;
arched shading;
a colour palette limited to five colours (or slightly differentiated hues of two colours), covering large areas;
a central composition with diagonals;
a single person inviting the observer to take action/participate.

The first three properties most clearly resemble a style, and are indicative of a specific type of western comic book style (the superhero comic book genre for example, as typified by (golden, silver, and bronze age) Marvel and DC comics - see Image 1).
(But see also the note two paragraphs below.)
The fourth property is indicative of the technique used or emulated, and brings to mind certain printing techniques like screen printing and stenciling (see Image 2).
The last two characteristics are exemplary for (most typically World War-era) propaganda artwork (see Image 3), which is a type of communication.
The second of these especially reminds me of the iconic Uncle Sam poster (Image 4).
Note that many examples of this kind of design naturally have line art that is similar to that used in comic book art, so 'comic book style' is partially redundant.

Images 1 & 2

Images 3 & 4
I do feel the image you uploaded is a somewhat ineffective mashup of several styles typical for this kind of communication (e.g. the HUD and electronic device might have been added to an original design and are too detailed in comparison to the rest - but the original is not very well-designed either, from an aesthetic and compositional point of view).

Another great way to look for similar images (without the need to figure out the proper terminology) is to upload the example to websites that allow for image searches. I find Yandex is a great option, since it seems to find the most images that are similar, instead of just identical.
This link was generated after I uploaded your image, have a look!

Image sources:

Image 1: Detail of https://wallup.net/superman-comics-superhero-52/

Image 2: https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-1950s-russia-russian-propaganda-poster-98006578.html

Image 3: https://obeygiant.com/obama-hope/

Image 4: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/uncle-sam-s-i-want-you-poster/photos


What are my options when trying to adhere felt to a 3D crocheted surface?

That sounds like a perfect use case for needle felting. Instead of using ready-made sheets of felt, use the loose fibers of rowing or batting to create the felted face right on the spot.

With a bit of practise you can achieve colour effects similar to painting by layering and mixing different colours, like the blushing cheeks in your turnips.

Instructions abound on the net. Felt Alive's seems pretty exhaustive, covering many aspects and with ambitious projects.

LilBlueBoo.com shows how to make a face on a base and Craftsy.com has an image on a knit base, similar to your project:


Is there a name for embroidery that is only an outline?

Redwork Embroidery - also known as blackwork or Baltimore redwork/blackwork. Color relates to the thread. Simple backstitch outline work.
Back in the early 2000’s it re-emerged becoming a popular and fun craft. I met the folks from Sublime Stitching at the ArtStar Craft Festival and got the sexy librarian kit seen in the pic below. You can still buy iron-on pattern kits with lots of interesting outline patterns.
Here is a link to a website that explains the history with citations:
http://www.womenfolk.com/quilting_history/redwork.htm
I do not have any direct association, I just knew to look up Baltimore Redwork from reading American Quilter magazine.


Glycerin has a density of about 1.2gm per cm3, while baby oil has density of 0.8.

The less dense baby oil offers less resistance and I imagine will give quicker falling flakes of snow. How much difference you actually notice is the real test. I’d be trying both.

There may be no difference at all. If that’s the case then go with the cheaper liquid.

PDF hart listing glycerol densities at various dilutions. 100% glycerol is the first entry

I can’t see an authoritative figure for baby oil but the answer is given by several online contributors who offer the same number.


Does a gauge recommendation refer to pre- or post-washing dimensions?

I couldn't follow your calculations but the way I do it is to convert the gauge to stitches per inch which is 4.25 in this case. Then I divide 98 stitches by 4.25 stitches per inch to get about 23 inches. The row gauge is 7.75 rows per inch.

But more importantly, the pattern is an aran type sweater which means lots of different cables and stitch patterns across the width. The designer is saying that if you get 4.25 stitches per inch in your gauge swatch in seed stitch, you'll probably get the right size garment. IIRC cables shrink the width as they build up the 3d-ness. I've seen some designers give gauge swatch knitting directions that incorporate all the stitches and directions of knitting in the garment but that is quite rare.

I assume you are knitting this in wool which can stretch in blocking if you encourage it to do that.

It is my understanding that gauge swatches are always interpreted as washed and blocked sizes and they usually say so.


Try scouring the stainless steel gently with Comet (yes, bathroom cleanser), maybe with a sponge.

You can substitute a similar brand, like Ajax, but it must be chlorinated. Avoid Bar Keeper's Friend or Bon Ami as I haven't tried those.

You might want to keep your strokes in line with the grain of the stainless steel if it has any, and you probably want to experiment on a piece of scrap.

Rinse with hot water after scrubbing and wipe dry, but don't touch with bare skin. The hot water speeds air drying. Gloves can help with handling.

You can test the surface with a few drops of water. If it beads up, it didn't work. The water should "sheet" and "wet" the surface wherever it goes. The paint works similarly and will normally form a smooth surface tension over the entire surface treated this way, rather than in spots or splotches.

The scouring "activates" the surface (for a few hours or maybe overnight), increasing the molecular attraction of the applied liquid. Because the liquid molecules are attracted to themselves (which is what causes droplets to form and beading to form on a surface), the surface attraction needs to be greater than that inherent in the liquid. Any oils on the surface inhibit that attraction and cause beading. There are enough hydrocarbons just floating around in the air to coat a surface in a few hours with enough to cause beading. So don't leave it sitting around after cleaning, paint as soon as it's dry if you can.

As well as increasing the surface area by texturizing the surface just a little, the chlorine in the scouring powder breaks down the surface hydrocarbons with an effectiveness that solvents can never match. A solvent dilutes the hydrocarbons (oils) but all it takes is a layer one molecule thick to disrupt the surface activity and the solvent always leaves some behind when it evaporates.


Something against hand pain due to writing?

If your hands start hurting or feeling sore, take a break. Listen to your body - if something hurts, it needs to rest. Otherwise, you can risk permanently injuring/disabling yourself. One artist whom I follow, Yuumei, has shared her experience with this: https://www.deviantart.com/yuumei/journal/PSA-for-Artists-Don-t-make-the-same-mistake-I-did-577426340. I personally will take breaks to stretch my hands and massage the sore parts of my fingers. If they're still hurting after a break, then it means I'm done for the day. It's not worth risking permanent disability by pushing yourself to draw/write for a few more hours.
Check your hand/wrist alignment when you're writing. I've found it helpful to rest my wrist on a rubber/foam coaster - it adjusts the angle of my wrist just enough to relieve some of the pressure.
Explore other methods of calligraphy. I used to draw extensively in pencil (graphic and colored pencil), but over time I found that the pressure created a lot of pain in my joints, especially where I held the pencil or rested my hand/fingers against the table. I started painting instead, which doesn't require much pressure to create a visible mark (and requires much less energy to fill a space with color). Perhaps try using a brush instead of a pen from time to time, and see if that provides an outlet for you to continue doing calligraphy without wearing your hands out as much.


What are some no sew hook and loop options, able to stick to fabric

From experience, I can say that self-adhesive products work poorly on fabric. There are options available to you in the form of sew-on hook-and-loop fasteners that you would apply to fabric using liquid glue made for fabric.

A quick search for fabric adhesive resulted in a number of products of varying specifications. Some of the results, in question-and-answer form specific to different products indicated temporary adhesion and permanent adhesion, indicating that you can select the duration of your item's durability in that respect.

Another aspect that appeared in the search results was flexibility listed as a feature. I would be suspect of a product that did not list such a feature as being undesirable.

One product which appears well suited to your application is Fabric-Tac, a permanent flexible liquid that lists as being suited for leather, wood and lace. Leather is notoriously difficult to secure, as its flexibility frequently destroys any bond. Fabric-Tac lists at a bit more than eleven US dollars on Amazon for four liquid ounces. It seems like a small amount of product for a large amount of money, but the amount you use is likely to be quite small.

If you've read of iron-on hook-and-loop fasteners, it's possible that they are coated with heat-activated fabric adhesive. One such product is available on Amazon, called Therm O Web SpraynBond Fusible Adhesive Spray. It is priced lower than the liquid adhesive, but spray applications often results in higher levels of waste due to overspray.

Another search specific to iron-on application resulted in many false leads to coin/dot form, but a few tape and strip versions, almost exclusively Velcro™ brand products.


Will 20 psi get out air bubbles when resin casting?

The amount of vacuum pressure required to draw out all the bubbles is likely dependent on the specific weight and chemical composition of the resin you are using. That should be in your resin's spec. sheet or technical data available from the manufacturer.

Or you could just eyeball it like blacksmith37 says.


The greatest culprit of the fading of printed colour is UV light. This process is called photo-degradation.

You can protect your images by framing them using conservation glass or UV filtering Plexiglas (which can be found at most art supply stores and framing ateliers), or coat the glass you already have with UV protective spray. This process needs to be repeated, though. There are also (adhesive) protective sheets you can cut to size, either to cover the frame window or the individual objects, but these are harder to find.

Apart from hanging your pictures out of direct sunlight, be sure to frame them cleanly, and place them in a stable and dry environment, away from heat sources.


How to fix the nose in this portrait of soft oil pastels?

To me the proportions look right. I think your problem is the contrast in color between the tip of the nose and the skin above the upper lip.

In your reference picture there is a very soft and gradual blend from nose to upper lip. The lightest color is on the very tip of the nose, where most of the light is reflected.  The parts of the nose that physically point downwards lie in a soft shadow. At the same time the nose casts a soft shadow onto the skin below. Both parts have a very similar color. It's impossible to see exactly where the nose ends and the skin above the lip starts.

In your painting you painted the shadow below the nose, but all parts of the nose are very bright. That creates a sharp contrast and your eye is drawn to that specific point. Your brain cannot stop analyzing this point because of the sharp edges.

If you darken the underside of the nose, this contrast dissappears and your eyes are drawn to the brightest spot - which is now the eyes. The human brain fills in the information that the eyes don't see clearly and suddenly the nose has exactly the length the observer likes best.

The same effect can be observed in the famous Mona Lisa. All the contours are so soft and blended that each observer sees the image a little different. If you look at her eyes, you cannot see the lips clearly and your brain automatically fills in the missing information with "she's smiling". If you look at her lips, you suddenly realize that she isn't actually smiling, there's just a soft shadow pointing upwards where the corners of her mouth would be if the was smiling.


Wall art sizing - how to convert between inch and cm?

If you are seeing online store references that sell items manufactured for US sales primarily, the inch figures are more likely going to be accurate. The conversion results, for your example, in 35.56 cm, but for marketing purposes, rounding is acceptable.

I have no experience in metric-following countries, but I would expect the reverse to be true. It is practical to expect a metric-sized frame to be 35 cm, but if it is going to list the imperial measurement, it would list it as 14 inches, rather 13.xx inches.

If measurements have to be precise for your purposes, ensure that the specifications are clearly listed, or request same from the vendor. I have purchased imperial-based items but required to know the accurate metric dimensions for a project. The vendor in both cases was able to provide more accurate numbers than the marketing copy listed.


Information regarding skin friendly wax candle additives

As far as I'm aware for BDSM purposes you want to get the melting point low enough to not burn the skin, but high enough for the recipient to have intense sensations.
Paraffin and soy wax are common choices because their melting points (46 - 68 °C / 115 - 154 °F) are already lower than that of other kinds of wax.
Skin irritation
Stearic acid is used in many cosmetics, so the risk is very low.
The Safety Data Sheet of Vybar contains no indication that it can irritate the skin (apart from the obvious risk of burns). If you're interested in other additives, explicitely search for the Safety Data Sheet.
Both substances are mainly used to increase how much fragrant oil the wax can retein. It's those essential oils that often irritate the skin, not the additive itself.
Corrosion
I've seen several sites that claim that Stearin / stearic acid does corrode "flexible molds" (source). However, the term "flexible molds" means silicone, rubber, plastic and latex. It's true that latex moulds are vulnerable to stearic acid (source), but they won't dissolve over night. The corrosion would take several casts and progress slowly.
Some people probably misunderstood that or remembered incorrectly and started claiming that stearin corrodes silicone molds as well. But silicone for mold making is rather resistant to most chemicals, including acids. This site claims that stearin corrodes metal molds (which makes sense to me from a chemical perspective) and advises to use silicone molds instead.
Coloration
Both stearin and Vybar increase the opacity of the candle (you need to add less color to reach the same saturation). But they create different looks in candles: while Vybar reduces mottling, stearin increases it (source).
I honestly don't have practical experience with these and cannot help you any more. Hopefully a user with practical experience will share those with you.
Melting point
This is where it gets complicated and contradictory.
Pure paraffin wax melts at about 46 - 68 °C / 115 - 154 °F.
Pure stearin melts at 60 - 70 °C / 140 - 158 °F. This site claims that adding stearin to paraffin candles rises the melting point even to 80°C / 176°F. It also makes the candles burn slower and drip less (something you may not want).
There are 2 types of Vybar: Vybar 103 intended for hard wax and Vybar 260 intended for container candles and softer wax (like paraffin). Both increase the melting point of the wax (source), but I couldn't find any objective numbers. I assume that Vybar 103 increases the melting point more than the 260, but I have no proof.
Summary
Both additives mainly increase the amount of fragrant oil the candle wax can retain, but they also increase the melting point and seem to make the wax harder and drip less. Certain fragrant oils can irritate the skin and cause allergic contact dermatitis. I would probably forego the additive and light additional scented candles instead of scenting the "active" dripping candles too much.


Where can I find/make paintable opaque green domes?

If you're going to paint them anyway, especially opaque, I suggest spray-painting the semi-spheres. That way, you can get the exact green hue you want them to have, you can control whether you like it glossy or matte, and - dependent on your skills - can have them look really smooth.

I suggest sanding these transparent domes a little first, with very fine sandpaper (≥ ~300);
applying a layer (or two) of the spray-paint. To prevent the light plastic domes from flying away when paint-brushing, tape them on something heavy (like a wooden plank) with double-sided tape;
gluing the custom images onto the surface (depending on the paper by letting them soak in the glue, so they will follow the curved shape of the domes closely);
and finishing it off by applying a layer of transparent (glossy or matte) varnish.


is there a term for graphics which can replace each other's sections or parts and result in two new graphics?

The surrealist technique of combining sections of different images in order to create a unique composition is referred to as "Exquisite Corpse" or "Cadavre Exquis" (Ambrose & Harris, 2011). By aligning the sections creatively or along a similar outline, one can achieve very unexpected results, as in the following example

In these cup designs by Chloe Lee Carson, sections of different illustrations have been combined to create unique characters.
Note that despite the name of this technique, Cadavre Exquis is not limited to animal or human imagery. In fact, it began as a word game where sentences were constructed in a similar unxexpected fashion. According to the Tate website, the technique's name is derived from one of the first games that resulted in: ‘Le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau’ (‘The exquisite corpse will drink the young wine’).

Reference:
Harris, P. & Ambrose G. (2011), Basics Design 02 - Layout, AVA Publishing


How can I quickly and easily pencil in guide and slant lines for lettering/calligraphy?

Note: This is a more expensive, albeit an efficient method.

Requirements:

A bright lightbox, or lightpad
A grid printout

An alternative would be to get a lightbox/lightpad, and place gridded paper beneath the sheet you are drawing to. When illuminated, the grid should be visible through your worksheet (this depends on the brightness of your lightpad, and the thickness of the paper you are writing on).

I have tested my own lightpad with 300gsm watercolour paper and it shines through quite well (it's a Huoin, though there are similar products available on Amazon. Make sure your lightpad is bright enough to shine through your desired paper! My lightpad's brightness is advertised as "1758 cd/ m2, luminous flux: 1800~2100 mcd".)

The grid that you use will depend on the size of the letters and your choice of calligraphy style. A quick google image search for "calligraphy grid" yields plenty of useful grids, including italicized grid lines for italic scripts. A simple printout of the grid is all you need, printed at the scale you like.

This method allows you to work at a faster pace, and reuse the paper grids again and again.


Can I use cartridge ink for dip fountain pens?

Due to the many different kind of quill pens nib designs, I don't think any definitive yes-no answer is possible here.

Generally, yes, ink will flow.

What kind of writing you want to do will have much influence on the decision about whether you use it.  Probably the best choice is to experiment by having a few controlled dips, and creating a few controlled strokes.

Dip to a fixed-depth, and the draw the pen nib down a page until it is exhausted.  Make multiple strokes as needed.  Repeat this for varied dip depths.
Then try letter-writing.
And / or, try other common nib-strokes related to the kind of purpose you will employ the pen.

If you find a writing style comfortable enough — problem solved.


Which glue works best for paper sculptures

Given your criteria the glue I would think should be tried to see if it fits your needs is cyanoacrylate glue, or CA glue. This can be commonly refereed by brand names like Super glue or Krazy glue as well. They are advertised and being very versatile when it comes to applicable mediums and have very fast drying times.

Looking at one brands technical specifications as a base line we can see that it

  Dries in 10-45 seconds, no clamping required.

Most CA glues dry at or near those times as well. Careful working with the stuff as you a likely to get some on your skin and it bonds skin very easily (Recently used it to repair my glasses).

Now what you could so with this is use it as a placement glue. Using a little just to get the leaf in place so that you can continue with a longer setting glue without concern of the leaf moving.

Would clamping options apply here?

I don't know how your leaves are made nor how they touch the tree but have you tried clamping options instead of looking for a fast setting glue? Some simple like paper clips( which you can mold to conform to shape if need be) or even something like binder clips? Perhaps if you have something small and light weight to help hold the leaf in place your choice of adhesive might no longer be a concern.


What are good options in colored pencil blending, especially for a traveller?

PrismaColor has a colorless blender pencil.
Further, you could layer colours (start with the darkest) and use a (near) white pencil to burnish the colours. Make sure the tip of your pencil is sharp and apply the colour in small circular motions to get an even result.


A common practice is to first create a thumbnail. You can do this when drawing from real life or from imagination.

The idea is to get a rough, small, quick concept of what you're going to be working on down on paper. This lets you get the idea out and reference it later as you're working.

When drawing from imagination, you can utilize multiple thumbnails, then decide on which pose/style you'd like to move forward with.

An example can be found on Niklas Jannsan's website: Android Arts Doctor Who project. The first image has some thumbnails of a moth-like creature, and then the final image incorporates the concepts laid-down.

When drawing from life or an image reference, a thumbnail is helpful to evaluate proportions. Before starting to draw on the entire page, you can draw a small rectangle in the corner or on another page. If you divide that rectangle up (into 1/4ths or 1/8ths), then draw your thumbnail, you made yourself a handy map and proportion guide. Just be careful that in your thumbnail you didn't exaggerate some proportions too much.

From your thumbnail, you can build up your rough sketches, laying down shapes and forms and building your line-art, but my advice would to be start with the thumbnail and then go on.

Get your idea out, make variations, work from there. Be willing to make changes, and don't enforce perfectionism in your first drafts.

As an aside, a common problem I've seen, and that I face, is knowing that something is "wrong" with a picture, and then erasing it to fix it. However, there's usually not a clear idea of what is making it wrong, or how precisely to fix it. Before you erase to start making changes, you should analyze the part that's wrong to really understand what the problem is. Proportions? Angle? Size? Shape? If you don't know what's broke, you can't fix it.


Converting a new, large perfect bound paperback to a durable hardback

This sounds like a much better candidate for honing your book-repair/book-binding skills.  If your goal is solely to increase the book's durability, then you have several options available...

If the book is recently published, it may be available as an e-book.  Author's will sometimes offer discounted e-book versions of their books to owners of physically printed copies.  E-books are the ultimate in durability as even if your e-book-reader gets destroyed, as a registered owner, you can usually just download a new copy into your new reader.

Alternatively, you could use a blow dryer to separate the pages of your perfectly bound copy, then put them in sheet protectors and mount them in a three ring binder.  I did that to some of my college textbooks thirty years ago and they are still perfectly readable today.

For a real binding solution, it is pretty simple to add cardboard reinforcements to the currently soft covers and spine.  Here is a very complete tutorial on that process.

Beyond that level, you will need to separate the pages as in the 3-ring binder approach, but once you have done that, a number of diy book binding techniques become available.  There is a youtube channel called Sea Lemon which goes over quite a few string binding techniques.


Fine liners that don't wear out quickly?

The smaller the tip, the faster it's going to wear out; 0.1 and 0.05 especially tend to wear out and break noticeably faster than wider tips, even with a light touch. There are only two solutions I personally have found for this issue:

1. Buy a cheaper pen and replace it when the tip breaks. There's some affordable brands of fineliners that do come in 0.1 (and sometimes smaller) that are easy enough to purchase in multiples and toss when the tip becomes too damaged to use, and you'll have more choices in brand. I believe some do not have sizes below 0.1 available, but you can also mix and match between brands to find the sizes you want.

2. Buy a more expensive pen and replace only the nib when the tip breaks. I currently use this variety, which is more expensive than the average disposable pen. The nibs are interchangeable and can be replaced fairly easily. Some brands available in small sizes (down to 0.03), but depending on where you live may be harder to find. Additionally, depending on what's available around you, the cost per nib may be equivalent to the cost per pen on a cheaper brand, or the cost for the pen itself far more than reasonable in exchange for disposing of cheaper pens.

You'll have to make the decision on what's the best option for you. I personally chose replaceable nibs due to frequently working away from home and looking for an option that used less space than carrying extra full pens; if you work close to home or a consistent location where you can store more equipment, you may wish to choose whichever option is most cost effective for you. You may also have preferences on the feel of the pen in your hand (my reusable liners have metal bodies, my single use liners are plastic, giving them a different weight and feel), or on the amount of work needed to maintain the pens (it's much easier to toss a pen and grab a new one).

You may also wish to consider a metal nib over plastic (these pens fall into the "replaceable nib" category), but they are less effective when held at an angle and require considerably more maintenance than plastic nibs; again, this is a case where you'll have to personally weigh the benefit (longer life) versus the cost (higher price and frequent cleaning).

For a concise guide to 14 different brands of pens covering a range of prices, nib sizes,  nib materials, and replacement options, JetPens has a review of liners with a quick comparison table at the end, as well as more detailed information on how to maintain the different types of pen available. Ultimately, you'll have to make the decision on what pen might work best for you, based on your own budget, ability/desire to perform any required maintenance, availability in your location, and less tangible preferences (i.e. how the pen feels in your hand or handles in use). I would recommend taking the information from the reviews, then going to a local seller and handling the pens in person (testing when testers are available) to help find the right pen for you.


Just put it in a watertight container and shake it. A lot.


If you're drawing for a hobby, some tips for beginners can be found here and here.
Firstly, you can improve your drawing by:

Drawing newborn baby anatomy - I found a cute example for you here.
Reading this.

Control your drawing. You can practice some baby gesture drawing, and add light and shadow.
Here is an expert tutorial: press hard for dark skin tones and lightly for pale skin tones while coloring; only mix colors by coloring the drawing layer by layer; different shadows, tones, and highlights will yield a better result.
You can find many references by searching for 'baby portrait', 'cupid painting', and similar terms:

A newborn baby is similar to a sleeping baby in appearance.
Cupid painting has a long history and references can be found easily for many styles and periods.

You have a long way to go to become a realistic artist, but if you seriously want to be an artist, you can find short courses or even follow higher education in fine arts to enhance your skills.
Good luck!