Instructions

This project will require
you to have these
ingredients in order to
have a successful result

How to make Blu Tac paint

Plastic Container, Vinegar, Blu Tac, Gum Arabic, Mortar and Pestle, Water, Face Mask

Weigh your chunk of Blu Tac.

For this instruction we will be using a 64 gram chunk.

Knead the Blu Tac in your hands

The warmer it is, the easier it will be for you in the next step.

Try to pull and fold the material on itself rather than tearing.

Once the soap is absorbed by the Blu Tac, you can add a few more drops.

Continue this process 4 to 5 more times until the Blu Tac is 'gum-like'.

The weight of the Blu Tac should go up around 4-5grams when this process is finished.

It will begin to bubble and tear, wait a couple minutes for it to soften. You can now begin to knead and break down the material in the solution.

Try to keep the mass together in the container. You can use your hands but a spoon or a fork will work.

Knead a few drops of soap onto the Blu Tac.

Pour out 250ml of vinegar into
a container.

About 40-50% of the Blu Tac mass will have dissolved into the container at this point.

Place the Blu Tac into the vinegar, make sure all of it is submerged.

You can now take the leftover material and put it to the side.

You will now be left with a light blue color liquid with tiny microscoping pieces of Blu Tac suspended in the solution.

This state will not last very long, the Blu Tac particles will drop to the bottom over time.

You can now leave this solution out to evaporate.

Wait until you are left with a bluish substance at the bottom of your container.

When all the water/vinegar has gone and your substance is dry and crystalized, you may proceed to the next step.

You can now put the dry bits of the Blu Tac into a mortar and pestle and crush it into a fine powder.

if you have waited the appropriate amount of time, it will crack and break apart. It will not do this if there's moisture in it still.

Add a teaspoon of gum arabic powder to the mixture.

Stir them together well and make sure to wear a mask during this process.

Add some water to the mixture.

Add in small amounts in order to not get the mixture too watery. Roughly mix the substance together ensuring that you don’t leave any dry chunks of powder in the mixture.

Pour out the paint into a container with a lid and store in a dark, cool environment.

You now have a pigment made from Blu Tac! Happy Painting!

These were some illustrations I made with the Blu Tac ink. I painted random strokes on the page and because of the somewhat unpredictable nature of this ink, created random shapes. I then scanned the page in and illustrated over the shapes in the same way we identify random shapes and forms in the clouds.