Monday, March 17, 2014

Spectrafix = The Shizz!!

Some ways back I tested skim milk as a fixative using a spray bottle from the hardware store, and it basically ruined a couple of charcoal drawings because the droplets were too coarse and it turned everything like 3 shades darker. More recently I decided to try Spectrafix, a natural casien (milk-based) fixative that comes in a finger-pump bottle (no aerosols).

I've used it on a few pages of my sketchbook now and no problems of any kind.

The mist goes on nice and fine, good coverage, no stinky or toxic fumes of any kind, and best of all it didn't appreciably change the values of either the paper or my drawings. Apparently anything you spray on a drawing will alter values to some extent - even plain water - but it's so subtle as to be practically unnoticeable. Might be a different story on a pastel drawing with thick layers or something - my drawings were just lines and some light shading, so I guess I didn't really put the Spectrafix to the test. But so far anyway I'm extremely happy with it, and that's something I've never been able to say about any fixative in the past. Ever.

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