I need to make to back-drops for a play. My idea is to paint directly onto large white cotton sheets. But where can I buy them?
I reckon I need to find a fabric shop…
In Taipei, go to the Dihua St. fabric market. 迪化街
I’m not sure what you are wanting to acheive, but I have worked on a few short films and plays in the capacity of set decorator/ art department.
If I wanted to make a big backdrop on the cheap, I would consider buying a big plastic tarp in a light color (preferably white) I would lay it out on the rooftop of somebody’s building, Take an 80 grit sanding block to rought it up uniformly, Take a finer sanding sponge (like you would use to sand drywall) and sand the plastic sheet down more. Don’t make holes, just make a surface that the paint will stick to.
Then I would take a good primer paint (in canada I would use standard latex waterbased white) and paint the whole shmoggle thoroughly. You could then use any water based paint to paint your image on. If you’re not confident about yout drawing skills, You could borrow a projector and (maybe) your laptop and project your image onto the sheet somehow. Youcould then trace the lines of the image you like and fill in the colors and textures you like.
It’s important to make sure that when you’re finished (with this application and you want to pack up, you loosely roll your image instead of folding it, because the paint may not stick well on the seams of the folds.
Carry some backup paint for touch- ups!
The advantage of using a tarpaulin is all of the nifty metal-reinforced holes that are usefull for “mounting the image” to whatever structure you have, by zap straps or wire or string or whatever.
But then again , I’m not sure what you’re doing, and I tend to think big.
Maybe you just want to sew a few white cotton sheets together and paint an image onto them. If that, then I suggest using a F&ckload of spray paint and a lot of masking tape (if you want good lines.
I wish my boss would listen to me: I have some good ideas that have worked well before. I could make a school play insanely good if you let me. sigh
I’m still working on the SAD lights, by the way…
rdc