Signmaking 101: Blended Letter Shades (on glass)

[Larry White]

There is a difference between what I would call a blended shade and a split blended shade. On a split blended shade I would first paint the outer "stop" line where the shade will be ending (this becomes an outline around the shade and letter). Secondly, I would pick the two colors for the shade and mix them from transparent artist oil colors mixed into some spar or quick rubbing varnish (I suppose you could use Frog Juice too). With a flat brush, half the width of the shade, single stroke in the first color glaze. After this is dry, single stroke in the second color. Overlapping the colors just slightly adds a slightly darker line between the colors and is desirable. I have also heard of these glazes being silkscreened. After the two glazes are dry, mix up 3 to 4 graduated tones of gray, using japan color, usually white to dark gray. Extend the open time of the paint with Smiths cream and/or a touch of linseed oil. Using a copy of your artwork, make a road map of where the colors will fall. Keep all the highlites and shadows in their correct places. I usually use colored pencils to make the road map. I number the colors 1 thru 4. Along with numbering the colors, you'll need to number the blocks of color. Where ever there is a sharp corner on a letter, you'll want a hard line of color on the shade. This line must dry before you can put the color next to it in order to hold that hard line. Hence when you paint the first hard line, you'd be working in a #1 color block, next to it would be a #2 and next to it on the other end could be another #1. (It almost works out that you're paintinting every other block first, then their neighboring blocks secondly.) So as you make your road map, number the colors and the blocks. Typically I have found to have about 60% of the shade executed in block 1's, 30% in block 2's, and a few fall into block 3's. I hope this is making sence. So within a block you lay down your numbered colors right next to each other, I typicall use a quill, one for each color. I then blend the colors together using a deerfoot blending brush, one for each blended color. Continually inspect from the front, without any light shining through the back, this is required to determine sufficeint blending. One of those rotating glass easels is helpful. Do all the #1 areas and allow to dry. Then do all the #2 areas, then 3's etc. After it's all done, back-up the whole thing with the middle value (only). The color picked for the glaze alters the grays blended in behind them. When doing a regular blended shade, skip the glaze step and mix your desired colors straight from Japan color. I've also seen One Shot being used, but I prefer the japans.

Here are the steps I employeed on the blended shade on my Rick Glawson commemorative sign.


This is the colored pencil "roadmap" that I used to place the various colors in the blended shade on the Rick Glawson sign. Each color has a corresponding number, then each block of colors has a corresponding number as to define which blocks are executed first, second and so forth.


First, the "stop" line, or what becomes the outline, is painted.


This is the finished result of placing and blending the colors, it has been done in 4 sessions as to allow some of the hardline edges to dry prior to placing the adjacent color. All the work has been done with various brushes.


The entire area is backed up with the middle value color.


The finished blended shade from the front.


The finished sign.

The technique is about the same for the split blended shade. The stop line would be painted, then the 2 glaze colors added, then the blended colors as shown above except in tones of white to gray allowing the glaze to define the color. This is a wonderful technique that just takes a bit of planning and practice.

[Larry White]

This is another technique of creating a blended shade on a letter. This technique employs the use of a transparent black applied to the areas of shade on the drop shadow. First, the stop line has been painted as outlined before. Second, a mixture of black and clear Fibroseal has been used to create the transparent black. This mixture is then brushed into the areas where the darker tone on the dropshadow is to be. I have applied this transparent shade in 3 seperate sessions, allowing each to dry. I have applied the lightest portion first which is the largest areas, then less of an area with each subsequent application, yielding 3 tones of gray. After it has dried, a single light to medium shade color can be blocked in over the entire drop shadow. (The photo is a bit deceiving as you're also viewing a shadow from the shade cast against the wall behind it.)


This is how the entire text appears from the back after theshading is completed.


Here it is from the front. It looks quite nice as a gray tone, but I will be backing it up with a color. My vision is to do a brown mottled background on this piece, so I want to select a color that will harmonize with it.

Another option would be to block in two colors side by side to create a split blend effect.


A piece of clear static cling film has been placed over a section of the lettering as a way of viewing various colors in combination with the shading from the front of the glass.


After choosing the desired color, the drop shadow is blocked in. Here is a view from the front of the shading and back-up color.

[Larry White]

I completed the transparent shading technique by backing it up wit a color.
-LW