This is only my second attempt at this, so mistakes were made.
In honor of National Mario Day in the US, I made a Mario charm from shrink film. I shared the steps I took to create the charm and fix a curling issue after baking.
Pre-Bake
I first sketched my design on paper. I'd recommend this as the first step because it's easier to correct pencil mistakes on paper. Sure, you could sketch directly onto the shrink film, but it may take slightly more effort to correct mistakes depending on the art medium you use and how detailed your design is.
Shrink film is clear making it easy to trace images onto it. After I finished my initial sketch, I taped the film onto my sketchbook to prevent the film from shifting while I transferred my design onto it.
While I could've used colored pencils, alcohol markers, or other art medium for this design, I opted to use my paint markers. I've used it with success before.
Based on my 1st Time Trying Shrink Film and Fixing Curling Issues, I knew I didn't need to apply multiple coats of paint to cover the streaks. In fact, using too much paint would cause it to crack once baked as was the case for a Snoopy design I previously created. Most of the streaking would 'disappear' after baking, so I didn't worry about the lack of paint coverage for this attempt.
After I completed my design and let the paint dry completely, I used scissors to cut around the outline. I then used a hole punch to add a hole above Mario's head where I wanted to punch a hole for a keyring.
I placed a sheet of parchment paper onto a baking pan, placed the Mario shrink film onto the parchment sheet, and placed another parchment sheet over the Mario shrink film. The instruction sheet that came with my pack of shrink film recommended the second parchment sheet to minimize curling while baking.
I baked the Mario shrink film in my oven at 300-degree Fahrenheit as recommended by the product instructions for four minutes. The instructions recommend two minutes, but I worried it wasn't long enough to bake the large 5" x 6.5" design.
Post-Bake and Curling Remedy
Baking the Mario shrink film for four minutes wasn't long enough. The design was partially shrunken, a bit thin, and curled around the edges. I was able to bend it slightly when I shouldn't be able to do so. The ideal baked shrink film would be thick, flat, and sturdy.
Fortunately, this was easy enough to fix with a heat gun. It took several minutes with the aid of a spatula type tool. I was eventually able to complete the shrinking and flatten the curls with patience and high heat.
I decided to heat the entire design and set a heavy item on top of it for an hour to help flatten it further. After an hour, I saw that much of the it was flatter, but it wasn't as flat as I would've liked.
The finished baked design was roughly 2.25" x 2.75”: less than half the original size before baking.
My Thoughts
Overall, I felt this was a decent second attempt at using shrink films. The artwork isn't the best and the final design wasn't entirely flat, but I'll hold on to it as a keepsake until I make a better replacement in the future.
Some streaks were visible in the final baked design, but most 'disappeared' as I suspected. It was a little wavy where it wouldn't flatten completely. There's also a wrinkle above Mario's right knee. I believe that wrinkle formed from me holding the heat gun too close to the design.
I normally would've protected the design with varnish, but I don't like to waste varnish on something I'm not entirely proud of.
This was a fun activity with a few lessons learned. I can't wait to try again with new techniques.
What's Next?
In honor of Daylight Savings Time in the US this weekend, I think I'll attempt to design another clock face for fun. Wish me luck!
Comment below to share your tips and tricks for designing with shrink film.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
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