Quick Aging Experiment with Coffee

[Redleg]

Was bored at work and testing my new Bristol pad. Did a quick region map and decided to pour some of my coffee on it. Thoughts? XF6BXmh.jpg

[Carnifex]

I llike tea better but for a dark brown look coffee is good!

[Redleg]

What sort of affect does Tea leave you with? I've got tons of English Breakfast I don't plan on drinking. lol

[Greg]

Your quick experiment's got quite a nice tint to it, Redleg. I was thinking of coffee-staining one of my maps at some point to see how it turned out so this has reminded me to buy some coffee to try it out!

[waldronate]

Oh, it's the MAP that you're quick-aging with coffee! I usually reserve that sort of experimentation for myself.

Adding a few used coffee grounds along the edge will tend to leave a more speckled appearance, as will just putting a few specks of grounds across the page before doing the treatment. The same sort of thing happens with tea leaves.

That reminds me, I need to find my blood aging page and update the thread with new images.

I also discovered some years back that some really cheap graph paper with the no-copy blues lines had the wonderful property that the blue lines completely washed away with water. It was also really cheap paper, which meant that it became very yellowed and brittle with just a few minutes under the heat lamp.

[ChickPea]

Man, I've got to try this!

I've been drawing mountains in a little sketch book, just for fun. Doubt I'll ever post what I draw because 99% of it is utter crap, but it's a good practice exercise for me, and I love the idea of ageing the paper! Are you literally just pouring a splash of coffee over it or dipping the paper into the coffee or what?

I don't drink tea, only strong (like, really strong!) coffee, so I guess my paper would turn out pretty dark.

[jshoer]

Looks pretty good! I did the same thing with this guy: http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...ad.php?t=29845

I have found that, in the time since, the map has lightened and doesn't look quite as aged. Those who have tried it: Does tea have more staying power?

[waldronate]

I have found that, in the time since, the map has lightened and doesn't look quite as aged. Those who have tried it: Does tea have more staying power?

In my experience, plant-based stains (coffee, tea, walnut husk) fade with exposure to light. Even the technique of cooking the paper will fade a bit over time (even the secret messages that you wrote with lemon juice or milk before cooking). If you want lightfastness, you need to use something mineral-based, like heavily watered-down paints.

http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...ighlight=blood has a lot of discussion on using various techniques to get paper backgrounds.

[ChickPea]

Thanks for that link, Waldronate! I know what I'm doing tonight.

EDIT: Wait, I just came across the blood stains. Eeek, I'm not doing that! :O

[waldronate]

It takes commitment to make great maps! Of course, that might well explain my recent challenge entries...