Canvas Painting With Inkodye

Inkodye, a product of Lumi.co, is a sunlight-activated dyes for cotton, linen, silk and other natural fabrics. It's commonly used on clothes but we decided to try it on a canvas.

You will need:

Strips of wood for the frame
Nails and a hammer
Staple Gun and Staples
Canvas fabric
Inkodye
A pencil and painting brush

This step requires 4 strips of wood, a saw, a hammer and some nails. Once you have decided upon the size of the canvas that you want to create, use a saw to adjust the length of the pieces of wood. Assemble the pieces together and use the hammer and nails to fix them in place.

Once the frame is assembled you can measure the canvas fabric to fit over the frame, with extra fabric to overlap at the back. Place the fabric over the frame and place a staple at in the centre of the top, at the back. At the bottom, stretch the fabric as much as you can, and place a staple in the centre of the bottom, at the back of the frame. Repeat this process for the sides. After you have placed four staples, repeat the process of pulling and placing around your canvas. For the corners you can use an angled or straight fold - pull tight, fold the flap and staple it to the frame.

Using a pencil, draw an image on the canvas. We drew the Instructables robot. Make sure the drawing is visible. Once you have your sketch, color it with a paint brush and Inkodye. After applying Inkodye you may want to highlight your pencil lines with a permanent marker because you'll be washing your canvas later and may erase the lines.

As stated in the Lumi guide, "Inkodye develops its color in sunlight or bright UV, about 10 to 20min on a bright day.". Leave your painting in the sun for about 10 - 20 mins.

Using the Inkowash detergent, wash your canvas to remove any residue. Once washed, leave the canvas out in the sun again, to dry.

Sign it and mount it on a wall for all to see.