art · bricolage · burning glass · creativity · decoration · diy · drawing · engrave · engrave with the sun · engraving · Febo · how to · outdoor · pyrography · solar engraving · sun · tutorial · wood · wood art · wood burning · Oct 14, 2021

How to engrave with the sun

Engraving with the sun using Febo solar engraver

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO EASILY ACHIEVE OUTSTANDING ENGRAVINGS WITH FEBO

Are you a creative mind constantly looking for new thrilling ways to express your artistic self? Would you enjoy spending time outdoors while creating crafty, inventive artwork immersed in a natural scenario? Or are you simply fascinated by intricate drawings burnt on wooden boards, able to decor any room with a timeless rustic touch? If any of these is the case, you should definitely give solar engraving a go!

Engraving with the sun is an ancient technique which is based on harnessing the solar power to burn decorations on many organic surfaces other than paper, like wood, cork or leather. Using a convex glass lens the energy carried by the rays of the sun gets concentrated into a beam of light powerful enough to burn the surface beneath it.

Febo, an innovative tool to engrave with the sun, makes this process easy and at everyone’s reach. It won’t take you much before mastering this truly captivating art. This step-by-step tutorial will introduce you to the basis of this fun technique, to successfully start engraving with your Febo solar engraver.

SHOP FEBO

EVERYTHING YOU NEED

1 - The Sun	Of course, the sun is the essential element to engrave. As simple as it is, without the sun you won’t get that power necessary for the magic to happen. A cloudy sky may not guarantee a light beam powerful enough to engrave on your chosen surface. So be sure to check your local weather forecast and place yourself in a a sunny spot without too many shadows.
2 - A Febo Kit	Febo is designed to make the solar engraving process easy and intuitive. Its convex glass lens will concentrate the rays of the sun into a high-energy spot of light, with which to engrave immediately. Moreover, the Febo kit includes all the essential tools to safely engrave. A pair of one-size-fits-all foldable goggles, to protect your eyes while engraving, and a cotton bag where to store your Febo when not in use. Get yours here!
3 - A Canvas	The beauty of solar engravings is that it allows you to create permanent designs on unusual materials. Your canvas could be any logs or barks you can find outdoors, or personal belongings that you want to personalize. Just take care of selecting natural materials like wood, cork or leather, that burn in a slow and controlled way, allowing you to precisely trace your design. Materials like thin paper or cardboard could burn too easily to be used with your Febo, while surfaces like stones or metals are too hard to be engraved. Also, remember to avoid plastic materials, that emit fumes while melting, as well as any highly flammable material.
4 - A Pencil	Even though the ultimate goal of solar engraving is to draw permanent artworks with the sun, we suggest to bring with you a pencil during your creative adventures as well. This is extremely useful to start tracing your sketch in order to minimize the mistakes and facilitate the engraving phase.
5 - Stencils	If you don’t feel confident enough on your drawing skills or you simply chase to create amazing artworks, writings or patterns in a fast and precise way, you could bring with you some stencils. We created a kit of 36 original stencils in 5 different styles, ready to use. Mix them in original ways and create stunning designs.
6 - A hat, water, sunscreen	If you intend to spend a lot of time outdoors engraving, then it's better to provide yourself some protection from the heat of the sun. Put a hat on your head, smear your sunscreen if you are particularly sensitive and have a bottle of fresh water at your hand. Now you are truly ready to start engraving!

1 - The Sun

Of course, the sun is the essential element to engrave. As simple as it is, without the sun you won’t get that power necessary for the magic to happen. A cloudy sky may not guarantee a light beam powerful enough to engrave on your chosen surface. So be sure to check your local weather forecast and place yourself in a a sunny spot without too many shadows.

2 - A Febo Kit

Febo is designed to make the solar engraving process easy and intuitive. Its convex glass lens will concentrate the rays of the sun into a high-energy spot of light, with which to engrave immediately. Moreover, the Febo kit includes all the essential tools to safely engrave. A pair of one-size-fits-all foldable goggles, to protect your eyes while engraving, and a cotton bag where to store your Febo when not in use. Get yours here!

3 - A Canvas

The beauty of solar engravings is that it allows you to create permanent designs on unusual materials. Your canvas could be any logs or barks you can find outdoors, or personal belongings that you want to personalize. Just take care of selecting natural materials like wood, cork or leather, that burn in a slow and controlled way, allowing you to precisely trace your design. Materials like thin paper or cardboard could burn too easily to be used with your Febo, while surfaces like stones or metals are too hard to be engraved. Also, remember to avoid plastic materials, that emit fumes while melting, as well as any highly flammable material.

4 - A Pencil

Even though the ultimate goal of solar engraving is to draw permanent artworks with the sun, we suggest to bring with you a pencil during your creative adventures as well. This is extremely useful to start tracing your sketch in order to minimize the mistakes and facilitate the engraving phase.

5 - Stencils

If you don’t feel confident enough on your drawing skills or you simply chase to create amazing artworks and patterns in a fast and precise way, you could bring with you some stencils. We created a kit of 36 original stencils in 5 different styles, ready to use. Mix them in original ways and create stunning designs.

6 - A hat, water, sunscreen

If you intend to spend a lot of time outdoors engraving, then it's better to provide yourself some protection from the heat of the sun. Put a hat on your head, smear your sunscreen if you are particularly sensitive and have a bottle of fresh water at your hand. Now you are truly ready to start engraving!

STEP 1 - CHOOSE YOUR CANVAS

Select a natural surface you like on which you would like to engrave. If you are working with some raw logs or barks that you found outdoor, then it may be useful to prepare your mediums by sanding the wood to remove knots and imperfections. Go through the grades up to 400 Grit, or until your surface is smooth enough.

Choose natural materials for solar engraving

STEP 2 - TRACE YOUR DRAWING

Start by drawing your sketch on your chosen support, using the pencil. You can draw freehand or trace a stencil and personalize any of your belongings. Pencil's graphite is also great to speed up your engraving.

Draw with a pencil before engraving with Febo

STEP 3 - WEAR THE GOGGLES

When the sun is high, take your Febo kit and your drawing and go out creating! First of all, put on the protective goggles provided with the Febo Kit. They will shade your eyes from the intense light focused by Febo.

Wear the goggles provided with the Febo kit before engraving with the sun

STEP 4 - POSITION YOUR FEBO

Position your Febo over the drawing, keeping it perpendicular to the sun. It is very important that the lens of Febo is facing the sun at 90°, in order to effectively concentrate the rays into a focal point. If positioned correctly, a small, high energy dot of concentrated light will automatically start engraving.

Position Febo perpendicular too the sun to engrave on your canvas

STEP 5 - FOLLOW THE SKETCH

Trace the lines of your pencil sketch using the point of concentrated light generated by Febo. Febo is designed to allow for maximum control on whatever surface you engrave on, making the whole engraving process very intuitive, fast and precise. Have fun with the sun and leave your mark!

STEP 6 - STORE YOUR FEBO

When you are done engraving with Febo, store it in its cotton bag, along with the goggles. This will protect the lens of Febo from scratches and dust.

STEP 7 - FINISHES

You may want to add some special flare to your engravings, with some nice little finishings. Using acrylic or inks, you can add color to your drawings or darken the shadows of the burns. If you are working with a wooden surface, you can also consider to use wax, lacquer or oils for woods, to give your artwork a glossy effect and protect it over time.

Color your engraving and add some finishing to your art

Color your engraving and add some finishing to your art

STEP 8 - SHARE YOUR ART

There’s nothing better to celebrate your creative accomplishments than sharing them with the world, and we really encourage you doing that! Follow Febo on social media, check out inspirational engraving projects and inspire other Febo lovers with your solar engravings as well, using the hashtag

#madewithfebo

A wood art piece engraved with Febo

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