There are a lot of videos of this process around, from textiles to sports equipment, crazy designs to detailed art. But how?
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My simplest explanation goes like this but there is some skill involved in the execution and the timing.
Once the “backing” carrying the chemical fixative and the design dissolves, the artwork is left suspended on the water’s surface, any object placed into the water has the design pushed onto it by the water pressure which helps it cling and wrap around the object.
When no carrier membrane is used for the design, a chemical fixative spray is added onto the water surface and oil based paints are then placed onto the surface of the water. The paints are then pushed onto the object by the water as it’s submerged.
Basically the theory is as simple as oil and water do not mix and surface tension makes it stick, but it’s the chemical fixative making the magic happen.
But the fixative is a real chemical concoction, QUOTE: Although each manufacturer has its own blend, the common ingredients in activators are xylene, isobutanol, butyl, methyl acetate and methyl ethyl ketone. The fast-acting activators swap methyl ethyl ketone for ethyl isobutyl ketone. Some activators may include isophorone, texanol, 2-butoxyethanol or cyclohexanone.
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