Icarus Art Drawing Board: Fresh new look at wax based mediums!

ADVANTAGES

• Drawing and painting with the same medium just by switching zones.
• Technique is intuitive and easy to understand
• No need for solvents or water (heat is the solvent)
• No waiting for the artwork to dry
• No premixing, no clean-up
• Corrections and reworking easy to do
• Significantly less time and effort than traditional techniques
• Any style achievable, from ultra realism to painterly abstracts
• Colored pencils become softer, malleable and more forgiving
• Artist crayons and oil pastels behave almost like paint
• Infinite range of colors can be mixed on the warm zone
• No arsenal of tools required
• Media are applied, mixed and worked directly on the support material
• No interferences between artists and their work
• Stop and start with just the flick of a switch

SAFETY & MAINTENANCE

The Icarus Drawing Board is very safe when used appropriately. It is designed to reach temperatures warm enough for wax-based media to soften or melt but not so warm that it would cause users to inadvertently burn themselves.

Even though the warm zone, at its maximum temperature, feels very warm to the touch, one would have to intentionally leave his hand directly on the glass to get burned. Nevertheless please use common sense and read all instructions.

• This unit is designed for 120V. For other voltages you need a transformer.
• Do not immerse cord, plug or the unit itself in water or any other liquid.
• Do not use liquid that can spill and seep into frame.
• Always unplug from outlet when not in use and before cleaning or storing.
• Allow the unit to cool down completely before cleaning or storing.
• The most effective and safe way to clean it is with a damp cloth or paper towel.
• This unit is not intended for children.
• Close supervision is necessary when children are present.
• Good ventilation is always advisable when working with art materials.

GETTING STARTED

The Icarus Drawing Board is used like any other portable drawing board. It can sit on a desk or a table. The paper (or other support material) is placed on top of the board. It's important not to fasten the paper to the board because it needs to be moved freely from one zone to the other and back as necessary. The artist can rest his arms on the board.

• Right handed artists: the Icarus Drawing Board should be oriented with the cool zone on the right (the right arm can rest on the cool zone while working on the warm zone).
• Left handed artists: the Icarus Drawing Board should be oriented with the cool zone on the left (the left arm can rest on the cool zone while working on the warm zone).

After plugging the unit into a power outlet, turn the switch on and set the temperature dial to 6 (average working temperature). It will take about 10 minutes for the unit to warm up enough to start working. Depending on the medium used and your personal preference, you can adjust the dial to a higher or lower setting.

MEDIA OPTIONS

All wax-based media are ideal for the Icarus Drawing Board technique.

The main categories are: wax-based colored pencils, artist crayons and oil pastels.

These can be found on the market under different generic names:

• wax-based colored pencils
• wax-based colored pencil sticks
• water-soluble wax crayons
• water-soluble wax pastels
• water-resistant wax crayons
• water-resistant wax pastels
• water-soluble oil pastels
• oil pastels
• encaustics
  
  

TOOLS

There are only few tools that are necessary to implement this technique beyond the normal tools inherent to wax-based media (sharpeners, erasers, desk brush, etc).

Cotton Towels
To protect your art from staining and smudging, place a cotton towel between your arm and your work. A thin flour sack towel works great for this purpose. This towel prevents any oil from your skin to come in contact with your work. At the same time it makes the temperature of the warm zone more comfortable (the towel can be doubled up if necessary).

Gray Paper Stumps
Great for blending colored pencils, artist crayons and oil pastels.

Colour Shapers
Colour Shapers are shaped like a brush with a tip made of silicone. They are also known as "Clay Shapers" or "Wax Movers". They usually come in three different color tips: white, gray and black. The black ones are the sturdiest. They are used for mixing, moving and blending the waxy pigments of artists crayons and oil pastels.

Artists are encouraged to experiment and find their own preferred tools.

SURFACES

Any support material that would normally be used for wax-based media is acceptable for the Icarus Drawing Board as long as it makes full contact with the glass (no cradled boards, no stretched canvases).

Papers of any variety, from drawing to watercolor and pastel paper, boards such as illustration, museum, canvas or wood boards, fabric, glass, plexiglass and more can be used with the Icarus Drawing Board.

The thickness of the support material determines how quickly it warms up and cools down. A sheet of paper changes temperature almost instantly. A thicker board takes a little longer.

MISCELLANEOUS

Wax Bloom
With any wax-based media, especially when applied heavily or burnished, the wax tends to rise to the surface and appear as a white haze. This can be easily remedied by wiping the surface with a soft cloth. The wax bloom will reform until the work is sprayed with fixative or varnished.

Warping
The heat of the warm zone sometimes causes the support materials to lightly warp. This is not a lasting problem and will rectify itself when returned to room temperature.