Every question you ever wanted to ask and some you haven’t even thought of yet
The Ultimate Diamond Art FAQ with Links
(A continuing series of excerpts from my Amazon Kindle Book)
Previous Question Answered: Visual Aids for Diamond Painters
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Now that we have discussed the potential replacements for the standard three tools with something we consider to be better; and have gotten our canvases flattened; and cleaned up our workspace; and are all kitted up and have decided on our workflow; and can now see what we’re doing; let’s look at the techniques for placing the drills on the canvas.
Square drill projects take longer than round drills, because square drills are smaller, and the placement needs to be more precise because of the straight lines on the drills. Round drill projects are more forgiving, but they still need to be properly aligned, and curves need to be smoothly curved. It’s hard to smoothly curve when using square drills, so plan your project size appropriately, so that you use the right shape of drill to give the best finished image. But there’s certainly nothing wrong with an image that looks like well-aligned pixels.
Why do we have to be so precise to put a drill in exactly the right spot? Why can’t we just slap it on and move it over the correct spot later?
Simple answer: DRILLS MIGRATE. The glue on the canvas pulls them back to their original position where they were first placed. Once you understand the physics of this, you can work with it. When you put a drill down in the wrong spot, and try to slide it over to the correct spot, it won’t stay there. It will migrate back to where you first put it down. This is because of the elasticity of the canvas adhesive. It’s like stretching a little rubber band, it will pull back when you let go.
How do you solve this? Always pull your gem a little further BEYOND where you want to put it and with luck it won’t migrate all the way back, but it will migrate back just enough to sit where you need it to be. It takes a little patience to figure out how far you need to move a gem for it to move back to where you want it to be. But it’s very doable. I use the little pink pen to push and pull my drills around. You can also use a pair of
tweezers with a good grip. Please get metal tweezers not plastic ones. The plastic ones really aren’t very good for diamond painting. Or better yet… just be patient and place the drill in the right spot to begin with so you won’t need any of these tweezers.
https://amzn.to/47ESqUd
How can we make sure that we have put a rhinestone exactly on the coded spot? This is especially important if our hand tends to shake while holding it in the air, if we’re not using a release paper covering.
There are ruler templates that allow you to line your drills up a lot easier. They can be either metal or plastic and have cut-outs of different row widths, such as 1, 2 or 3 drill widths. This is to accommodate those who like to set multiple drills at a time, because it aids in the alignment of the multi-placer tools.
There are also
mesh templates with holes that automatically align individual drills for you. Just be careful when pulling the mesh off your canvas so that you don’t pop the drills off, too.. This may take some practice but using a rubber roller or brayer (mentioned below) to tightly press the drills down and under the mesh before lifting it from the canvas would be prudent. Buying a set of mesh rulers with different alignments can be cost-effective because round drill charts are not all the same. (See below)
https://amzn.to/41fiG3M
Make sure you choose the proper template for either round drills or square drills. The ones below are
specifically for square drills and illustrate the “checkerboard placement” technique. You use the template in a blank section first, and what is left behind is a checkerboard pattern that you can fill in without the template on the next pass. This is the best placement technique for keeping square drills aligned.
https://amzn.to/4tzHRKt
A CAVEAT! Round drill mesh rulers come in various sizes, so your mesh ruler may align with some canvases but not with others. Your favorite ruler may fit several projects and then suddenly you wonder why it doesn’t fit anymore. No, the metal did not change. This is because round drills do not use a standardized grid chart. And not all manufacturers use the same distance between the grid circles, which is what causes the misalignment on the mesh rulers in the first place. When the circles are placed right up against each other, with no space between them, no alignment ruler, mesh or otherwise, will help you. The drills themselves will eventually cease to be aligned as the project progresses. This is an issue with the blank canvas grids that are currently available. Using 2.5 mm drills may help but you may see the outlines underneath. See Creating Custom Diamond Art from Photos for more information.
How can we make sure that our gems are aligned perfectly, both horizontally and vertically, once manually placed?
There is
an attachment in some pen tool kits that looks like a small blade, and this can be used between the rows to make sure everything is lined up nicely. It is generally about an inch to an inch and a half long. I have found that the metal ones tend to be a little thicker than the plastic ones. It is good to have at least one of each because in some canvases you are going to want the thinner plastic version. As stated above, the grid alignments, and hence the distance between rows, aren’t standardized, and neither is the thickness of the alignment tools.
https://amzn.to/4mgmP18
-- If the pen tool attachment seems too small and tedious to use on an inch-by-inch basis on a large canvas, then there are
larger devices that can be used between the rows to line them up. They kind of look like large mastic spreaders or drywall mud spatulas.
https://amzn.to/4sH6apj
-- If lining up rows one by one with either tool is too tedious for you, there are
specialized rollers with grooves in them that help align multiple rows at once, usually about seven rows at one time. These are best to use while you work is in progress, rather than after you have completed it, because when you are aligning your rows after everything is completed, the drills need a place to move into, and there really isn’t any place for them to go, other than pop off, after the canvas is completed. So, use it while your work is in progress.
https://amzn.to/3NMuJ5x
Here is
a video that shows how well these grooved rollers work:
and here is a video that shows
how to use the blade option. Using a hairdryer to soften the glue may be necessary on those canvases that are excessively sticky. https://www.tiktok.com/@the.a.i.art.broker/video/7448767109493951787?lang=en
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/swKBHu-8lS4
I seem to have trouble with putting the wrong color in the wrong spot. HELP!
Placing the wrong diamonds in the wrong spot is a common error. The main way to solve this is to SLOW DOWN and FOCUS. After all, there’s no need to rush through your supposed-to-be-relaxing project. Nothing is going to expire, go sour, or melt into a puddle if you don’t finish the section in the next 10 minutes. So, make sure you double-check the symbols before placing each drill. When kitting up, take note of any symbols that might look too similar, and be prepared when you run across them. There’s a reason there is usually no “I”. (I tend to have trouble with B and 8, and Q and 0, especially if they are similar shades.) Sometimes the canvas color can tip you off as well. If you see a B that is on a green circle on the canvas, don’t put a red 8 on it.
If you are working in small sections, it’s harder to get confused. If you’re in a well-lit area, you can see the codes better. And for dark canvases, using an LED backlight will reveal the correct code. You can use tweezers to quickly fix any mistakes.
Previous Question Answered: Visual Aids for Diamond Painters
Next Question to be Answered: Multi-Placer Tools and How to Use Them
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I have been doing diamond art for over 10 years. My
book was published under my pen name. You can contact me through my blog here at https://ei-kan.blogspot.com if you have any additional questions to add to this section or to notify me of any dead links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualified purchases. This book is available in its entirety on
Amazon Kindle and there are some discount coupon codes for up to 15% off your purchases at select websites near the end of it And yes, I earn a few pennies from a few other sites mentioned as well, but not all.
