Sometimes, mistakes are a good thing.
2014-04-20 23:08:00
The sign of a busy Perler artist, is a messy kitchen table. I was making some Battletoads, and was taping the surprised toad beadsprite in a hurry and totally ripped his arms and legs off. I have since rebuilt him, but the pic just looks funny like he is in pain and shock. =)
Note the completely full 22k container of black beads. That is the 3rd time I have had to fill it since I started last July. I just got an $80 in to help finish the Final Fantasy stuff. The shark there is the Grey Shark from FF1.
Masking tape won't come off if you over-iron.
2013-08-14 18:28:48
This is the opposite side of a creation that was ironed too hot for too long using the masking tape method.
It wasn’t terribly difficult to remove with Goo Gone and an Xacto knife. (Kids, get your parents to help)
Example of what can happen if you don't poke holes
2013-08-14 18:17:34
Even after practicing with the masking tape method, and failing with my Excitebike test first, I still thought it would be okay to iron this Butthead anyways. I should have known it wouldn’t work; I just assumed that I didn’t iron it right.
When I got about 2/3 of the way through, I decided that something needed to change.
The reason that these holes wouldn’t close is because the air was getting trapped inside the beads because the masking tape was creating a seal, resulting in an air bubble inside.
Excitebike bad fuse example
2013-08-14 18:04:25
This is what happens when you don’t poke holes in your masking tape, and then try to iron it.
Make sure that if you are wanting a clean fuse, you make sure that the beads can “breathe”
How to defeat WarMech
2013-07-31 05:49:40
I’ve been really nervous to fuse my biggest creation yet: The WarMech from Final Fantasy.
The last few fuses of the bigger pieces I have done fell apart while ironing, or were otherwise challenging, and I just was avoiding completing it until I was feeling confident. It had been sitting on the kitchen table for the last few days, and I moved it to the couch without issue before dinner earlier in the evening. I had it all the way to the kitchen table, and while setting it down, the boards buckled, and it all came crashing down.
It will be rebuilt, and I will post the results
Hey there,
I was wondering how you arrange your beads on the pegboard? Using the green tweezers takes forever, and a paperclip to arrange and dispense causes cramps.
Just wondering how you manage to cut the assembly time down!
Thanks!
I use a few different sets of tweezers https://hardcoreperler.com/sorting/ Any good craft store should have some good needlenose tweezers like this.
Hi, I’m wondering how you get your custom patterns for video game sprites? Thanks!
I get most of my stuff from http://www.spriters-resource.com/ . Sometimes, I will also do screen grabs from emulators.
Hi, your stuff is awesome!! What would you suggest the best type of iron is? Im sure youve tried some different ones. Thanks 🙂
Im about to do a large potrait (6 linked pegboards). Do you think it’s going to be a problem when I try to transfer the design to table using the tape. Im scared about pieces falling out.
I tape and pole holes , yet I still have some that won’t close and a secondary problem of the beads flattened out after ironing. I use a dental pick to poke holes
THX!
It may take a little practice, and adjustments to your iron temperature and technique. Don’t give up. =)
To poke holes, I’ve just been flipping a board over, lining it up, and pressing it into the taped side. It’s worked reasonably well for me. Sometimes it’s hard to pull the board back off, but I think it’s a lot quicker then poking them individually.
what is the BEST fuse method?
Im just starting out and I ll work 2 or 3 hours on a project, get it complete, go to iron and it all falls apart, then Im spending another hour or 2 trying to put it back together to only have the same thing happen again.
What am I doing wrong? I use the paper on top of the project and i ll iron over it for about 20 – 30 seconds and then its apart again. UGH.
HELP! 🙂
Thank you!
You are not ironing long enough. Check out this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeoSU3Gv0h4
So about those air bubbles. I have never taped any of my creations yet I get results just the same as those pictures of the taped ones you didn’t poke holes in. Any idea on what’s happening?
And this doesn’t happen all the time, but I never iron differently between the times it does and doesn’t.
I keep having beads that just refuse to close up. I use the masking tape method, poked holes & all, but I only keep it on for the first few seconds & then peel it off before I finish melting the piece. There are always random beads that just won’t close & look all warped on the non melted side. I’m on the lowest heat setting possible on my iron & I’m still having these issues. Is there something, a technique maybe, that I’m missing?
You may want to turn the iron heat up a little. I go somewhere between wool and cotton setting.
hey, challenge= try to make king slime from terraria
I made little Mac and king hippo last night. I never used the masking tape method and some beads just wouldn’t fuse, then the ends started to lift. It destroyed the whole thing. It took me forever to make. I am trying the masking tape method from now on. Are there particular beads you stay away from that just don’t melt?