What are some of your suggestions on how to color proofgrade plywood? Obviously paint could work in some cases and markers in others. I’d like to get a transparent, colored, stain-like appearance but I’m concerned that the surface of the pg plywood won’t take the stain. I’d rather color a single piece than put together pieces cut from pre-stained wood. Markers would be ok for this since I don’t have much area to cover and this seems like a reasonable first try. Does it matter what kind and how can I keep the color from smudging off?
This was done with Sharpies. (Wipe while wet to get a transparent effect.)
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Gosh, that’s GORGEOUS! I imagine that you could spray it with a sealer if necessary to avoid smudging.
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It’s applied right over the top of the sealed Proofgrade…and it doesn’t smudge once it’s dried.
(I love colored Sharpies for coloring the Proofgrade.)
The thing that’s interesting about using them…see the purple and blue tones in the sleeve? Some of the colors, when you wipe them off, leave behind more of one component than the other…the deeper purple at the edges was the color of the Sharpie marker.
But it lets me get some very simple shading effects with no skill required. 
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Thats perfect Jules! I’ll be trying that tonight!
I also found this which looked promising for some things:
The subtle shades of color are super. That’s a great idea to use the finished proof grade wood so it doesn’t soak into unfinished wood. 
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Very cute. Is that for one of those jumping toys with two sticks and a crossbar that you squeeze and the character (strings through hands) jumps and spins?
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Yep! He was one of my early creations on the PRU. (There’s a short writeup with vid on it somewhere in the Made on a Glowforge section…here.)
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Copic marker has a beautiful stained - almost watercolor - effect on PG. Sometimes it takes a few layers, but the upshot there is that you can get some cool shading.
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Forgot about this guy … Really love the colors!
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Thanks! (It’s been a while hasn’t it? I need to whip up another toy…I’m overdue.)
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That one was pretty remarkable … Always look forward to your work … You can never have too many toys!
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