Hello everyone!

I've just found this forum and been reading the posts all morning now.
You guys/girls are awesome and I'm so interested!

I'm a photographer by trade but I'm in a little predicament.

I need to set up a white seamless backdrop (the kind that drops from the
wall to the floor all the way to camera).

I need about 20ft wide by 45 ft long. That way I can raise it 18 ft at the
back wall, allow 6ft for the curve, and bring it forward 20 ft.

This large of a seamless is not usually done. In an instance like this a cyc
or cove is just rented at a studio or built to spec. I'm trying to save
though. Background photo paper only comes 140" wide max. I've figured
out how to tape two papers together to make it work. I want the material
to be repaintable though. If paper gets dirty it needs to be replaced.

I've been looking into Muslin or Canvas for this. I've found the material at
www.Rosebrand.com or www.ChicagoCanvas.com but now I thinking
about how I'm actually going to do this!

I know muslin will shrink more than canvas. They will both shrink though.

I'm thinking about laying the whole piece flat over plastic. First wetting
the whole piece down to remove the folds. Then liquid starching it. Then
Painting it. On the ground with Rollers with Behr Ultra Pure white Flat.

But I started thinking that during the whold process the material would
start to pucker as it dries. If it dries puckered it will hang puckered. That
will be disasterous! So then I started to think That I could attach strips of
1x3's to the edges with staples then screw rope into the wood and pull it
apart with sandbags [(20) 25lb bags might do]. That way the tension
would kill the puckering... i guess...

I wish I could frame the whole thing... But I can't. It needs to hang like
paper so that when it hits the ground I get a nice curve.

My question then is... If I paint it with a temp frame and then remove the
frame will the whole thing (muslin or canvas) pucker anyways?

I'd appreciate any critique to this post. Am I totally off?! Where am I
wrong? It would really suck to buy all that fabric and paint to find out the
whole project is a waste of time..!

I have never painted anything quite as large as what you are talking about.  I have painted light canvas that was 18 long and ten feet tall.  I laid it on plywood on the floor of a barn and rolled it out with latex primer.  It rippled and puckered a lot when it was first done but I left it all night and the next day it was perfectly flat.  It seemed to shrink evenly. I don't think you need to wet the piece first to remove the wrinkles....the primer took care of that.   I have hung this and rolled it and walked on it and generally beaten it up and as soon as it hangs for a day or more any wrinkles seem to fall out.  I store it stapled to the barn wall so it doesn't form fold marks from being rolled and stored on its side.   The trick seemed to be to get it all wet at the same time with the primer...I wouldn't take a lunch break in the middle.  I have never tried this with muslin.....I always stretch that over a frame...but you could experiment with a smaller piece.  Also if you put a lot of primer on it may glue itself to the plywood so don't go overboard with the roller.  If you use something stiff like canvas and then paint it with a stiff latex paint it is not going to "flow" like a fine fabric down the wall and across the floor.  It will be more likely to form into stiff folds. You can probably make a good curve though.  I would but some muslin....a few yards will do...and put it on a floor ( not on paper) and roll it out.....what happens to a small piece is probably a pretty good indication of what happens to a big piece.   Good luck. 

I'm with Joan on this one too. I've not painted anything that big. BUT, I have tried something like this on a smaller scale with muslin...use the canvas! It is usally heavier and stiffer. You'll get a better lay with it and be happier overall with the look.  I've had some pretty bad  expereinces with muslin. While I like it for flats, you still have to be careful how you prepare it and know exactly what has been done to it before it gets to you. Personally, I'd use the canvas.

Best of luck!

 

Thanks so much for all your comments!

I'm still in the air....

Canvas: Easier to Paint. More grain/tooth may make the shadows
textured.

Muslin: Harder to Paint. Less tooth, the shadows will be very smooth.

Paper: Non Paintable. Will have seams. Shadows ultra smooth.


How does anyone feel about stapling 1x3's to the muslin edges, then
pulling on the frames with sandbags to create tension while painting,
then releasing them when dry?

Joan54, Gaafa, Aimee, Shatcher if you're ever in LA email me and I'll buy
ya a beer on Sunset ... that's like the price of a twelvepack in cowtown.