Photo © make-self.net
Mars is red because of the abundance of iron oxide on its surface - to put it simply, the planet is covered with rust. Designer Barry Abrams brought his work to a new level. Using real rust on metal, he creates striking portraits of Mars in his basement. And generously shares instructions on how to create your version of the red planet.
First, he cuts a square piece of sheet metal and cleans it with hydrochloric acid. Then cuts a round mask from vinyl paper and sticks it to a metal sheet.
To create rust on the metal is filled with an empty bottle with a spray of hydrogen peroxide. The liquid is sprayed onto the metal. It is left for a few minutes, and after that excess moisture is removed using paper towels. The vinyl mask is removed and a completely rusty circle appears.
In order to further prevent rusting of the metal - the surface is covered with several layers of clear varnish. Next comes the time for screen printing. The surface of Mars is printed on transparent paper.
To dry the ink, a building dryer is used.