Test Rocks – what are they and why you should have one

Copy of Paint Design on your Rock Seal the Rock Hide in the Community (15)

Pet Rock and test rocks- hopefully you have some… and if you don’t then grab some for yourself. Test Rocks communicate a million things to you.

They will tell you how your paints & Sealers will react to sun and rain. Pet rocks are ready to help you clean or get your pens working well. They even help you understand how your pen colours will show on the rocks. SO pet rocks can help you make decisions before you make your art or drop rock. Test rocks will help show you outcomes of how your rocks will last over time.

Lets chat about a test rocks

This is Bert and he is a Test Rock, he just celebrated his 1st birthday. He has many jobs and attends every single tutorial in case he is needed.

I never put my pen or brush to a rock I am painting without a squiggle or stroke on Bert first.

Doing this I can know if the pen is working well, they might be dirty or blocked or maybe about to flood or not work at all. The paint in the pen may not be combined correctly and a scribble on Bert lets me know this. I may have excess paint on my brush.
Scribbles on Bert tell me exactly how my pen is performing and if I need to fix my pen in any way.

I do not like to use paper towel to clean my pen nibs or test my pen flow as a small touch of fibre on the pen nibs can change everything with the flow. I do have a scrappy piece of paper towel on my desk to wipe excess water off brush but I have moved that on to be a microfibre cloth.

Then I have Test Rocks for 30 Day Testing – Just because a box of pens says it writes on rocks or most surfaces, how do you know they actually do or how they last? Seeking advice is great but make sure the person giving the advice has personally experienced using the pens or paint. SO many comments on FB are from people who ‘heard’ something works.

If you have some pens and want to know if they work on your rocks or maybe the sealer to use, get off social media and make a test rock and see for yourself. What you paint on the rock does not need to be a perfect picture. Just lay the colours on the rock, maybe a few words. Seal the rock and pop it outside for 30 days in the full sun and rain.

There are a large amount of kindness rock creators that make beautiful rocks at their desks, and they are very happy with the results. And many have used pens that are not suitable for outdoor drop rocks for hiding. By using the incorrect pens or paint, their rocks will not last for more than a week or so, some will fade out to nothing. Some sealers do not last in the outdoors.

It is important that you know the colours & Sealers you are using will last – This is why the 30 day test is such a great idea. You will know how your pens or colour work while creating the rocks and you know their outcome – How they look in 30 days placed outside. This rock worked out so great and lasted for the 30 days in sunlight and some rain.