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Lesson kit

Lesson 4 · Level 4

Dotting

Learn how individual dots create texture and shading.

Recommended wood

Maple

Firm, tight-grained maple keeps dots round instead of bleeding along the grain.

Recommended tip

Ball tip

Rounded footprint makes clean, repeatable dots. In the studio: Ball Tip.

Heat level

Deep

Enough heat to mark instantly on contact.

Technique

Density is value

A dot is always the same darkness — you build tone by packing dots closer together, not by pressing harder.

Touch and lift

Tap the tip and lift immediately. Lingering turns a dot into a crater.

Vary the pattern

Random spacing reads as organic texture; grid spacing reads as pattern.

Demonstration

A square that fades convincingly from sparse to dense dots, with dots of even size throughout.

Practice board guide for lesson 4: Dotting

Digital practice exercise

  1. 1.Burn single dots, then closely and widely spaced groups.
  2. 2.Compare light dots against dark dots.
  3. 3.Fill the gradient square: sparse, then medium, then dense.

The practice board loads as a reference overlay on the wood canvas — set the wood, tip and heat above, then burn over the faint guides.

Beginner challenge

Create a small sphere using only dots — dots get denser toward the shadow side and thin out toward the light.