How to Make Cyanotypes

I adore making cyanotypes. Their blue color is stunningly beautiful. Did you know this original form of photography from the 1800s is the basis of blueprints?

Here is how to make cyanotypes of your very own!

First, you need the starting chemicals. These are potassium ferricyanide and ferric ammonium citrate. You can buy them from Amazon or many other art stores. Just look for ‘cyanotype chemicals’ to find them. In most cases they are sold in dry, bulk form. You then add water to get them into liquid form. Mix 10g of the potassium ferricyanide with 100ml of water. Put it into a dark container. SEPARATELY mix 25g of the ferric ammonium citrate with 100ml of water. Put it into its own separate dark container.

You’ve got your starting materials.

When you’re ready to go, wait until the sun goes down. Then mix equal portions of your two bottles into a new dark bottle. So if you put in 25ml of one, put in 25ml of the other one. This mixture is now ready to use. Some people say to use it all right away, but I’ve stored this mixture for months without any issue. It still works fine.

Again, in the dark, use it like any paint. Paint it onto watercolor paper. Onto t-shirts. Onto dresses. Anything that will absorb and hold the liquid is fair game. Pillowcases. Curtains. Let it dry overnight in the dark. Keep it in the dark! Find a dark closet or a light-proof bag to keep it in.

When you’re ready to expose it, you’ll want to move quickly. Let’s say you have a piece of watercolor paper. Bring it out of its dark area and right onto the porch or wherever you’re going to expose it. Put the leaves, ferns, bicycle gears, or other items onto it. If the items are light and could blow away, put a piece of clear acrylic on top to hold them in place.

Let it expose to the sun for about 10 minutes.

Bring the paper inside and gently rinse it with water. The rinsing will remove all the blue from the places that didn’t get light. The places that got light will stay blue.

Let your piece dry! You now have your very own one-of-a-kind cyanotype!

Here’s a video by me of the process:

This cyanotype and my photo of it are copyright me Lisa Shea.