to acheive the tiger stipe pattern on bamboo one has to be very careful not to overapply the stain,or dye.i use the smallest and one individual part of a feather pulled from the quill.take off all excess of product and draw line however you might want, let dry go back and fill in stripes.you have to move very fast to keep dye from bleeding everywhere.make several passes up and down the limbs...colours are up to you personal preference.hope this helps.........robustus