This method of intaglio takes engraving one step further by dragging a needle across the surface.
As a result, one side of the furrow retains a metal burr (or rough edge) in the needle’s wake.
The burr retains particles of ink, creating a softened rather than crisp line when printed.
This method of intaglio takes engraving one step further by dragging a needle across the surface.
As a result, one side of the furrow retains a metal burr (or rough edge) in the needle’s wake.
The burr retains particles of ink, creating a softened rather than crisp line when printed.
A metal plate is covered with a liquid, acid-resistant ground consisting of wax or resin.
After the ground has hardened, a fine needle is used to draw the image on it.
The matrix is then placed into an acid bath, which immediately begins to eat away (or etch) the exposed areas of the plate.
The sunken lines that hold the ink are created.
In the mezzotint process, the artist uses a hatcher (a curved, multitoothed implement) to produce thousands of tiny pits to hold the ink.
Areas of the plate intended to be lighter are scraped and burnished so they hold less ink.
A broad range of tones is achieved-from the rich black of the rocked surface to the highly polished pitless areas that yield bright whites.
In the aquatint process, a metal plate is evenly covered with a fine powder of acid-resistant resin.
As the plate is heated, the resin melts and adheres to the surface.
The matrix is then placed in an acid bath, where its uncovered surfaces are eaten away by the solution.
The depth of tone is controlled by removing the plate from the acid and covering the pits that have been sufficiently etched.
Soft-ground etching employs a ground of softened wax and can be used to render the effects of crayon or pencil drawings.
In the lift-ground technique, the artist creates the illusion of a brush-and-ink drawing by actually brushing a solution of sugar and water onto a resin-coated plate.
When the plate is slipped into the acid bath, the sugar dissolves, lifting the brushed image off the plate to expose the metal beneath.
For gauffage (or inkless intaglio), the artist etches the lines of his design to differing depths.
Furrows in the plate appear as raised surfaces when printed.
As light glances across the surface of the paper, the image’s legibility is enhanced.
The artist draws an image with a greasy crayon directly on a flat stone slab.
Small particles of crayon adhere to the granular texture of the stone matrix.
After the design is complete, a solution of nitric acid is applied as a fixative.
The entire surface is dampened with water.
The untouched areas of the surface accept the water, but the waxy crayon marks repel it.
A roller is used to cover the stone with an oily ink, which adheres to the crayon drawing but repels the water.
When paper is pressed to the stone surface, the ink on the crayon is transferred to the paper, revealing the image.
Also known as silkscreen printing, this technique uses a stencil to create the design or image.
One version depends on a screen constructed of a piece of silk, nylon, or fine metal mesh stretched on a frame.
A stencil with a cutout design is then affixed to the screen, and paper or canvas (or t-shirt) is placed beneath.
The artist forces paint or ink through the open areas of the stencil with a flat, rubber-bladed implement called a squeegee.
Several stencils may be used to apply different colors to the same print.
Another version utilizes a varnish-like substance that prevents paint or ink from passing through the mesh.
And a third version-photo-silkscreen-allows the artist to create photographic images on a screen covered with a light-sensitive gel.
Drawing or painting is created with oil paint or watercolor on a nonabsorbent surface of any material.
Brushes are used, but sometimes fine detail is rendered by scratching paint off the plate with sharp implements.
A piece of paper is then laid on the surface, and the image is transferred by hand rubbing the back of the paper or passing the matrix and paper through a press.