The cleaning of the plate is more demanding than in other methods. To create a larger area on the images, repetition of various lines is a way to go but one should keep in mind not to overdo it.Īfter the image is created one needs to apply the ink and to cover the entire plate with it. A perpendicular angle will leave little to no burr, while the smaller the angle gets to either side, the larger the burr pileup. The size and the characteristic of the line depend not so much on the pressure of the printmaker’s hand but on the angle of the needle. A larger burr, formed by a steep angle of the tool, would hold more ink producing the characteristic soft line the method is famous for. Once the decision is made whether or not a model is used or an image is a result of instant inspiration with the help of the needle image is carved onto a plate. These images would best fit the screen printing or the aquatint methods. When choosing what to create with the help of this method, images with large and flat surfaces would not be a way to go. This for many, in the beginning, is a challenge especially if one adds text to its artwork. If we copy the original just as it is once it is printed it will appear as reversed. Similarly, to etching, one needs to bare in mind that the original sketch, drawing, or even a photograph used as a reference needs to be transformed onto a plate as a mirror reflection.
Image via .uk The Step by Step Method of Drypoint Etching Authors which prefer drawing would decide to create their print editions with the help of this method since the use of a needle is closer to using a pencil then the traditional etching burin employed to create woodcut, linocut, or dry relief images. Traditionally the plate was copper, but presently printmakers use zinc, plexiglass or acetate. Without the use of an acid, which as mentioned above defines the process as more safe, the image is carved into a plate, or a matrix, with a hard-pointed needle of a sharp metal or diamond point. Believed to have been invented by 15th-century south German author Housebook Master, through the various centuries, the process has remained the same. Images via Drypoint Etching Technique – What Does It Mean?Ī member of the etching family, drypoint etching is one of the oldest printmaking methods. Left: Stanislaw Maslowski - Portrait of Artist's Wife / Right: Lesser Ury - Dame im Kaffee. For many, the advantage of drypoint etching lies in the result of the direct imprinting and the metal scrapings produced on each side of the carved line, known as a burr, which prints as a rich and velvety black. With direct ingraving on the plate, the finished line is not as sharp yet for various printmakers the softer look was just what they were after. Without the use of an acid, the printmaker is able to create images which are fairly similar in style to images created by engraving. Unlike the process of engraving and aquatint, the drypoint etching is, in a sense, safer. It is only once the paper is turned that the printmaker sees the fruits of their efforts and understands the necessity of their ink-stained fingers. As much as each technique demands skill and asks of the author to respect the materials and the actual process, an element of chance always exists. Working with some of the oldest etching methods, such as drypoint etching, engraving, mezzotint, or aquatint, the printmakers are closely linked to the traditional idea of a craftsman. A certain amount of mystery is always present in the printer’s studio.