In today's session we tried out the technique of dry point which entailed us to scratch onto a aluminium surface with a burin that acts like a pencil which acts as a plate for the ink print, and then rubbed with ink of any colour depending on the image in question with any excess rubbed off with it. Finally the plate and a piece of paper are fed into a press where the ink on the plate is compressed onto the paper where the print is made.
Here is my first scratched plate that was damaged in the top half by a unprepared press which I wasn't supposed to use so I had to cut it off making a press that is both incomplete and half the size. Besides my foolishness in trying printing without proper skills, the print that came from this plate was quite nice, although it was a bit bare and the shading didn't really work, but as a first try at the dry point medium the image that came out was not too bad. I would address the problems in this one with my next printing plate.
The next print I made was based upon the head of the key chain I used for the study. I added more shadow and cross-hatching this time to create better contrast and more dimensions through the added tone. I think the plate and print of this original drawing was quite good as it really captured the feel of the object more then the last one. However there is way too much negative space in the image that it becomes sort of distracting and I feel the cross-hatching could be worked on more.
Here is the final image of the day. It is a improved and edited plate from the last print except with better cross-hatching, a blacked out background and even a border around the image. I also chose to print this in red ink rather then black ink too make it more macabre and unique from the rest of the images. I think that this is my best print so far as it really captures the almost medieval tone of this type of printing as well as add a Gothic tone thanks to the red ink. I also think the block outline and darkened background work well for this image as it adds to the atmosphere of the print and the cross-hatching looks much more solid and professional. One gripe I have with it is that I didn't have a more complex subject to draw which I think would have challenged me more and added a little bit more to the final piece.
