Project #20

Printmaking 101

This is going to introduce you to printmaking. For advanced printmaking artists, please excuse the simplicity of the process with these lessons!

The form of printmaking you will do in this lesson will be the process of making a template or printing form that you can ink over and over to produce the same picture multiple times.

Since we will be using a styrofoam material for the reproduction surface, the life of your template may not last long...


Supplies:
styrofoam plates/the thicker, the better
acrylic or tempra paints
foam brush or roller
toothpick or other scratching device
cardstock or construction paper

Process:

Choose a design to use, keep in mind the size of your paper.

If you want to incorporate letters or numbers, you will have to scratch them backwards or mirror image so that they will come out correctly on your print.

Once you have etched out your design on your plate, make sure that the indentations are deep enough. If they are shallow or "weak" lines, the paint will just bleed into them and you will not get the design you hoped for.

Here, I used a cross-hatching technique to etch into the plate.

Test it out. It can be reworked after the first print, if needed.


To Print:

We found that the paint can not be too thick. If it is, just add some water (a little at a time) to thin it down. You don't want it to be too think or "drippy", either.

You can press the plate on the center of your paper or you can press the paper onto the plate. We had less movement by pressing the plate onto the top of the paper.

Brush the paint on lightly and press the plate to the paper, then lift carefully.

 

Other styrofoam can be used. Meat trays (cleaned well) are thicker and may work better as well as take-out trays. Plus, their shape is different and you could experiment with that.

Happy Printing!
Mrs. Hayes