Etching Tutorial: a Step by Step Guide to the Etching Process:
Tools and Materials> Preparing a Plate> Applying the Ground> Transfer Art> Working Plate> Etching> Inking and Printing
Working the Plate:
Now that the image has been transferred to the ground, it is time to work the plate. The process will depend on what type of ground you are using and if you are using aquatint or not. I only work with one type of ground at a time. Each time requiring the acid bath.
Hard Ground - The etching needle is used with hard ground to draw lines or do some pointalism. You should consider your etching needle to be a trusty friend and treat it kindly. |
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| No need to muscle them lines into the plate. Let the acid do the work! | ||
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| Soft Ground - Pick a piece of textured fabric. The texture should be somewhat pronounced. | ||
| Use a clean plate to adjust your press. You want it to press the fabric texture into the soft ground. Diffent thickness of fabric will require seperate press adjustments. Medium pressure | ||
| Cut fabric if neccessary, put on area of plate you want the texture on, run through the press. | ||
| Stop out the areas you dont want the teture to appear on. Remeber them edges! When dry put in the acid bath. The longer you expose the area to acid, the darker it will print. | ||
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| Aquatint - Stop out the areas you don't want to aquatint. Edges! When dry put in the acid bath. The longer you expose the area to acid, the darker it will print. To vary the shades produced, take the plate out at intervals, and stop out areas you want left lighter. | ||
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