Nature Animals Scratch Art Scratch Art of Trees in the Background

Post navigation

Every then often I render to Brian Gallagher'south analogy blog, and I'k always captivated by his handling of buildings. I like how the rendering is actually fairly unproblematic, but they really convey a lot of feeling to me. They are nicely designed and the values are nifty.

Scraperboard

I think it's the nature of scratchboard artists to constantly look for new tools, fifty-fifty if their electric current set up of tools works perfectly well. For instance, I have done the majority of my work with #16 and #eleven Xacto blades, and they have served me very well. But, tiny steel points don't hold up forever, and eventually I have to reach for a new blade. Durability is probably the starting time reason a scratchboard artist would seek for a new tool that does essentially the same thing equally an Xacto bract.

Several years agone a friend of mine did me a favor and made me some scratch blades out of discarded cobalt deburring blades. To try them out he let me borrow me a pin vise for a few days and I idea they were great. Not long afterward that came the flurry of activity in my life that involved getting married and moving across the country. The little steel blades were the last thing on my listen at the time, and lay forgotten in a storage box until last summer. When I finally looked at the bits once more, I realized I didn't demand a pin vise. I could drill a 1/viii″ hole in a section of dowel and insert one of the bits. They are peachy tools. I included a photo in a postal service back in August.

Of course, I wondered if might desire to try grinding some of my own, and I couldn't retrieve what they were and what material they were made of (later establish out they were cobalt deburring blades). I thought they might be milling bits, but my searches turned upward some $.25 that didn't look like what I had. They actually looked much better. They were carbide steel engraving bits for CNC machines.

They look a lot like some of the fancy blades I've seen other scratchers use. They fit just right into the ane/8″ holes in my dowels. So, with fifty-fifty more excellent tools, I gauge it'south time to grit off some of my works in progress and put these tools to use.

This isn't a scratchboard postal service, and it's been fashion too long since I posted something about scratchboard. But, I idea this might be useful to someone.

I've been talking to my niece recently most perspective she is learning in school. I wanted to assistance her understand the concepts amend if I could. Later, my friend Ginger Gehres posted this photo on Facebook. I saw how the cars all lined upwards neatly at their tops, and it gave me an idea. Ginger gave me permission to use information technology for a tutorial on perspective.

The purpose of this tutorial is to show how objects can exist easily added to the limerick using knowledge given by the horizon line. It isn't a comprehensive tutorial, only the information is useful. It shows what can be done even without drawing a lot of vanishing points and lines. I'one thousand using Photoshop to add, clone, and resize objects, but it could be done old school with a photocopier and tracing paper.

My latest scratchboard is more illustrative than realistic.

For information technology I borrowed the basic design of an owl that my sister burned into a wooden spoon.

I wasn't trying to achieve realism, but I wanted to include at least a hint of information technology. I started out by doing some sketches

And so I started refining:

Once I settled on the blueprint, I transferred information technology to a 5×seven board with Chaco paper and cherry-red ballpoint pen:

For scratching I used a sharpened steel signal that a friend made for me. It works great and has stayed sharp.

Initially the leaves were style likewise bright and competed with the owls for attention. I inked over them with a Faber Castell PITT artist pen brush, waited for them to dry, and re-scratched them. Fifty-fifty then they seemed besides vivid:

So, I pushed them dorsum a picayune further with a diluted ink wash using Ampersand "black repair" that comes with their set up of scratchbord inks:

The stars came final to give a background that wouldn't compete with the owls. I'm feeling pretty adept about the result. At present I'one thousand trying to decide if I'm going to add some color.

I was going to take some work-in-progress shots of this, and and then got too focused on trying to finish. The reference comes from some huge lilies that were growing up the street a while back. The light coming through the pedals fabricated me call back it would be a practiced scratchboard subject. I would dearest to exist done, but I can't go any further tonight. And so far I have nearly 5 hours in the rendering, maybe 6. The board is a 5×seven Ampersand and I used an Olfa fine art knife for the scratching.

I've got some ideas for a groundwork, but I'm going to test them on another board first. Information technology might be cool to scratch a groundwork design and then knock it back a flake with the airbrush that's been sitting idle, waiting to exist experimented with. I hope to post the terminal by Saturday if all goes well.

UPDATE for Th night. Minor edits:

Wednesday night:

I institute merely a few minutes to experiment with the airbrush this evening. I showtime put straight water through the brush to get an thought of how it feels. When I was comfortable with the activeness, I emptied the h2o from the cup and wiped it out. I put several drops of Ampersand black ink (straight from the bottle) into the cup and started testing on a manila folder.

With virtually 20psi on the regulator I experimented with the MAC valve on the airbrush. Past turning a picayune thumbscrew on the bottom of the airbrush yous control the air pressure. Very handy.

As long every bit I was very patient I could go some fairly even gray patches. Edifice the ink up to solid black takes a while and it seemed I was prone to getting the expanse likewise moisture. Then the ink would start to spider out. I probably had too much pressure and was working too close.

Dialing the pressure level back gives a different blueprint. Instead of laying downwardly smoothly, the ink does a very fine spatter blueprint. I really need to learn better command of the pressure.

Just, even without being good at making solid blacks I can already see some very useful things the airbrush tin can do. Without much attempt I can add together a mist of grey to areas that may be overscratched, or that need to be pushed further back.

I used a little sample of Claybord when I got more than comfortable with the brush. I made one corner a pretty solid blackness and made a gradient fade into white. As I got impatient I ran into more problems with spidering. The clay surface is harder and doesn't absorb like the folder does. Airbrushing requires patience. My experiment looks pretty lame, but information technology was a very useful exercise.

When I scratched back into the airbrushed ink, I was pleased with the result. After a bit more practise and a better setup of my piece of work area I will kickoff working on something for real.

I need a ameliorate place to hang the airbrush

A manila folder worked well for an experimental surface. The Claybord sample is on the right.

With the exception of the compressor, this is my setup and then far. I got it all put together last night, and fixed a leak with teflon record and a tighter connection. I'g merely about ready to start putting ink through the brush.

Here is an explanation of my configuration from left to correct:

Air hose – 1/four″

It has one/4″ female connections. I'thousand not sure how long it is, merely this type of hose is easy to find at simply well-nigh whatsoever hardware store. I've had this for years so I'one thousand non sure what I paid for it.

male-to-male person adapter – 1/4″ – $iii

This is the type of item yous terminate up making an actress trip to the shop for. I didn't think I needed one until I concluded up needing one.

Quick disconnect – 1/4″ – $5

In case y'all are wondering how all of these fittings are 1/4″, it refers to the within diameter, not the outside. It consists of a plug and a socket. The quick disconnect isn't required, only information technology will make life easier when it comes time to put everything abroad. These are common items and can be found about the air hoses.

Air compressor regulator – $13

Because it'southward more than specialized to airbrushing, I wasn't confident in finding this item locally. Art and hobby stores sometimes have them, just I opted for Amazon. If you search "airbrush regulator" on Amazon you will meet what looks like the same design offered for different prices from different vendors. I picked one that had a iv.5-star rating. The main trunk has a command knob at the pinnacle to control air pressure. It has an arrow on the forepart to indicate the direction the air should flow. The pressure level guess is included, and attaches to the threaded pigsty on the forepart. The threaded holes on the sides of the regulator both accommodate ane/4″ air fittings. There are two 1/4″-to-1/eight″ connectors likewise included. You may not need either of them. I needed i to fit my airbrush hose.

Airbrush hose – $10

I chose a make called "Master Airbrush" considering the cost was right and information technology reviewed well on Amazon. Information technology comes with 1/eight″ connectors at the ends, regardless of what the picture on Amazon says. If I had purchased an offical Iwata airbrush hose I recollect I would have required a one/four″-to-1/4″ connector to attach it to the regulator.

Wet trap – $13

It's hard to have a brand new airbrush hose and snip it in half, but that is how you install the Paasche moisture trap. The wet trap comes with directions for installing information technology between the 2 sections of hose. In that location is a spiral that tin exist removed to allow any condensed water to escape.

Iwata HP-CH – $241

In that location were cheaper sources for this model of airbrush, merely I wanted to make sure I got information technology from a dealer I could trust. I ordered from Jerry'south Artarama. If I have any issues I know their store is about a half hour from my house.

Assembly

Assembly wasn't difficult. Before leaving the hardware store I picked up a roll of teflon tape. I wrapped the threads of each one/four″ connection with a few wraps of teflon tape. I had to re-practise the 1/4″-to-1/8″ connection at the regulator because I could hear it leaking. I wrapped it with some additional teflon tape and went a little tighter with the wrench. That fixed it. I used a couple of small adaptable wrenches to assemble everything for the 1/four″ fittings. The 1/8″ connections were as tight every bit I could make them past hand, just I didn't apply tools.

Everything is working at present as far as air is concerned. I took the time to see how the adjustments piece of work on the regulator. I also experimented with the MAC (micro air command?) valve that is congenital into the Iwata HP-CH. Instead of touching the regulator, adjustments can be fabricated quickly on the airbrush itself. At present that I have it put together and I'm comfortable with the controls for making adjustments, the next footstep is to shoot some ink through it. That volition be another post.

This yr the International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA) allowed non-members to enter their 3rd almanac juried exhibition. The show is hanging in the Page-Walker Arts & History Centre in Cary, North Carolina—less than 10 minutes from my house. It will be up until the middle of August.

A couple of ISSA members contacted me several months before the testify and encouraged me to enter. Their warm invitation and my shut proximity to the gallery helped overcome my tendency to procrastinate. I entered my artwork and looked forward to meeting the artists and attending the workshops associated with the opening of the testify. Previous to the show, several artists posted their entries to the Moisture Canvas site and I knew the caliber of the artists at the show was going to be high. I had no expectations of winning anything since my entries aren't based on photographic reference and my level of detail was courser than what I saw in most of the previews.

Friday at 6pm was the reception for the artists. Cami (my married woman) and I showed upwards and we were immediately impressed with the work nosotros saw. The quality was even ameliorate up close and the show was bigger than I had expected. Information technology took up the offset and second floors.

Ginger Gehres, the ISSA exhibition director, greeted united states of america and made us feel right at habitation. Cami and I walked around looking at all the art and talking almost the art we liked best. I bodacious her I would not exist receiving an award. At that place were likewise many groovy pieces for me to expect that.

There were enough of other artists milling near and I tried to put faces to names. At 6:30 everyone was called together and the artists were invited to stand at one cease of the room. Andrea Shouten, the ISSA president and Elaine Salazar from Ampersand gave out the awards. In that location was a primary division and an open division. As I predicted, all of the awards were given out and my name was not mentioned. That was until they announced the Special Venkat Award of Excellence. I heard "Church on Agave Colina" and idea it sounded very familiar. Suddenly, I realized in disbelief that it was mine. The award was presented by Krish Krishnan, the son of Venkateswaran K. Krishnan, the donor. I was very surprised and grateful to receive it. I enjoyed creating the artwork and it made me feel proficient to know that someone else liked it too.

After the awards I got to meet some of the artists. Afterward I met the group of artists at a eating house for dinner. It was nice to see their personalities and understand how much friendship they share. Saturday morning I attended a workshops where Rikki Fisher showed her process using a combination of airbrush and fiberglass brush. Elaine Salazar followed with a very informative history of the Ampersand company. She too answered questions about products. In the afternoon Sally Maxwell gave critiques for anyone who wanted to bring their artwork forward. I got to sit in on the ISSA general meeting and, subsequently, Cami and I met the group of artists once again for dinner. We had a great time. There were more than workshops today (Sun), but other obligations kept me from attending. I was sad to miss more of the fun.

I am very thankful for the kind invitations and all the encouragement I got to nourish this year's event. Next year'south evidence will be in Maryland and Cami and I are already talking about attending. I will need to join the ISSA in case they make up one's mind non to have the show open to non-members. Information technology's going to exist great.

Be warned. If y'all click on the picture it'due south a big file and may take a while.

Cristina Penescu's work is about as good as it gets in the genre of realistic scratchboard. I tin't recall of anyone who has a more consistent portfolio of excellent work.

What sets her work apart from well-nigh is her attention to composition and light. She isn't but taking a photo and doing her best to mimic it in scratchboard. Information technology'due south obvious she is carefully choosing the reference photograph and planning the way information technology will be presented in the composition, including the background. Her subjects look like they comfortably belong in the space she creates for them on the board. Her use of bright highlights and night shadows leads the centre on a visual journey through the strongest points of interest. And, her use of airbrush gives her work a greater tonal range than is generally possible with scratching lone.

I also like the fact that she is not afraid to bear witness her work at large sizes. Information technology is easy to admire someone'southward work when you can see information technology in such detail.

I had seen these videos earlier, and ran across them again as I was researching using an airbrush for scratchboard—something I haven't yet tried but have a strong desire to endeavor. I wanted to share them here with anyone else who might be interested.

Looking through online artist portfolios, information technology's common to see small-scale images that don't requite the viewer a full appreciation of the piece of work. In those situations I notice myself wondering why the artist chose to nowadays the work so small-scale.

To illustrate what I'1000 talking about, the same image is shown at two sizes below. The small-scale one is skilful enough for a thumbnail, but it doesn't have enough detail to requite more than a full general impression of the work. At the small size you don't see any of the scratch patterns in the background. The big size is much more interesting. Though not big enough to use for a high-resolution print, information technology shows plenty particular to requite the viewer a ameliorate appreciation of the original.

Postal service navigation

Share this post