silk screen research

I feel that it is very important to understand the way silk screen printing was traditionally done in order to recreate the process. From my research, I learned really fun things about silk screening. I like the fact that silk screening is like a stencil and squeegee over the screen. I feel this is a fun process and you can do some interesting things with this process.

Silk screening was "originally used as a popular method to print expensive wall paper, printed on linen, silk and other fine fabrics." Then during the 20th century, silk screening became popular in fine arts and commercial arts. Commercial printing is usually printed on posters, t-shirts, hats, CDs, DVDs, ceramics, glass, paper, metals, woods, etc. The printing technique includes: 1) using a screen made of finely woven fabric (mesh) using silk (currently silk screens are made of manmade product such as nylon and polyester instead of silk). 2) Areas of the screen are blocked off with non-permeable material to make a stencil. It makes a negative of the image to be printed. Which means, the open areas of the stencil will be the places where the ink appears. 3) The screen is placed on paper or fabric. And then the ink is squeegeed on top of the screen. 


The stenciling techniques include: 1) the original image is created into a transparent overlay such as tracing paper. 2) A screen must be selected. The screen must be coated with emulsion and let to dry in the dark. Once dry, it's read to be exposed. 3) The overly is placed over the emulsion-coated screen, and then exposed with alight source. 4) Wash the screen off thoroughly. The areas of emulsion that were not exposed to light dissolve and wash away, leaving a negative stencil of the image on the mesh.


Silkscreening Materials:

Caviar beads

again a glue is printed in the shape of the design, to which small plastic beads are then applied – works well with solid block areas creating an interesting tactile surface.

Discharge inks

used to print lighter colours onto dark background fabrics, they work by removing the dye in the garment – this means they leave a much softer texture. They are less graphic in nature than plastisol inks, and exact colours are difficult to control, but especially good for distressed prints and underbasing on dark garments that are to be printed with additional layers of plastisol.

Expanding ink (puff)

an additive to plastisol inks which raises the print off the garment, creating a 3D feel.

Flocking

consists of a glue printed onto the fabric and then foil or flock (or other special effect) material is applied for a mirror finish or a velvet touch.

Four colour process or the CMYK color model

artwork is created and then separated into four colours (CMYK) which combine to create the full spectrum of colours needed for photographic prints. This means a large number of colours can be simulated using only 4 screens, reducing costs, time, and set-up. The inks are required to blend and are more translucent, meaning a compromise with vibrancy of colour.

Glitter/Shimmer

metallic flakes are suspended in the ink base to create this sparkle effect. Usually available in gold or silver but can be mixed to make most colours.

Gloss

a clear base laid over previously printed inks to create a shiny finish.

Metallic

similar to glitter, but smaller particles suspended in the ink. A glue is printed onto the fabric, then nanoscale fibers applied on it.

Mirrored silver

Another solvent based ink, but you can almost see your face in it.

Nylobond

a special ink additive for printing onto technical or waterproof fabrics.

Plastisol

the most common ink used in commercial garment decoration. Good colour opacity onto dark garments and clear graphic detail with, as the name suggests, a more plasticized texture. This print can be made softer with special additives or heavier by adding extra layers of ink. Plastisol inks require heat (approx. 150°C (300°F) for many inks) to cure the print.

PVC and Phthalate Free

relatively new breed of ink and printing with the benefits of plastisol but without the two main toxic components - soft feeling print.

Suede Ink

Suede is a milky coloured additive that is added to plastisol. With suede additive you can make any colour of plastisol have a suede feel. It is actually a puff blowing agent that does not bubble as much as regular puff ink. The directions vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but generally you can add up to 50% suede additive to your normal plastisol.

Water-Based inks

these penetrate the fabric more than the plastisol inks and create a much softer feel. Ideal for printing darker inks onto lighter coloured garments. Also useful for larger area prints where texture is important. Some inks require heat or an added catalyst to make the print permanent.

All in all, researching the way things are traditionally done helped me have more of a direction on what details I needed to add to create a more credible illustration with the qualities of cel animation technique.

silk screen research:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen_printing

http://www.reuels.com/reuels/Silk_Screen_Printing_Instructions.html

http://www.pneac.org/printprocesses/screen/

http://www.atlasscreensupply.com/screen_printing_supplies.htm

artists:
1) ANDY WARHOL: http://www.warhol.org/
                    
I really like Andy Warhol's artwork. He brought silk screen to life through pop culture. He used the silk screening method that soon became fine art. His work became popular and controversial. I appreciate how Andy Warhol was able to take a common everyday commercial item, such as campbell's soup, and turn it into a a piece of fine art. He was able to make such an ordinary object look beautiful by using and understanding the process of silk screening. Silk screening is a beautiful medium of art, and Andy was really able to use silk screening to its fullest potential. Here is a collection of his artwork: http://www.warhol.org/collection/art/

2) DOUG WEST: http://www.dougwestart.com/index.html

Doug West creates really beautiful silk screens. I love his work because he does silk screens of landscapes. He is able to capture and create the beauty of landscape in a way I have rarely seen before. I think it's really neat how he uses the technique of silk screen to produce such beautiful landscapes. Here is a collection of his work: http://www.dougwestart.com/gallery/galleryLE.html

3) DAVID HOCKNEY: http://www.denisbloch.com/showall.php?id=34

David Hockney is most known for his photo collages, but he did do some silk printing in his art career. I really like the simplicity of David Hockney's silk screen prints. He really worked well with composition, creating fun and playful works of art using silk screen as his medium. Here is one that I particularly like: http://denisbloch.com/pics/hockney__apples_pears_and_grapes.jpg

bedhead | photo 365

relief print | flowers

relief print research

I feel that it is very important to understand the way relief print was traditionally done in order to recreate the process. From my research, I learned things about relief print that I never knew before, such as, the fact that traditional text printing with movable type is also a print relief technique.

It was fun to learn about the process of the different processes used to make a relief print. Some of the different processes include: woodcut, metalcut, wood engraving, relief etching, linocut and some types of collography. I knew of the other techniques and how they were created, but one I wasn't familiar with was collography. Collography is " a relief print pulled from a 'plate' that is made by placing textured materials on a surface. Materials to make a collograph plate can include cardboard, paper, plastic bags, etc., which are placed on a surface then coated with a thin layer of protective sealant... The plate is made to enable relief printing processes. To achieve a variety of tones in a print one has to think about textured materials that will hold the ink for printing." This is cool to know because I can incorporate some type of texture into my digital relief print because it is a true technique used within relief print. 



relief print research:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relief_print

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collography

http://arts.jrank.org/pages/13632/print.html

artists:
1) Greg Ure: http://www.gregure.com/
                      
I really like the look of Greg Ure's artwork. I also particularly like his color harmonies. He has a variety of subjects that he paints that are all very interesting.

2) Leslie Peebles: http://www.lesliepeebles.com/


Leslie demonstrates beautiful line quality in her relief prints. I want to also create beautiful line quality in my digital relief print. 


3) Babette Katz: http://www.biddingtons.com/content/creativekatz.html

I like Babette Katz philosophy and that he uses only black and white for his relief prints. He says, "For me, making art has to do with the heart, the hands and the materials. Black and white linoleum cut, with its limited palette, gives me the opportunity to work for conciseness, economy and expressive force."

cel animation || jinx

cel animation research

I feel that it is very important to understand the way cel animation was traditionally done in order to recreate the process. From my research, I learned things about cel animation that I never knew before, such as, the different types of tools used, the history of it, the tedious process, etc.

It was fun to learn about the process of how all of my favorite cartoons growing up were created. I can't believe how many hours went into one 30 min. cartoon show. Some of this time consuming process includes: creating the storyboard, voice recording, animatics, design and timing, layout, animation, background, etc. The most tedious of all the process is during the animation stage. During this stage, animators will begin drawings sequences of animation on sheets of paper. They will use colored pencils to create one "frame" at a time. Each frame must match exactly what is going on in the soundtrack at the moment the frame will appear. Animators will have to re-do a scene of animation before it's every approved. These animations were inked by hand tracing the outlines of the artwork using different colors. The next step was cel overlay, which was when "the background was first painted as shapes and figures in flat colors, containing rather few details. Next a cel with detailed black lines was laid directly over it, each line drawn to add more information to the underlaying shape or figure, giving the background the complexity it needed." Doing this research helped me a lot when it came time for me to create an animation cel because I had a more definite grasp on what types of elements I needed to incorporate into my illustration. 

All in all, researching the way things are traditionally done helped me have more of a direction on what details I needed to add to create a more credible illustration with the qualities of cel animation technique.

cel animation research:

http://animatedtv.about.com/od/thesimpsonsfaq/a/celanimation.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_animation

http://www.digitalmediafx.com/Features/animationhistory.html

http://www.justdisney.com/animation/animation.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_5021440_paint-animation-cel.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_5063665_identify-original-animation-production-cel.html

http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Traditional_animation

artists:
1) CHUCK JONES: http://www.chuckjones.com/
                      
Chuck Jones was an animator for over 60 years, making more than 300 animated films He won 3 Oscars as director, an honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, and an honorary life membership from the Directors Guild of America. I admire how dedicated Chuck Jones was to his work. He was the creator of the classic famous Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Marvin Martian, Pepe le Pew, Michigan J. Frog, etc. And as one of my all time favorite Christmastime movie, Chuck Jones directed and wrote the screenplay for "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas." I admire the dedication and the creative mind of Chuck Jones bringing to life so many memorable and classic animation cartoon characters. http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=chuck%20jones&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1490&bih=891

2) WALT DISNEY: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_disney

Walt Disney is " undoubtedly the most influential cartoon producer who had great vision and the ability to push the quality of drawn animation to almost impossible heights, bringing to life cartoon characters that have iconic status in modern culture." What I admire about Walt Disney, is his great imagination and vision and then having the ability to execute his vision to a level no one has achieved as well as Walt Disney has. I grew up watching all of the disney cartoons, and couldn't imagine my childhood without them. I think Walt Disney gives artists a great hope that if we have enough imagination and a strong vision, we can create immeasurable heights. http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=walt%20disney&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1490&bih=891

3) WINSOR McCAY: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winsor_McCay

Winsor McCay is the pioneer of early animated films and has influenced generations of artists including William Joyce, Bill Watterson, Chris Ware, etc. One of his best known creations is "Little Nemo in Slumberland,"  a newspaper comic strip. I love the style of Winsor McCay. It's charming, simple, and unique. He is a great influential artist still to this day.

technical illustration 2 || the first flying machine

technical illustration || the house of professor dubois

technical illustration research

I feel that it is very important to understand the way technical illustration is traditionally done in order to recreate the process. From my research, I learned things about technical illustration that I never knew before, such as, the different types of tools used, why it's important, different symbols used to indicate certain details and measurements about the illustration, etc.

Doing this research helped me a lot when it came time for me to create a technical illustration because I had a more definite grasp on what types of elements I needed to incorporate into my illustration. For example, I learned that different weights of line are used in certain parts of the illustration. The object lines are solid heavy lines, usually .7mm to .9mm. These lines define the outline of the shape. The section lines are drawn at angles, normally 45, 30, or 60 degrees to show a feature more clearly. A center line is .3mm to .5mm line that alternates between short and long dashes. This information helped me to understand that there are a variety of different line weights among straight lines, angles and dashed lines.

I also found it helpful to understand the importance of technical illustration and why it is used. Technical illustration is used for a visual aid to "concisely and clearly communicate all needed specifications to transform an idea into physical form (wikipedia..com) It's valuable to understand why technical illustrators do what they do because it shows what type of things they are illustrating and for what purpose.

All in all, researching the way things are traditionally done helped me have more of a direction on what details I needed to add to create a more credible technical illustration.

technical illustration research:
http://www.ehow.com/list_5810766_types-lines-technical-drawing.html

http://www.ehow.com/list_6570934_tools-used-technical-drawings_.html

http://www.yourdictionary.com/dictionary-articles/Definition-of-Technical-Drawing.html

http://www.ideabuyer.com/news/the-importance-of-technical-drawings/



artists:
1) KEVIN HUSLEY: http://www.khulsey.com/
                        http://www.khulsey.com/bio.html

I particularly like Kevin Husley's technical illustration because he does it more as an art form. For example in one of his illustrations (http://www.khulsey.com/suspension.html) he drew a neat technical illustration but than added other elements of design to make it look more like art rather than a details drawing of an object. I also like the fact that he works in all different types of mediums to create his technical illustrations. He using anything from pencils to oil paints. An example of one of his illustrations done in oil painting: http://www.khulsey.com/lactc.html. Kevin Husley is someone who creates beautiful technical illustration because of the different types of medium used and by designing them more as an art form.

2) JAMES PROVOST: http://jamesprovost.com/technical-illustration/

I enjoy James Provost's work because of his ideology which is his idea of "building information modeling is a virtual system that takes the kinks out of the real world. This illustration (http://jamesprovost.com/technical-illustration/in-living-color/) demonstrates the design flexibility made possible by a new generation CAD software, which gives architects the ability to manage all aspects from concept to construction" I think it's neat how James allows his work to be more conceptually based and than turn it into a reality.

3) LEANNE KROLL: http://www.leannekroll.com/

I like Leanne Kroll's technical illustrations because she uses her technical illustration skills to create a political statement. For example, in one of her illustrations (http://leannekroll.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/thesise.jpg) she demonstrates and explains that her illustration is, "a political statement of the current view with alternative fuel technologies, in particular electric vehicles and the factors that play into where we stand as a society. These include government, car manufactures, gas companies, coal manufacturing plants and consumers. We all play apart in what is happening now and where our environment is headed in the future." I think it's neat how she used her technical skill to create a political statement on an issue she cares very much about.