More mylar drawings and sketches.

Sketches for some paintings/prints that will have translucent ladies wearing translucent hijabs.

Looking at this photo now, I think I need to just redraw the one on the right.

Pattern drawn on mylar for screen printing.

I should probably be working on geology homework instead of drawing on the cover for my stone.

It’s 6:47am and I am drawing a pattern on these canvases I painted instead of sleeping.

Oh look at me being clever and making larger than life, full body sketches for the prints due on Thursday morning. I have two more of these. 

Plus the dozens of monsters and boxes to print and assemble for litho and the thirty-some paper and wool jellyfish to assemble. Also for Thursday morning crits.

Ugh. Why do I keep doing this to myself?

Atticstring and I have been playing comment/ask me tag about Sharpie flats, so this will be an attempt at covering all the previous questions and all potential questions to the best of my knowledge on the subject. Hopefully this doesn’t come off as a really boring essay.

Sharpies are frequently used on aluminum and polyester plates, but hey guess what, they can be used on stones too! They produce solid flats and ideal for images that will have many translucent color areas. (Tonal images with Sharpie are possible, but that is a separate topic.) The greatest benefit of Sharpie is the speed for printing successive flats. No graining is necessary to draw a new Sharpie layer; the previous layer can washed out with varnish thinner and once the thinner has completely evaporated from the stone, it can be drawn on again.

Drawing on the Stone
Grain the stone as would normally be done for a crayon drawing. It is possible to get away with only graining the stone to 180, but this could cause problems when inking up later. Using a brand new black Sharpie, draw an even layer onto the stone. After it is completely dry, draw a second layer over the image.

Regular Sharpies, chisel tip, and Magnums can be used. Fine tip pens don’t produce an even coat, unless it is one of the double-sided Sharpies with a regular tip at one end and fine on the other. The felt nib is what helps lay down an even coat. Old Sharpies are unreliable and will require more layers in order to print well.

Deletions can be made using a razor, but ethyl alcohol and a small brush or q-tip is better. The etch won’t use any acid, so parts scraped out with a razor will have the tendency to grab ink and fill in during printing.

The First and Only Etch
When the drawing is finished, wait five minutes for the Sharpie layer to completely dry. Pour pure gum on to the stone and work it around for five minutes. Wipe off excess gum and buff it down to a good even layer with tarlatan. The stone only needs to rest for twenty minutes before printing.

Mixing Ink and Printing
Sharpie flats require a very stiff ink. If the flats are going to be translucent and layered, make sure to add Setswell and magnesium carbonate to the ink. If the ink is too loose, it may spread and get pushed into non-image areas on the stone during printing.

Wash off the gum coat and begin rolling up with ink with a rubber roller. Sharpie flats  take longer to ink up, so don’t get discouraged if it takes many proofs.

Preparing for the Next Flat
Under a fume hood or Nederman, completely wash the ink off of the stone with Lithotine and a rag. Using a new clean rag, wash off the Sharpie layer. It will take several passes to remove all of the Sharpie and a ghost image will remain. After the stone is completely dry, it is ready to be drawn on again.

Don’t rely on the lacquer thinner to remove the ink and Sharpie layers from the stone. It may appear that the ink is completely removed, but some traces of it will remain and can cause horrible scumming later.

Oh Sharpie flats, I love and loathe you all at once.

Just three or four more flats to go and I can start something new on this stone. I am super over this image, even though I like it quite a bit.