Etchings

These are the two etchings i produced for my last Reprographics project. They are both based on the idea of aging, and the positives and negatives of the process.

The first image worked out much better than the second. The first one has less fine lines which were eaten away less in the acid bath so the final print turned out much better and tidier. I was quite suprised how well the dark areas did come out as i was told that i had such a large block of dark area, that it might just turn out grey, but it actually turned out very dark. I think this image is quite successful.

The second image on the other hand did not come out as well. It had much finer lines in the facial features due to it being smaller and more detailed, and when left in the acid bath, the lines all merged together and resulted in much less detail than was previously etched in. While it was not as successful as the first, i still feel it looks okay and was worthy of uploading.

Positive and Negative

Some more sketches for my etchings based on ideas of positives and negatives. These two both also concentrate on the idea of aging as i seemed to notice the age of the older generation of my family much more over christmas, as it was a stark contrast to all the young students i have been surrounded by since moving to Manchester.

The first image explores negative ideas of aging. I constantly hear people moaning about how they do not want to get older, and get more wrinkles etc. And this image was basically just a comment on that. The balding old wrinkled man tries to illustrate what most people are scared of becoming. All the aesthetic issues of aging that people seem to act negatively towards.

The second image on the other hand tries show a more positive attitude towards aging: The idea that ou're old appearance doesnt count for everything, and while you can look old, you can still embrace and act young and fit. The idea of an old man jumping up and down in puddles like a small child was really heart warming in my opinion. It shows how ever old you are, you can still be as innocent and fun loving if you just allow yourself to be, and dont get hung up on all the negative things in life. The addition of colour to the second image also helps develop this concept of young excitement and vibrancy, partiocularly if you contrast this to the first image.

Print ideas

I've been working on a printmaking project lately, which will hopefully result in two final etchings based on the theme of Positive and negative. These are just two sketched ideas based on the theme which i particularly like. One shows a more self confident positive attitude towards body image in the fashion industry, while the other shows the exact opposite. However, when really thinking about it, both could be deemed as a negative way of thinking. Over confident or lacking in confidence. While they are exact opposites, which one is positive and negative?

The first images uses more feminine colours to really develop the idea of confident femininity. The flowers, and colouring of the lips really help to pick this out.

Meanwhile, the second images juxtoposes the feminine pink
pallette, with a putrid bile green. This vivid colour is
very different to the softer pinks in the first image and matches the vivid subject matter well.

Both drawings are done in Pilot pen, and then edited using photoshop. They are just developments of ideas so far.