Print Making

QUESTIONS

EmmaLi Tsai

1.     Describe the overall composition of your artwork (balance, unity, rhythm and movement).

The overall composition of my artwork turned out pretty well. I thought that I balanced the different contrasts nicely and carved most of the stray areas away. I did have some parts that should have been cut deeper to not catch any ink, but overall the lines turned out smoothly and clean. The only thing that I wish I could have fixed was the margins. They were a bit unclean with a tad bit of smudged ink.

  

2.     How did you add texture and contrast to your print? Is this important? Why?

I added texture and contrast to my print by using different types and widths of lines to define the edges. This created the effect of larger, more fluffy hairs, and smaller, more furry hairs. This is important because it adds depth to the picture to make it seem more real and not so flat. If you never added texture, the picture would just look like a sheet of paper with some ink on it. The texture and contrast adds the third dimension.

3.     Explain how you used positive and negative space to show your image.

By using positive and negative space, I defined my image. The positive and negative space helped show the image clearer and display the different types of lines that were inside of the print to create the depth. I was very careful to not add too much positive or negative space, doing that could result in the image looking like a big blob. When I added my leaves, I was careful to make sure that I added a dark, thick line to show the viewer that the two white spaces were different things.

4.     Describe the craftsmanship of your print. (How good the project is technically crafted)

The craftsmanship of my print was very tedious. I did my best trying to really make the lines clear and really cut them deep enough so that they did not catch the ink. I did have some areas that caught the ink when they were not supposed to, and some smudges on the margins. If I could change something, I would have made the lines deeper and more connected.

5.     Were you able to achieve depth by showing a foreground, middle ground and back- ground? Explain. Yes I was able to achieve depth. I added the leaves in the middle ground to help the viewer get the idea of actually being in the rain forest. I used the foreground to show the bird in front of the leaves, making it the closest to the reader in order to capture the different types of texture. For the background, I set the rest of the image and put in different trees and branches to complete the image.

6.     Explain your experience with Printmaking. What were the obstacles and advantages?

During the printmaking, I really had trouble with trying to plan the different negative and positive spaces. I didn't want to have black spaces touch black spaces, or white spaces touch white spaces. I also found it really confusing when I had white on white with the leaves and the sky, it really made me think about how to make it look good and correct. To not make the lines blend, I added one really dark line in between the two white spaces to define that they were two different things. Overall, I thought it was really fun and a very different way to make art that I've never really thought about before.

Critiques for the Print Sketch and the Chalk Mural

Questions:Chalk Mural

 

1. Explain your experience working on a team and executing your ideas for the mural.

Working on a team was pretty fun, I liked the social interaction with the other artists and having to put our heads together to figure out a final product. While making our ideas, we came up with many things to do, but choosing only one was when it got kind of difficult. In the end, we all compromised and decided on the roller coaster as our idea for our wall drawing.

 

2. Explain the importance of collaboration when working on a team.

When working on a team, you always want to be able to work well together. If  there was a conflict, it would have really separated the group and made us not work as well. Plus, we all need to agree on one thing and make sure that we see eye to eye. Collaboration gives less conflicts and helps us all come together to create something that we all love without many bumps along the way.

3.  How successful was this project? Explain how and why.

I thought that this project was somewhat successful. We did have a little bit of team conflict with some people being off task, but in the end it really came together and tuned out better than I thought that it would! If we were to have more time, we probably would have added more value to the grass and a little bit more depth to the sky, maybe making more rides to add some more background. This was all that we could achieve in the time span and I thought that it turned out pretty good.

4. Explain how you feel about creating artwork that others can interact with. Ex. Involving the whole school? 

I really liked it! I always love artwork like that that you can feel like you can just walk into the painting and interact with it. Its what makes artwork special. I've always wanted to work with chalk and walls too, so this was a great opportunity for me to expand my horizons and branch out from just paper and pencil! Also, it was pretty cool to be in the court yard after you get off the bus and seeing people interact with something that you took part in creating, putting it out there for everyone to see. It was pretty funny to see other people try to interact with the drawings and take pictures as well!

Questions: Print Sketch

1. Why is texture so important to have in your sketches?

Texture is very important to have in your sketches because it adds the sense of reality into your drawings. It also lets the person see the differences inbettween the  bark of a tree and a leaf! Use of textures help the drawing pop out of the page. For me, it helps me imagine what it would feel like touching the animal.

 

2. Why is it necessary for you to have several references of each animal and each background? Explain.

It is necessary because it gives you something to look at rather than pulling from the stored images inside your head. It helps you merge what you initially planned in with what the landscape and animal really look like. Plus, not adding references may become copying.

 

3. When you look at your sketches are you able to see which sketch is the strongest and will make the best print? How do you know this? 

Yes I do, in this one I think I did great in adding different types of textures to the tree, the leaf, and the bird. Compared to the other ones, this one has the best and more detailed background, and the bird is much easier to texturize rather than something mostly not hairy, like a giraffe. I really like this one!