Art Making: Drawing and Painting

Origins of Drawing
Drawing is a medium that was first used on cave walls as early as 10,000 b.c., and then by the Egyptians starting in 3,000 b.c. In the Middle Ages, drawings were mostly used to prepare for paintings. In the Renaissance era, drawing became a more widely used art form. This is partly due to the availability of paper and the fact that drawing became the foundation for other art forms. Art students during the Renaissance were first taught to draw before painting and sculpting. Drawing was used to study and record nature and anatomy. The artists used pen and ink, as well as black and red charcoal.
In the baroque period, drawings were more free-flowing and less exact than those in the Renaissance era. In the 1600s, Rembrandt used pen lines to create expressive drawings. In the 1800s, pencils were first manufactured, and they became a widely used drawing tool.

History and Use of Drawing
Drawing was originally used to express ideas and scenes in cave paintings. As artists and materials became more refined, drawing was primarily used as a preliminary step before starting a painting. In the Middle Ages, drawings were mainly completed on animal skins, wood, wax, or slate.
Artists would keep records of their sketches to use for artwork instead of working from live models. Some artists in the Middle Ages would complete finished drawings as illuminations for manuscripts.
During the Renaissance, when paper became more readily available, artists would learn to draw before painting or sculpting. Drawing was still considered more of a preliminary step before using other media. When large-scale paintings were created, such as in the Sistine Chapel, many preparatory drawings were created to use for the final paintings. In the 1500s in northern Europe, artists began creating drawings as finished works rather than as preparatory materials. Albrecht Dürer and Hans Holbein the Younger created detailed drawings that could stand alone as artworks. In the 1600s, Rembrandt created expressive drawings and Dutch artists took their sketchbooks into the fields to capture scenes to paint from later. Artists continued to create sketches prior to finished artworks, but drawing became an accepted medium for a final artwork.

Historic Drawing Media
Charcoal is an early drawing material made from slowly burned wood. Charcoal was used for cave drawings, when burnt sticks were rubbed on cave walls.
Red chalk is made from iron oxide pigment and refined clay. It was popular in the 16th and 17th centuries, and Leonardo da Vinci used it for many sketches. Black chalk is carbonaceous shale, and it is softer than red chalk. It was used in 15th-century Italy for underdrawings for ink or metalpoint artwork. Albrecht Dürer and Anthony van Dyck used black chalk for portraits. White chalk is calcium carbonate or soapstone, and it is used for highlights on drawings.
Conté crayons were developed in the early 1800s. They are made in red, black, and white. They are harder than chalk and produce smoother lines.
Graphite is a form of carbon, and it was first discovered in the 1500s. It was later cut into strips and encased in wood for pencils.
Ink is a liquid pigment that can be used with a pen or a brush. It was also commonly used for writing. Pens were first made with bird feathers (quills) and reeds, and later they were created with metal tips.

Pencils and Charcoal
Pencils are made from graphite encased in wood. They are available in a range of hardnesses, from 10H to 10B. A 10H pencil has the hardest lead, and it will stay the sharpest and leave the lightest mark on the paper. A 10B pencil has the softest lead, and it will wear down quickly, leaving the darkest mark on the paper. In the middle are F and HB, which are a medium hardness and darkness.
Charcoal is a lightweight carbon that can be found in stick form or pencil form. Compressed charcoal is a hard charcoal stick, whereas vine charcoal is a thin, delicate stick. Charcoal also comes in different hardnesses, although it is usually just in the B (soft) range. A higher number before the B indicates a softer charcoal.
Charcoal and pencil can be used for sketching and drawing, but pencil will generally give the opportunity for greater detail, since there are harder graphites available. Charcoal is often used for large-gesture drawings and putting ideas onto a canvas prior to painting.

Other Tools for Drawing
In addition to materials used to draw with, there are several tools used along with drawing media. A tortillon is a piece of paper wrapped up tightly, ending in a point, that can be used to blend pencil and charcoal drawings. A maulstick, or mahlstick, is a stick with a padded head used to rest and support your hand to keep it steady while drawing or painting.
Various erasers are used for drawing: A kneaded rubber eraser is one that can be manipulated and rolled into smaller sizes to erase small areas, and it will not leave eraser crumbs behind. A gum eraser is yellowish and will crumble quickly. It is best for larger areas. A pink eraser is firmer and more precise, but it will still leave crumbs on the paper. A large brush can be used to gently brush the eraser bits off of the paper. A dry cleaning pad is a fabric bag filled with pieces of eraser that can be used to clean up fingerprints, smudges, and dust from larger areas of paper.

Drawing Surfaces
A commonly used drawing surface used in the Middle Ages was parchment, which was created from animal skin. Paper was first created in a.d. 105 in China, but it wasn't widely used as a drawing material until it was produced more quickly and more inexpensively in the 1800s.
Paper comes in hot-pressed and cold-pressed surfaces.
Hot-pressed paper will be smooth, whereas cold-pressed paper will have a texture. Sketch paper is thinner than drawing paper, which is made to be more permanent. Newsprint is the kind of thin paper that newspaper is printed on, and it is used for sketching. Illustration board is a thicker cardboard with a hot-pressed or cold-pressed white surface. Bristol board is thicker than drawing paper, and it also comes in hot- or cold-pressed. A smooth surface will allow for greater detail and better control of pencil marks, whereas a rough surface is better suited for looser drawing and sketching or for a drawing with a rough texture.
Paper considered archival will be labeled as acid-free, and it should not yellow and deteriorate over time. Acid-free paper should be used for finished drawings, whereas any paper, including sketch paper and newsprint, can be used for preliminary sketches.

Contour and Blind Contour
A contour drawing seeks to define the outline of an object, and it can contain as much or as little detail as the artist desires.
This technique uses only lines to delineate the outer edges of the subject; it does not include any shading or other values in the drawing. For a contour drawing, the artist will study the subject and show the proportions and volume, rather than focusing on values or fine details. This type of drawing can be used to quickly capture a subject or scene.
A blind contour drawing is used by an artist to practice sketching and perception. To create a blind contour drawing, the artist will look directly at the subject and draw a contour without looking back at their paper. They may occasionally glance at the paper to reorient their drawing tool, but generally will keep their focus on the subject. Rather than being used to capture a subject or scene, this is typically reserved as a drawing exercise to help strengthen the artist's hand-eye coordination.

Gesture and Perspective Drawing
Gesture drawing is a technique used to quickly capture the action and form of a model or subject. A gesture drawing can be completed in as little as 30 to 60 seconds. The artist uses loose lines to simplify and capture the essence of the subject. These drawings are generally done to study and capture different poses of the human figure. Gesture drawings can help an artist choose a pose to use for a more detailed study of the figure.
Perspective drawing is a drawing technique that shows spatial relationships and the illusion of space on a flat surface. An artist can portray a three-dimensional scene on a two-dimensional drawing. One-point perspective shows the objects in the scene receding to one point in the horizon, as shown in the image. Two-point perspective has the scene receding into two points on the horizon. These points along the horizon where the objects disappear to in the distance are called vanishing points.


Hatching and Crosshatching Hatching is a technique that uses closely placed parallel lines to create shading and tones. Crosshatching is when hatching is used perpendicular to itself, creating heavier shades and tones. In this example from Albrecht Dürer, <i>The Penitent</i> (1510), he uses hatching heavily throughout the drawing. Notice how the lines are closer together to make darker values and how the lines follow the contours of the objects. On flat walls they are straight, and on the curtains, they follow the curves.<br> Using the lines to emphasize the forms in the artwork helps to create a sense of volume for the viewer.<br> Dürer uses crosshatching in the heavier shaded areas of the drawing. In the darkest areas, the hatched patterns cross each other to create crosshatching. Again, the lines are closer together where the values are the darkest. Although this example is a woodcut, these techniques are also used in the printmaking techniques of engraving and etching, as well as drawing.

Shading
Shading adds depth and form to an artwork. An object with accurate shading can appear three-dimensional. To create this illusion with pencils, the artist needs to vary pressure, use pencils of appropriate hardnesses, and understand where the shadows and highlights should be placed.
When light hits the object, it creates many different values. The area closest to the light source will have a highlight, which is the whitest part of the drawing. This can be created by leaving that part white or by erasing afterward. As the object gets farther from the light source, it will be gradually shaded darker. A smooth gradation can be accomplished with careful control of the pencil or by using a blending tool, or tortillon, to blend the graphite. If the object is on a light surface, that surface can create a reflection toward the bottom of the object. The object will also cast a shadow on the surface opposite the light source. Careful observation of the object, as well as the values and shadows, will help the artist create a realistic rendering.

Critiquing Drawings
When critiquing a drawing as a finished artwork, you can describe, analyze, interpret, and judge it. Begin by describing the visual facts - what you see in the drawing. Is it representational? What kinds of shapes, lines, or textures do you see? Next, begin analyzing the artwork.
Recognize the elements of art and how they are arranged (the principles of design). Do you see shapes arranged in a pattern? Where is the emphasis in the drawing? How are the lines used, and where do they lead your eye? Next, interpret the artwork, or use what you have learned so far to decide what the artist is trying to say. What is the mood of the artwork? What does the subject matter tell you? Why do you think the artist decided to portray it in this way?
After completing these steps, you can begin to make your own judgement of the artwork. Did the artist successfully use the principles of design to organize the elements of art? Does the artist successfully convey the feelings, mood, and ideas they were aiming for? Do you see ways that the artwork can be improved?
Following these steps will give you a way to thoroughly and objectively critique a drawing and recognize the successes and failures within it.

Creativity in Drawing and Sketching
Drawing and sketching are commonly used to elicit creativity and refine ideas. A sketch pad and pencil or pen are easily portable and can be used to quickly jot down ideas or capture a form or scene to be added to a later artwork. Drawings can be completed quickly and started and stopped easily, unlike paintings, which require preparation, more materials, and drying time. A. artist can gather ideas in a sketch book and then look back at them later to think further and get more ideas from them. An artist can also combine their ideas and sketches into a bigger artwork. They can experiment with different pencils, line widths, and techniques to find the ones that work best for them or what will work best for a particular artwork. An artist can observe the world around them and draw what they see and then add those common items into imaginary scenes or draw from the imagination altogether to create new, inventive scenes. Through sketching and experimentation, an artist can prepare their ideas and techniques for a well-planned final artwork that will showcase their creativity.

Oil Painting
Oil painting was developed as a fine art painting medium in the 15th century in northern Europe, and Jan van Eyck is credited with being the first to use oil paint on wood panels. Toward the end of the 15th century, artists began painting on canvas instead of wood panels. The popularity of painting on canvas grew because it was cheaper, easier to transport, and easier to create larger artworks. The canvas was coated with a layer of animal glue and then a layer of lead white paint prior to painting.
Oil paint is made from a pigment suspended in a drying oil.
The master painters' apprentices were in charge of mixing and preparing the oil paints. In the late 18th century, oil paints started to be manufactured so they could be purchased.
The pigments and paints used today are more lightfast and durable than the oil paints used in the past. Many times, colors have faded or oxidized due to exposure to light and air, and older paintings do not look as they were intended. One example is Van Gogh's Sunflowers
(1880s), in which he used a chrome yellow pigment that has turned brown over time.


Watercolor
Watercolor has been used for cave paintings and manuscript illustrations, but it was first widely used as a fine art medium during the Renaissance. Albrecht Dürer was one of the earliest watercolor painters, as seen in The Hare (1502). During the baroque period, watercolors were used for sketching and cartoons. In addition to fine art, Renaissance artists used watercolors for botanical illustrations. In the 19th century, John Audubon used watercolors for his well-known bird illustrations.
Watercolor is created by adding pigment to a gum arabic binder. It can be found in a dry cake form, which needs to be wet with water, or in a tube. Watercolor brushes are generally soft and made with natural (sable, squirrel) or synthetic hairs, and they have a shorter handle than oil and acrylic brushes. Watercolors are transparent, meaning they can be layered upon each other and the color underneath and white paper will show through. The most common surface for watercolor painting is paper, which comes in hot-press (smooth) and cold-press
(rough) finishes.


Egg Tempera
Egg tempera was a popular painting medium until after 1500, when oil painting became widely used instead. Traditional egg tempera paint is created by adding pigment to egg yolk, which is used as a water-soluble binder. White wine, vinegar, or water can be added in various proportions to keep the dried paint from cracking. When the yolk is exposed to air, it begins to dry, so the artist continually adds water to keep the consistency correct for painting.
Egg tempera paint dries very quickly, so it is applied in thin, transparent layers and usually with short brushstrokes. The technique of crosshatching can be used to layer the colors. Unlike oil paintings, tempera paints have survived over history in much the same condition as they were intended. In the 20th century, some artists began using tempera again, such as Andrew Wyeth, Thomas Hart Benton, and Jacob Lawrence.
Egg tempera is painted onto stiff surfaces such as wood panels or Masonite because a flexible surface will allow it to crack and flake off the support.

Gouache
Gouache is an opaque medium with characteristics similar to watercolor. It is traditionally created with gum arabic as the binder, but it also has a filler added to make the paint opaque. Like watercolor, dried gouache can be rewet and reworked. It dries to a matte finish, and it is usually used on watercolor paper or illustration board. With a smooth hot-press surface, an artist can create great detail with gouache.
Gouache is commonly used for graphic arts including illustrations, comics, and posters. It has also been used in animation.
The term gouache was first used in France in the 18th century to refer to opaque watercolor, but the medium and techniques were used prior to this - as early as the 9th century in Persia.
Gouache is now manufactured as watercolor type and a newer acrylic type. The acrylic gouache is water resistant once it's dry, and it cannot be rewet. It differs from acrylic paint in that it dries to a matte finish and can be worked with for slightly longer.

Common Painting Tools
Paintbrushes used for oils and acrylics generally have a longer handle than do watercolor brushes. Watercolor brushes have soft natural or synthetic hairs, whereas acrylic and oil brushes have stiffer natural or synthetic hairs, including hog bristles. Whereas watercolors and acrylics are water soluble and the brushes can be cleaned with soap and water, oil brushes will need to be cleaned with a paint thinner solvent.
Drying oils, such as linseed and poppy oil, can be added to oil paints to decrease drying times and thin the consistency. There are many types of media for acrylic paints that will decrease the drying time or change the texture to thicker or thinner.
Primer is a base for painting, and it is commonly used with oil and acrylic painting. A commonly used primer is called gesso, which is essentially a water-based white paint mixture used to prepare the support.
For watercolors, a masking fluid will cover areas of the paper that are needed to stay white for highlights. After the watercolor painting is finished, the masking fluid can be removed, revealing the white paper.
All paints will benefit from the use of a palette. A palette can be a basic piece of wood or Masonite, or it can be a more involved structure with divots for each color. A palette is used to organize and mix colors for a painting. The selection of colors and organization is up to the individual artist.

Oil and Water-Based Paints
With advances in acrylic paints, an artist can now get similar finished products to that of oil paints, but there are still differences in the media and processes. Oil paint allows for a much longer working time than acrylic. Oil paint will stay workable on the palette for four to eight hours, whereas acrylic paint can dry in less than an hour. A finished oil painting can take six months or more before it is considered dry. The oil paint on the canvas will stay workable to allow for more blending, whereas acrylic dries more quickly and does not lend itself to as much blending.
Acrylics turn into a kind of plastic when they dry, so if they dry in the paintbrush, it can be difficult to impossible to clean the brush. Watercolors can be rewet and washed out of the brush at any time, and oil paints can be soaked and removed with paint thinners.
Acrylic can be used as a base for oil paintings, but it cannot be painted on top of oils. When painting with oils, it is important to remember the rule 'fat over lean.' this means the artist should build increasingly flexible layers on top of each other. The increased flexibility is accomplished by adding an oil medium to the paint and using less solvent.

Painting Surfaces
Wood has been used as a support for oil and acrylic painting for centuries. It is rigid and minimizes any flexing or cracking of the paint. Wood should be primed before painting on it to seal the surface and also to make it smoother. For the smoothest surface, layers of gesso can be applied, let dry, and sanded between applications.
Paper is used for watercolor or acrylic, but the oil from oil paints will break paper down, so it is not well suited for oil painting. Canvas has been the most popular surface for oil paints since the 17th century, and it is often used for acrylics, too. Canvas boards are now used, which are made from canvas stretched over rigid cardboard and preprimed.
Paper for watercolors, acrylics, and gouache is usually thick to accommodate the amount of paint and water used. Watercolor paper needs to be stretched so that it does not warp after use. Some watercolor pads come with glue around the edges to prevent this warping; otherwise, it will need to be taped to a surface on four sides, then wet and let dry to prepare the paper.

Underpainting and Glazing
Underpainting is a technique used for oil and acrylic painting to create a base for a finished painting. An artist can use the underpainting to lay out the highlights and shadows for their artwork.
Underpainting can be used to layer and build up rich color, and it serves as a foundation to establish the tones throughout the artwork. An underpainting for oil can be done in acrylic so it will dry quickly or with thinned oil paint. A tonal underpainting is done with one color of paint, just to establish the layout and tones before beginning the painting.
Glazing is a technique used with oil paints to layer transparent colors over a dried opaque color. Each layer is allowed to dry before another transparent layer is painted on top. The colors interact and visually blend without being physically blended on the palette. Glazing can be used to create skin tones and other complex colors that would be difficult to create otherwise. Some colors are naturally more transparent than others, so the artist needs to know the qualities of the paint and whether to add a medium to increase the transparency.

Dry Brush and Sgraffito
Dry brush is a technique used with water-based and oil-based paints. For acrylic and watercolor painting, the brush is loaded with paint after the water is squeezed or blotted out of it. With oil painting, the brush is loaded with paint after the oil or medium is squeezed or blotted from the brush. Dry brushing creates a scratchy-looking texture on the surface, and the brushstrokes will be evident. This can be used to add texture to a painting, including fur or grass, or it can be used for emphasis and contrast to a smoother area.
Sgraffito is a technique of scratching through a layer of paint to reveal the layer or surface underneath. Sgraffito can be accomplished with a palette knife, the handle end of a paintbrush, or even a stick. This can also be done with only one layer of paint, with the artist scratching through the wet paint and revealing the canvas underneath.

Wet-On-Wet and Wash
Wet-on-wet is a watercolor technique in which the artist paints onto already-wet paper. This will cause the colors to blend and bleed into each other. This technique takes practice because the wetness of the paper, the color already on the paper, the amount of water on the brush, and the color on the brush will all affect the final product. Experience will help the artist know what will happen when they add wet watercolor onto already-wet paper and how the colors will react with each other.
A wash is a technique of adding a large area of color to a watercolor painting. A flat wash is a large area of one color, and a graded wash goes from one color gradually to white or another color. It is easiest to control the wash on dry paper instead of already-wet paper. A large, flat watercolor brush is used to apply the mixture of paint and water. As paint is applied to the paper, it will begin drying; therefore, time is a critical factor to consider in order to achieve an even application of color.

Plein Air and Alla Prima
Plein air is a painting technique that entails painting outdoors. This technique increased in popularity in the 1840s when paint became available in tubes, which is more convenient for travel. The box easel, or field easel, was developed around this time; it is a box that the artist can use to carry their painting materials, and it opens up into an easel. Claude Monet often painted en plein air (French for 'outdoors'), using the natural light to capture scenes at specific times of the day. This can be done with any painting medium, including watercolors that can be found in small, portable boxes for this purpose.
Alla prima is a painting technique that entails painting wet oil paint onto wet oil layers that have not been allowed to dry.
This can also be called direct painting or wet-on-wet. An alla prima painting can be completed in one sitting, unlike an oil painting with multiple layers of glazing, which requires time to dry between layers. Alla prima can create a spontaneous and fresh look in the artwork.

Trompe-l'oeil
Trompe l'oeil is a painting technique that means 'to deceive the eye' in French. A trompe l'oeil painting is meant to depict objects in a realistic way to produce the optical illusion that the objects exist in three dimensions. This phrase was first used in the baroque period, but the actual technique was used earlier in Greek and Roman murals.
During the Renaissance, frescoed ceiling paintings were created that used foreshortening and realistic depictions to create the illusion of more space above the viewer. This was called di sotto in sù, which means 'from below, upward' in Italian.
This painting from 1675 by Gysbrechts is an example of trompe l'oeil. The artist depicted objects piled and scattered on a wood surface, and he used realistic colors, proportions, and shadows to achieve a three-dimensional effect. Even the wood surface is carefully and realistically portrayed. This technique requires a great deal of attention to detail as well as a deep understanding of color mixing and oil media by the artist.


Acrylic Paint
Acrylic paint has only been in use since the 1940s, and it has provided an alternative to using oil paints. Acrylic paint has a much quicker drying time than oils, and the finished surface has a greater degree of flexibility, allowing it to be painted on more surfaces with fewer considerations than oils.
Acrylics do not require the use of solvents for thinning or cleaning up the paint. They are water soluble and clean up with water. As a water-based media, more media can be layered on top of acrylics than on oils, making it more versatile for collage art. Acrylics can be used on more surfaces and supports, including cardboard and paper, that are not suitable for oil paints because oil paints will break certain supports down. With a 15- to 20-minute drying time for each layer, acrylic layers can be completed more quickly than can those in an oil painting.
Acrylic paints were first developed for practical applications such as house painting, but when Andy Warhol began using acrylics in his paintings, including Campbell's Soup Cans, they gained more recognition as an artistic medium. Other notable artists who used acrylics are
Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, and Roy Lichtenstein.

Impasto Technique
Impasto is a painting technique in which the paint is laid onto the surface very thickly with a brush or palette knife. With this technique, the brushstrokes are usually very visible, and they can even become purposeful lines that lead the viewer's eye throughout the artwork. When using this technique, the artist can control how light hits and reflects off of the paint surface. It can make the painting appear three-dimensional, and it can also give the painting texture.
In Vincent van Gogh's painting Wheatfield with Crows (1890), he uses this technique, laying the paint on thickly with visible brushstrokes. The brushstrokes create lines throughout the painting, and the lines of the brown path lead the viewer's eye to the middle of the artwork. His use of brushstrokes also creates a sense of movement in his works. The dark blues and bold strokes in the sky suggest stormy and turbulent weather. The brushstrokes throughout the wheat field lean to the side and also suggest wind and storms.


Perspective in Paint
Prior to the Renaissance, artists were aware of the varying sizes of elements related to being close or far away, but Renaissance artist
Filippo Brunelleschi is credited with discovering geometric perspective in 1413. After this discovery, artists began to use vanishing points and horizon lines to compose their artwork. Decades after Brunelleschi's discovery, Leon Battista Alberti wrote a description of how to properly use perspective.
This image, The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, shows the use of one-point perspective. This work was completed between 1495–1496. The lines in this painting converge to one vanishing point in the center of the painting. This serves to draw the focus to the central figure in the painting. Da Vinci's use of perspective masterfully showcases the relatively new technique, gives an architecturally correct feel to the room, and serves as a method of compositional emphasis in the artwork. Due to the discovery of perspective, artists were subsequently able to portray architecture and other scenes with greater accuracy.


Historical Use of Apprenticeship

An apprentice was someone who learned to be an artist by working under a master artist. In the medieval era, a painter was thought of as a tradesman, and their client would dictate what they would create.
The master painter would use helpers, or apprentices, to complete the work. The apprenticeship system began in the medieval era, and it continued through the Renaissance, when a painter was considered an artist. A. apprentice would begin with menial tasks such as cleaning paintbrushes and grinding pigments for the master artist. A student would practice drawing by copying works, and then he or she could move on to painting. The apprentices would paint backgrounds and were trained to work in the style of the master artist. The master artist might only paint the figures or faces in an artwork, or the apprentices could complete the entire work in the master's style. The master's signature on a work did not indicate that they completed a certain amount of the work, but rather that it was up to their standards. After a certain amount of years as an apprentice, an apprentice could reach journeyman status and open their own shop.

Tools for Printmaking
A brayer is a hand tool used for printmaking to smooth out the ink and then roll it onto the printmaking surface for a relief print. It has a handle and a smooth rubber roller.
A burnisher is a smooth metal tool that is used to smooth the surface of a metal intaglio printing plate. Lines are etched into the plate to hold ink, and the burnisher can polish the metal surface to reduce its ability to hold ink. The term burnisher could also refer to a flat disk used to press paper onto a surface to create a print.
A plate is a copper or zinc sheet of metal used for intaglio printmaking. When using a plate, the lines are cut or etched into the surface, and these lines hold the ink, which is the opposite of a relief print in which the raised parts hold the ink.
A gouge is used in relief printmaking to cut away the parts that will not hold ink. Gouges come in different sizes and shapes, including U-shaped and V-shaped, and they are used on surfaces such as linoleum or wood.

Intaglio and Lithography
Intaglio is a printmaking technique in which the image is carved into a surface and the ink is held in those lines for printing.
Lines are cut into a metal plate by a burin, which is a handheld metal tool, or by etching, which is a chemical process. For etching, the plate is first covered with an acid-resistant material and then the image is carved into that material to reveal the plate under it. The plate is dipped in acid, which bites only into the lines where the plate is exposed. The acid-resistant material is then removed, and ink is rubbed into the etched or carved lines and wiped off of the rest of the plate. The high pressure of a printing press pushes the paper into the inked grooves to produce the print. The image shown is an example of an etching.
For lithography, the artist uses a greasy medium such as a crayon or ink to produce an image on limestone or aluminum. The artist then puts a solution of nitric acid and gum arabic on the surface, and when a roller with oil-based ink is rolled over this, the ink will only stick to the greasy area. This is then run through a press with paper to produce the image.


Relief Printing and Screen Printing
Relief printing is any method in which a raised surface is used to produce the image. Relief printing is commonly done with linoleum and wood, in which the parts that is not wanted to be printed are cut away by the artist with gouges. Letterpress is also an example of relief printing, in which the raised letters are printed onto paper. Ink is applied to the raised surface with a roller, and then paper is pressed onto the surface by hand or with a printing press, to transfer the image onto paper.
For screen printing, also called silk screening (as shown in the image), ink is pressed through a fine screen to produce the print. An image is created onto the screen through many different methods, including stencils or photo emulsion, and the parts of the screen that are left open are where the ink will go through to the surface.
Ink is pushed through the screen evenly by a squeegee onto paper, cardboard, fabric, or any number of materials. Andy Warhol is famous for using the screen printing technique to produce multiple prints of the same image.


Collography and Frottage
Collography is a printmaking technique in which materials of various textures are attached to a surface. The materials should all be of roughly the same height. Ink is then rolled onto the textured surfaces, and a print is produced on paper by pressing the paper by hand or with a printing press. Different textures and inking methods can produce different results for this technique.
Frottage is a printmaking technique in which the artist gets an impression of the surface of a material. For example, you could place various leaves on a surface, lay paper on top of them, and then carefully rub the side of a crayon onto the paper. The resulting image will show the textures and shapes of the leaves underneath. During the surrealist movement, Max Ernst would take rubbings from various surfaces and use these as a basis for his artworks.

Monotype and Stamping
Whereas most printmaking techniques can produce multiple identical or similar prints, a monotype will only produce one print. The artwork is created on a nonabsorbent surface with oil- or water-based ink, and then it is transferred to paper with a printing press. In the process, most of the ink is transferred to the paper, so there is not enough left on the surface to produce another print. The print can then be embellished with ink, by drawing, or by other painting methods.
Stamping is another type of relief printmaking. A stamp can be made from rubber, wax, or other materials, including cardboard or even potatoes. The shape that will produce the image is cut into the material, with the negative space cut away. The shape is pressed into the ink and then pressed onto paper to create the image. A stamped image can be reproduced over and over.

Linocuts and Woodcuts
The process of creating a linocut, or linoleum cut, and a woodcut are similar. Both of these are relief printing methods, which involve cutting away pieces of the material to produce the image to be printed. For linocut and woodcut, gouges of various shapes and sizes are used to cut away the material. The cut-away areas will not carry ink, whereas the areas left behind will be inked. When the artist is finished cutting away the material, the surface is inked with a roller, and then it is run through a printing press to print the image onto paper. The image can be reproduced repeatedly.
Instead of using the printing press, an artist could use a burnisher to transfer the image to paper. A burnisher, or baren, is a disklike hand tool that is flat on the bottom and has a handle. The artist would put the paper on top of the inked surface and then rub the paper evenly with the burnisher to transfer the ink to the paper.

Mezzotint and Aquatint
Mezzotint is a printmaking technique in which the artist works from dark to light. The artist would work on a copper or steel plate and roughen parts of the plate for shading, while smoothing out other parts for the lighter areas. This would increase and reduce the areas' ability to hold ink. The technique was developed in the 17th century, and it could be used to create gradations in the printed work, rather than everything being black and white.
Aquatint is another way to create tonal effects in a print. Fine particles of acid-resistant powdered rosin are melted onto a metal plate, which is then dipped in acid. The acid eats away at the metal around the particles, creating an even, granular pattern that when inked and printed will give an effect similar to a watercolor wash. The darkness of these tones can be controlled by lengthening or shortening the time that the plate is exposed to the acid.