Hey! A process thread!

[boatdreams]

Step one: Sketch/drawing in pencil

Then I started a new drawing and inked it. I was using an old brush to ink the tree bark. I also use fine point Sharpies, those Micron pens, and a brush pen. Ugh, that kind of sounds like an ad.

On a separate sheet of paper, I started drawing the ghostronaut.

Inking the ghostronaut


Then it's off to the copy shop to make some films! Below is half of the image on an 11x17. I went in with an X-Acto and worked subtractively (Bird Machine style) to reestablish highlights and clean up some of the line work. I did this on both halves of the film, and then cut and spliced them together.



Here's another layer of photocopied brushwork combined with rubylith to make the film for the first color (cutting still in progress here).


I cut three colors, and I decided I would print them first before figuring out what else I might need to do. Here's the first color. A big old split fountain for the sky, which tends to be a logical starting point for this kind of composition.

Below is a (bad) photograph of the first three colors. Sky blue/white/sky blue split fountain, trans tan (with a slight split fountain), and a warm gray.


Cutting/splicing a Frankenstein film for some trans white

Finished Frankenstein film. It's not pretty, but it will do the job.

Another blurry photo after the trans white was printed


Then I printed the key line, which was an semi transparent warm brown. I decided to go back in and darken up a bunch of areas with a new screen. Here's shot of the print on my light table as I was drawing on blank films with film pens.

I did a lot of subtractive scratching, and I also decided to add some shadows cast by the houses. Here's the finished film for color number six:

I ended up printing the sixth color a very transparent black. I was very pleased with the results.

Then I taped the next films to the print to determine the placement for the ghostronaut.


Printing the ghostronaut phase one (screen 7, very transparent white)

Phase two (screen 8, transparent gray)


Ta Da!

[stoffel]

woa, that's realy nice print, and it's always good to see the process of how it came about.

[Robopocalypse]

Great job on that print and thanks for sharing the process.

[Badlydrawnbas]

Great work, Justin. Cheers for giving us this process... awesome!!

[thirteen]

Nice work.

One of the best artists of the year for me.

[rwarnick]

very nice!

[Spiro]

Awesome print! I'm still learning a lot of the process & jargon ...

Then it's off to the copy shop to make some films! Below is half of the image on an 11x17. I went in with an X-Acto and worked subtractively (Bird Machine style) to reestablish highlights and clean up some of the line work. I did this on both halves of the film, and then cut and spliced them together.

You don't print them yourself? You go to someplace like Kinko's and have them print transparencies for you?

I'll try searching gigposters, but where can I find more information on the "Bird Machine" style?

Here's another layer of photocopied brushwork combined with rubylith to make the film for the first color.

Why did you combine it with rubylith?

Cutting/splicing a Frankenstein film for some trans white.

Frankenstein film?

[caribou]

damn, you are super prolific. looks good

[Spiro]

I'll try searching gigposters, but where can I find more information on the "Bird Machine" style?

OK, so this guy's sort of popular here. Sorry. I've been out of the loop for the last 5+ years.

[boatdreams]

Awesome print! I'm still learning a lot of the process & jargon ...

You don't print them yourself? You go to someplace like Kinko's and have them print transparencies for you?

I take the original drawing, touch it up if necessary, and then enlarge it on a photocopier. I manually feed 11x17 inch films into the machine and splice them together.
I said "Bird Machine style" because this is how Jay Ryan and Diana Sudyka make and prepare their films when printing at The Bird Machine. I was using Duralar sheets printed on a blueprint printer for a while, but I've come to prefer the pieced together 11x17s after seeing how they do it. Chicago Printers Guild represent!

Why did you combine it with rubylith?

Because rubylith is awesome.

Frankenstein film?

That's just what I called it because I pieced several scraps together for that film.

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone! I still haven't trimmed them down yet, but they'll be 18x24, and it is a small edition of 30.