Process Thread, "But Two More Will Take Its Place"

[boatdreams]

Oh, hello. I didn't see you come in. Well, I'm glad you're here because I am about to start work on a new art print.

I started with this (very) rough pencil sketch on a piece of bond paper:


Unsure of precisely how I wanted to go about completing this drawing, I did a quick ink study.


I realized that I was going to need some reference photos for that house, preferably something taken from a backyard. I wanted a house that was kind of older and hopefully not occupied, so nobody would get weirded out as I took pictures of their house. I get on the internet in search of a nearby foreclosure or two and I found this little place:


Then it's time to head to the ghetto and take some reference photos! I need a haircut.


I take a whole mess of photos of that little house, and when I return, I finish a new pencil drawing. This will serve as my guide for the final ink drawing.


I lay a sheet of cover stock down over the pencil drawing, fire up the light table, and begin inking. Here's a shot of the inking in progress. This is all 005 Microns here.


Here's what it looks like without the pencil drawing showing through.


And some detail of the drawing in progress. The purpose of this photo is partially defeated by the fact that it's not really in focus.


Finished drawing. The drawing of that house is an amalgamation of various elements of the foreclosed house I visited, a couple of previously taken reference photos, and imagined elements.


Then I decided I wanted some grass texture. But I wanted to go about it in a way that would cause the most stress to my hand as possible, so I started to do this on a new sheet of paper:


Weeeeeeee


I wanted to print that grass texture on a separate screen. I placed the drawing of the grass under the finished key line drawing on the light table to get a bit of an idea of what it would look like.


Then I was off to the copy shop to print these onto film. The original drawings were reduced about %5 in order to keep the finished print the desired size. Here are the two films on the light table with rubylith for the first color being cut.


I finish cutting the first color. Then, expose and wash out (while taking another out of focus picture).


Here is the film for the first color taped down to the paper. Ready to register the screen and print the first pass.


The first color is a big old split fountain. Three colors.


First color is done!


Then I place the keyline and a new piece of rubylith down on one of the prints and cut color number two:


Color two is in the house (does anybody still say "in the house"?).


In between each color, I lay the keyline film down to see how things are shaping up. At this point, I was pondering just combining the grass texture film with the keyline into one film, but I decided against that in the end.


Next color! A horizon and color for the ramp and little people. Each color fits into the previous like a puzzle.


Here's a not so awesome picture of color three:


Here is the film for the grass texture taped down so I can register the screen. This is actually a brand new film, if you can believe it. I redrew the grass texture because I didn't like the first one.


Mixing the color for color number four. Check the Conspiracy Skateboards sticker on the table.


Color four:


Then I tape the keyline down to the one of the prints, do a bit of touching up, and expose the screen for the fifth and final color. Register, mix ink, print.


Curating!


Finished print:


And just for fun, some detail shots:

[lil_tuffy]

that's real pretty.

[THE PiNCH]

I was into it at that first big blend ...



bravo, everything works very tidily here, ends up looking deceptively easy

[ryan_1969]

nice!

[El Roacho]

wow! beautiful, the colors in this are great! the one side of the ramp looks a little askew but maybe they just didn't level the ground enough. i'm also loving how the light plays on the house. are you going to be putting these up in the classifieds?

[B-DROID]

Very nice process. Great scenario that I have been in many a time before.

(....the perspective on the halfpipe looks weird though.)

[Brad]

totally tubular

[The Bubble Process]

rulez. good work.

[mikeage]

Very nice. And great process thread. Would be interesting to know how long each step took. I keep imagining you did it all before lunch today.

[squeegeethree]

great stuff