Developing your Etchings

Most of you have made and printed an Etching plate now - this is your first "proof" or stage. Look at the print carefully. What could you do to improve it? Sometimes it's useful to take a proof and draw or watercolour on it to work out what to do next.

This drawing and etchings are by Degas, 1857, and show how he developed the print, taking a proof each time he altered the plate.

See "Edgar Degas: The Painter as Printmaker" 709.0344 (DEG)M

If it needs more drawn lines, clean the plate and put on another hard ground or soft ground, making sure the original etched lines are covered in ground. You will be able to see your previous marks in the light. Softground is easier to use over an etched plate, because you are drawing through paper on the surface, and not scratching through, when your needle will catch a bit against the already etched lines.

Georgio Morandi is known for drawing his plates in one sitting, and then using the acid to make some of the lines thicker and darker than others. These etchings are dated 1931.
See "Giorgio Morandi Etchings"709.0405(MOR)T

If you need to add tone, then clean the plate and put an Aquatint on, either using the box to give an even flat tone, or sprinkle the dust on to give a speckled effect. These etchings are by Paula Rego, 1994, using both aquatints and hard ground for the lines.

See "Paula Rego Nursery Rhymes" 709.2 (REG)R