DOGA COBANOGLU
DOGA COBANOGLU
VISUAL ART
VISUAL ART
UNIT 1: WHAT A RELIEF
PRINTING AND SHADING REFLECTION - OCTOBER 7TH 2016
WHAT DID WE DO?
Since the beginning of the year we have been doing many things in art all based around tone, shading and b&w. At first we filled in a pre-instruction sheet which showed what level we were at drawing in general but specifically some places like shade. Next we created a couple symmetric and tone based drawings in our book. From there we moved on to a graded piece of work that was an egg set on crumpled paper which we were to draw on a piece of paper set with graphite to have a colour and tone to the image. Then we moved on to drawing a picture of our hand which we then photographed with all our previous work. The next class we painted a ball on a table with a black sheet of paper and white paint. This enabled us to see how we would show tone and shade in our own individual print. We used our painting of the ball on a Lino board to make a print of the drawing. This was the process where we learnt we took oit the white parts rather than the black like many other types of art we have come across. We then inked the print and created it on to paper.
HOW DID WE DO IT?
We used just a pencil and the paper given in the instructions in the pre-instruction to create a face, objects and our hand. For the egg on paper we put an ordinary egg on a crumpled piece of paper and with a bit of graphite started drawing it with tone and shade on paper. We used a grid in the beginning to use the specific spot of places. We repeated the grid and graphic process on our hand holding an important object to ourselves like a self portrait. Then we used an image in our heads of a ball on a table to paint it in black and white with black paper. After that we moved on to creating that image we painted on a lino board so we could create a print, we did this by using tools to cut the yellow parts of so the whites were the blank places. We then rolled ink on our lino board and then but it through a machine were the image was created on paper. The machine had 3 layers the print in between layer 1 and 2, we had to push the handle clockwise then anticlockwise so the print would be inked out perfectly.
WHY DID WE DO THIS?
The reason we did all these steps in these specific order was because they all connecting to making a self portrait using b&w and shade/tone. The pre-instruction and drawings in our book was to see our level and understand where we are at, the egg on paper was to improve our shade and tone and understand the grid method better. The hand was part of our self portrait ideas because it was hold something important to us. The entire ball on table process was just to be prepared and learn how to make our print for our final submissive self portrait print.
WHAT WORKED WELL? (WWW)
In my opinion my strength was the shading and tone out all of the activities because at first I found it difficult but as I learnt the techniques I was able to practice and use it in my hand drawing. I also found print making relatively easy after you cut your lino board. Both strengths enabled me to improve my lino and create a real-life looking dimension. Although this is my strength, I still have room for improvement. For example, I find the cutting part easy but I am still able to injure myself. I can practice the technique in the other direction rather then towards myself so no cuts can take place. Also, one of my major strnegths were luck. For example when I was cutting my lino board my puprose was to clear the background so it would be a blank sheet of a white. But due to my precise cutting it led to be a repitive pattern of black lines when printed which was a major surprise to me. I enjoyed the fact that small change by accident could have a positive impact on my outcome and how it came out when printed.
EVEN BETTER IF (EBI)
To improve I could work on my cutting because I struggled doing it on my lino board due to me not using the correct method at first, although now I have understood the concept I still need more practice for me to be able to use it on my summative. This was due to my lines being different shapes and sizes and having no control over the tools. It was not a big fault but it still could be noticed and is something I need work on. As mentioned previously my weak control on the tools could negatively impact myself and others. I can change this by practicing carefully with the tools and asking for help from my teacher and peers to use it correctly within my lino.
FINAL LINO PIECE REFLECTION - NOVEMEBER 22ND 2016
All the tasks above led to the final production of our very own lino of a picture of our choice. All the time spent on drawing tone on the egg and printing of the ball on the table led to the improvement and success of what we have created now. The overall plan and process had a very big positive impact because I felt prepared and happy with making my own independent lino on my own. The process of the making started with finding a good picture we were confident with putting on the lino. We then edited it on our laptop to make the background to our choice and the picture b&w. Then Mr. Keys printed it in class to proportion so we could put it straight on the lino. From there, we flipped the paper and traced it on the glass window in the sun. Next, we pressed the outlined side on the lino to the window so while we traced on the back the tracing would come back on to the lino. The tracing barely came on to the lino but just enough for us to trace the rest and have a full picture. Then I myself took out the background with the large end lino tool to make it white and clear, but it ended accidentally making a cool pattern that I actually liked in the end. But after the background was finished, I moved on to making tone and cutting out the white parts on the lino to make shade. I also used an app to make the whites more gradient on the actual picture so I could understand where to cut it out on the lino. Lastly, when I was happy with the lino I made my first "artists proof" print going through the same process of inking the lino with a roller brush and putting it through the roller machine to get it on the white paper. I actually was very happy with my AP print and wanted to keep the lino as it was after many long decisions. But I still made a couple more prints after to get the perfect inking. Down below is my lino and my prints, you can see the process of tone in each one. Some are darker and some are lighter then the other which is why each one is individually special to me. But the best one is the one above in the first picture.
Making comparisons: the difference between my pre-instruction drawing and the gauge process is that I didn't undersand where the light was coming from in the pre-instruction and where I should create tone and shade. I was just copying what I saw from others before me. But in this final picture I understood the shade and where I should cut and where I shouldn't. It really honestly made it my lino print and that I fully understood what was taking place in it. Also, just the fact that I could say it is something that expresses me and that I also think is one of the best drawings (print) I have ever done is just amazing. I think my improvement from the pre-instruction is not a "notion" of talent but just something I have gradually undestood and learnt. I may have had it in me from before but now I am able to use it properly.
Now I would like to discuss a part of print making that really intrigues me. Which is: the reverse nature of print making, the fact that we draw it normally then print it like a mirror image or that we take out the white rather then black. This shows that it is different and nothing like normal art I have done because normally we don't do a mirror image unless a mirror is accessed and we don't really draw the white parts rather then the black. This makes the entire process more interesting and something more then just art. This is what I genuinely enjoyed about print making. I also needed to mention that I just realized that a lino print is a relief print, which is something where the print is above the surface, it is not "one" with the sheet. For example it is above like a print on a coin embed in the metal. This is something I just realized at the end of the process which enabled it to be more meanignful for me. Overall, this gave me a very good impression of art this semester and I have truly enjoyed it.
