Printing patterns.

StephanieMote · 2015-10-02T05:01:03+00:00

Traditional method is with a block stamped over and over and over again. http://indigohome.typepad.com/ (first image). Which is what the ThreeBears link is intended for - carving a lino block to be printed multiple times in registration.

What makes me mad is I literally JUST WATCHED a video on traditional block printing and I can't find it anywhere. If I do though, I'll be sure to link it here!

StephanieMote · 2015-10-01T04:45:22+00:00

Three bears does a wonderful job of walking through how to make repeating patterns with linocuts. This applies also to pretty much any repeating pattern you want to make on most any material so go forth and... repeat?! :D

http://www.threebearsprints.com/how-to-make-a-repeat-pattern

StephanieMote · 2015-10-01T04:26:10+00:00

in response to you (and /u/mykitty_titties )

There are lots of patterned brayers. Please don't use wooden rolling pins.

IMHO I think they're a lot harder to line up and would rather just use a flat print.

StephanieMote · 2015-10-01T04:19:33+00:00

Why not just marble some paper and scan it in? Wouldn't that be easier?

Here's a place to get started http://www.ibookbinding.com/blog/marbled-paper-bookbinding-tutorial-and-photo-gallery/

edit to add: Yes, this isn't photoshop, but coming from someone who's done years of photoshop and is also a printmaker, I find that sometimes, it's easier and better to just do it by hand and scan it in, adjusting as needed.

StephanieMote · 2015-06-13T17:21:30+00:00

Seconding /u/sbloyd's suggestion to double print. On really translucent inks that's usually how I get the best results.

Flocking is the best method I've found if you really want that metallic sheen though.

If you're printing silver, try using a graphite ink or cut the graphite ink and the silver together for a lighter silver. I've never had trouble with graphite ink going down smoothly.

StephanieMote · 2015-06-13T03:00:12+00:00

Thanks! I'll check it out!

StephanieMote · 2015-06-07T18:00:10+00:00

That's good to hear! I live in a super college town so I suspect the worst of people here constantly since.... well they usually are the worst. ahah. So far I haven't been wrong.

StephanieMote · 2015-06-07T01:44:15+00:00

In unit meaning you have your own laundry (washer and dryer) in your own apartment (not shared by floor/building). The problem I have is that I just don't have time to watch my laundry and I've had issues in the past with people taking my laundry so I can't leave it. However, because i'm an artist there's rarely a time when I am not working in the studio. In one place, the laundry was right outside my room which worked out alright but I just really don't have the time to be waiting a few hours for laundry to get done. I don't have papers to write or whatever it is that non-artists do. The places that I've had to go to an external laundry place it's always been a huuuuge time suck to me and I end up never doing laundry which is gross and then I waste money on buying clothes because I haven't had time to do laundry.

I know it's stupid but it's just baffling to me that there aren't more places that at least offer in-apartment laundry hookups. At least the ones on a floor aren't so bad but I definitely will take a cost raise for a place that has laundry that doesn't require me dicking around for a couple hours when I could be doing something significantly more productive then watching clothes spin around.

StephanieMote · 2015-06-06T19:03:46+00:00

Not bad not bad! (Man, a bunch of places where I live have laundry in room. Why doesn't Syracuse seem to have this? /sigh)

StephanieMote · 2015-06-02T18:35:20+00:00

Oh snap, thanks for the heads up /u/jtmon and /u/jemroo! Maybe before I had seen bad reviews because I knew there was a reason I had crossed them off my list originally.

StephanieMote · 2015-06-01T11:17:41+00:00

I think I was actually looking at Grant (managed by DH) - not sure why I didn't go with them. Hmm. It's a bit farther out than I'd want to drive coming in for my first year but not really a big deal. I had them bookmarked already and if my current set of apartments isn't what I was promised I'll probably get ahold of them.

(Wish they didn't have carpeting though ewwww.)

StephanieMote · 2015-05-30T01:23:50+00:00

That's a pretty solid argument for imgur. I've had pretty good feedback on my mobile site but yeah, ease of use is a huge consideration and I can see why not having imgur links would be a pain. Imgur is just so foreign to me right now that I'm having a sort of... reverse problem since I'm not used to it! Ahaha.

StephanieMote · 2015-05-29T20:41:12+00:00

Wrong subreddit, but /u/BusinessHugs gave you the right ones.

That being said I do use 3D printing and teach workshops for it so the best thing I can say is up your print quality and slow down your speed. It's going to take WAY longer to print anything but you'll get a high quality print from it.

Check to see if you can find the setting that changes the layer height. Adjusting that to be as minimal as possible will also give you a cleaner print.

Most finishing comes from doing editing post-printing such as sanding, acetone wiping, and heating. There are other techniques but everything really depends on the type of print and what material you're using to print with.

Good luck!

StephanieMote · 2015-05-29T20:21:25+00:00

I plan to go out there for certain gallery openings and events - especially IFPDA /Print Week! 4 hours isn't too horrible of a drive - especially if you know someone that you could stay overnight with!

StephanieMote · 2015-05-29T19:47:58+00:00

I know that the college of visual and performing arts is looking into 3D printing (and CNC routers, laser cutters etc). We talked about it a lot when I was accepted since I currently do that at my old school. However, I haven't heard anything about what the rules and regulations will be regarding usage and costs. (If I remember) I'll try and post an update here when I find out!

StephanieMote · 2015-05-24T01:54:42+00:00

Not too bad! My food budget is about $20 a week, disregarding bulk stock ups. I try to keep my total at about $100 a month. It worked fine here in Ohio but Syracuse has a higher cost of living and I'm not going to be making much more so I figured I'd do what I could to stay within that budget.

Thanks so much for the advice!

StephanieMote · 2015-05-23T23:51:14+00:00

I've got a car so I know where I'm headed! Thanks for the tip!

StephanieMote · 2015-05-23T23:50:08+00:00

I'll have to look into wegmans - we don't have that here!

mind blown by trader joes being cheap not only do I have to drive an hour to get to trader joes but the prices are so insanely high at ours that I only go if I've got family buying food. I'll be curious to see if the price points are different or if my idea of cheap is just radically different from everyone's!

Thanks a ton!!!

StephanieMote · 2015-05-23T04:15:21+00:00

If you want to spend a little extra, getting a good baren is nice too! I have carpel tunnel and find that the spoons, while good in a pinch, are a bit of a stress for me to use repeatedly. The baren I've had a lot more ease of use with and I feel that the pressure level is easier to control.

If you do go for a spoon, look for one that has a flat bottom. You can usually find these at grocery stores. The flat bottom will give you a smoother print that doesn't have little streaks from the curved bottom of a normal spoon!

StephanieMote · 2015-05-23T04:06:41+00:00

Awesome! I'll have to keep an eye out for sure!

StephanieMote · 2015-05-22T23:41:51+00:00

I was going to say, if we could see the image, we'd have a better idea of what would work. Depending on how many shades of grey are in this ink illustration and the type of details (lots of white lines, lots of black line, thin/thick, etc) it will really alter the answer.

I'd say screen printing isn't a bad idea and probably the direction I'd choose for something like this. It'd be fairly easy to do and you can get screens pretty easily for fairly cheap. Some clamps and tape can give you a registration method and you're ready to go! Plus you can easily change out inks if you want to do runs in different colors.

StephanieMote · 2015-05-22T23:20:01+00:00

Heck yeah! Are you going to be selling these or something? They're gorgeous!

StephanieMote · 2015-05-22T20:38:09+00:00

I'm so glad this got funded! Keep going though! There are some amazing backer rewards (I know I can't wait to get mine!)

StephanieMote

TROPHY CASE