Prints are usually worked through an evolution called states, with the artist printing a sample impression, then working the plate further until it is completed, when the final proof is taken. At that point the plate is ready for editioning - the creation of multiple impressions, which the artist signs and numbers. There are five traditional intaglio processes: engraving, etching, drypoint, aquatint and mezzotint. Each produces prints with a distinct look and feel, and many prints are created through a combination of two or more of these processes. Portrait by Coenraad Lauwers, 1649, engraving EngravingĮngraving was developed in the Middle Ages, making it one of the oldest printmaking processes. The artist creates lines by cutting into the copper plate using a tool called a burin. It requires patience, strength and practice.Ĭurved lines are created not by pushing the burin in a new direction, but by turning the plate while pushing the burin straight ahead. It is a highly linear process, and shading is accomplished largely through hatching and crosshatching.īurins are available in several sizes, but even a single burin will give the engraver great control over the line. As the pointed tip is pushed deeper into the copper, the line becomes wider.Īs the cut finishes, the line becomes thinner, much like the line of a crow-quill pen. Engravers create much of their tone using this thin-to-thick-to-thin approach. Studio Corner by Richard Pantell, 2006, etching EtchingĮtching dates back to the early 1500s.
Traditional etching is still practiced today, as are a large number of derivative techniques developed since then.
In sharp contrast to the painstaking medium of engraving, etching is very fluid and spontaneous.Īt the start of the process, the metal plate is coated with a thin layer of an asphaltum-based, acid-resistant substance called etching ground. Using an etching needle, the artist draws lines through the ground, exposing the metal. The plate is then lowered into a mild acid bath where the exposed areas are etched, or bitten, by the acid, leaving them recessed beneath the surface of the plate. The longer the plate is left in the acid, the more metal is eaten away, resulting in deeper and darker lines.
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