Aquatint

A technique used in Intaglio etchings. Like etching, aquatint technique involves the application of acid to make marks in a metal plate. Where the etching technique uses a needle to make lines that retain ink, aquatint relies on powdered rosin which is acid resistant...

Drypoint

A variant of engraving, done with a sharp point, rather than a v-shaped burin. While engraved lines are very smooth and hard-edged, drypoint scratching leaves a rough burr at the edges of each line. This burr gives drypoint prints a characteristically soft, and...

Etching

 A metal plate is coated with a material called a ground. The artist then draws his design on the ground with a sharp needle, that cuts through the ground to the metal below. When the plate is put in an acid bath, these exposed areas will be etched (or eaten away)....

Engraving

The design is cut into the plate by driving furrows with a tool called a burin. The careful control required by the cutting method results in a rather stiff, controlled style of image, with shading accomplished through the use of parallel lines, or “hatching’’...

Intaglio Printmaking

Intaglio printing involves the use of a metal plate. In printing, the ink settles in the sunken areas and the smooth surface of the plate is wiped clean. The plate, in contact with damp paper, is passed through a roller press under pressure. The paper is forced into...