Etching and other printing techniques

An etching is a drawing on a zinc plate that you can often print. There are different techniques: If you scratch a drawing into a plate with a sharp, pointed metal and make a print of it, this is called a dry needle etching. The line of the drawing is slightly frayed. An aquatint is again suitable for printing large surfaces and less for fine lines as, for example, a line etching is. 
 
Each technique requires a different type of image. A dry point is more suitable for dramatic landscapes and portraits, an aquatint more for creating graphic and abstract works of art. 
 
Inking a zinc plate also has different possibilities and challenges.
 
What will we do?  
Besides the different etching techniques, you will also learn to work with ink this week. While doing this, you will learn to make use of the surprise effect that graphics have and how you can respond to that. It is always a surprise to see what the print will become, and together you will look, reflect and determine what can be changed in your plate. That is a special process every time. 
 
Etching is first and foremost a drawing technique that, although centuries old, has never lost its topicality.