Independent Project #2 + 3

This is my second independent project. It's a print that I made using linoleum-carved stamps. The print feature three colored origami dinosaurs, with black outlines on top. The purple/gray dinosaur is a brachiosaurus, the blue dinosaur is a raptor, and the green dinosaur is a triceratops. I printed the pattern onto a white apron that I had, just to make sure that I wouldn't ruin any costly clothing item.

I decided that I wanted to make print because I haven't used linoleum in a very long time, since 2D art. I also haven't experienced with linoleum a lot, and I liked it the few times that I have done it, so I figured it would be good to use for an independent project. I also really like dinosaurs, so I thought of a print/pattern that would be fun to do and be of a subject that I enjoy. It was a little time-consuming to carve out 6 linoleum dinosaurs, but it proved to be a nice pattern.

I used screen-printing ink to print on the apron, and it proved to be a little harder than I thought. I first used block-printing ink to create colors and test my stamps, and liked the way it turned out. However, I have never used screen-printing ink, and was surprised to find that it was more watery than block-printing ink, which led to some smudges and unwanted lines here and there. But, I do like the way it came out, and I still have the stamps so I can really recreate the pattern or individual dinosaurs on anything, which I think is really cool.

This is my third independent project, following the theme of dinosaurs. After completing the second project, I was thinking about all the other kinds of dinosaurs that I like, and how they are super fascinating. I decided I wanted to do a study of their fossils, but found myself gravitating to their skulls, and the large variation of dinosaurs there really are, and how they different they all can be.

I decided on three dinosaur skulls that I really liked, the top one the dilophosaurus, the bottom left the saurolophus, and the bottom right the classic tyrannosaurus rex. I was thinking of just doing a basic anatomical study of their skulls, because I really wanted to focus on my attention to detail because I plan on doing more detail-focused work in the future with these dinosaurs.

Each drawing in this mini-series is fairly small, about 4 inches by 3 inches. I really enjoyed doing this mini-series because as I stated, I find dinosaurs really fascinating and I like studying and learning about the different kinds of them, and why their bodies are the way they are and what that meant for their behavior and life on earth before extinction. I made this project graphite pencils and with tinted tan pastel paper, which I may not do again because the little holes proved to be difficult to get graphite in. However, I like the way the tan paper looks the skulls look more fossilized and aged as though they were found in the dirt.