Scratchboard

Artist Statement: The main idea behind this unit was scratchboard. Scratchboard is paper with a small layer of clay underneath that allows you to scratch away the top and reveal a layer of white underneath that contrasts the black on the top. For most, scratchboard is a great material to use for drawing animals because the texture closely mimics the fur of animals. This is why I chose to draw my friend's dog for this project. It was really necessary to try to scratch in the direction of the dog's fur because that would most closely mimic the texture of the dog's fur. The materials used to make this scratchboard work were simply scratchboard and a metal tool used for scratching. Scratchboard has a layer of clay that is scratched off to reveal white underneath. The tool used is a kind of pencil or pen shaped object with a metal spear shaped nib on the end that is indented so that it is used to scratch away the top layer. In order to make this work I first had to print the picture and grid it so that I could have reference points throughout the time that I was scratching. Next I had to grid the scratchboard to complete the gridding process. During the scratching process I had to look back and forth between my scratching and my photo reference to ensure that the it was as accurate as possible. I also had to have a specific technique that was making sure the scratchboard was matching the texture of the dog's fur and facial structure. Something that I didn't like about this unit was that it was all black and white and there wasn't much color in it. Overall I thought this unit was good but it was not my favorite.