Scratchboard

Giovanni 10 April, 2019

This work of art is one of my favorite this year. This is my cat, Norman, who was replicated in this scratchboard art. I created this project by using a scratchboard, which is a special piece of material that is white with a layer black on top. The work of art is created when the black layer is scratched away to reveal the white layer underneath. By using this delicate and precise method, artists can get a very detailed black and white work of art. I used this to create a detailed composition of my cat Norman. Scratchboard gave me a way to make a very detailed picture a lot quicker than using a different method.

To create this work of art I had to use only one to two tools. The one that I mainly used was the quill with the sharp, triangle shaped nib (or tip). I also used a more rounded nib for a few sections of the scratchboard art. To make sure that the drawing was as detailed as the reference that I was using (a picture of Norman that was printed black and white), I graphed out both the picture and the piece of scratchboard that I was using. I then started to create my project, which I started to make by scratching off the black layer, making sure that I paid attention to where certain textures were positioned. I especially made sure that the fur was going in the same direction as in my reference. By using thinner or wider scratches, I finally completed my project.

I loved this project, especially because of how quick the overall work was. Besides the extreme amount of fur, the project went by fairly quickly. One thing that I wished that I had done better was the inside of the bag that Norman was in. The bag, supposed to look textured, does not look as realistic as the real picture of Norman. Besides this one part of my work, which I found a little disappointing, there was no other problems that I had stumbled over. There are still a few small flaws, but there is nothing that I am to worried about. I am very proud of this project and can't wait to work on more scratchboard.