Scratch art

For this project, we were asked to create a stretched-out piece of artwork that is copied by a picture of choice. You don’t have to exactly make it identical however you’re trying to resemble its looks using value and technique. We used a scratching tool and a black piece of paper in which you scratch to make white engravings. I started by creating outlines of the eyes, nose, and general body shape of my dog. I started scratching at the top and worked my way down to the ears and then eventually the rest of his face and then his body. I tried to scratch light and in the direction of his hair. I experimented by seeing what worked and didn’t work in terms of value and the sizing of each line created by the scratching tool. I’d press harder and put my tool at an angle when wanting brighter and whiter lines and then pressed lighter and put my tool at another angle when wanting lighter and smaller lines. I constantly looked back and forth from the reference picture to my art. My project evolved as I went back and added details and extra little touches making it look more realistic. Once I had finished the face it looked closer to being finished.

I used value to create movement and emphasis on specifically the nose, ears, and overall face. Value also created a contrast between darks and lights. I used form and texture to create unity and rhythm throughout the piece. The black background really emphasizes my dog and makes him the central focus.

There aren’t any specific stories or ideas evident in my work. This relates to my life as this is my dog. He is a very good boy. Him being a white dog definitely created more work for me however it was fine. I am proudest of the nose area and the face. I think this is the most detailed and took me the longest. It looks semi-real and accurate to my dogs appearance. I struggled with the value and sizing of my lines when scratching. The hard thing was that you couldn't take anything away. I made a mistake on the right eye and scratched a little too much, making his eye look smaller than it is and leaving out some shades that I think would've looked really good. I overcame these struggles by working slower and creating highlights that are lighter than the reference picture which made my shading mistakes less evident. Overall I think I did a good job and it was a good learning experience with the new tools.