Line etching and Aquatints
-
There are many ways to get marks onto an etching plate. Especially with photographic processes the possibilities are really endless. Here however, we will just be discussing the two basic forms of line etching versus aquatint.
- The first etchings were made using basic drawing tools like an eschope or an etching stylus to scratch away an acid resistant ground from the plate. This would expose the plate material.
- The plate would then be put into an acid bath which would etch the plate only in the areas that had been scraped away. This would leave the lines etched below the surface and ready to hold ink for printing.
Line Etching
- It follows the idea that grey tones in printing can be achieved through very small dots. An acid resistant powder like rosin can be used to do this (see fig. 1).
- After the rosin powder is melted onto the plate, the plate is put into the acid bath (see fig. 2 and 3).
- Because the rosin resists the acid, the plate is etched around the rosin resulting in a tone (see fig. 3).
- The darkness of the tone can be controled by the time in the acid and by how much rosin in on the plate.
Aquatint
Later, a process that is called aquatint was developed which allowed artists to develop a range of tones that weren't just built up by cross hatched lines.