MATERIALS
• Waterproof black ink
• Fine watercolour brushes
• White – Loew Cornell (or Saral) transfer paper
• Inktense pencils – for eyes, noses, etc. Inktense comes in pencil, liquid or block form (like a small pastel), and many can be bought separately.
Colours: Willow, Baked Earth, Mid Vermillion & Chilli Red
STEP ONE
After tracing the drawing onto the scratchboard using Loew Cornell transfer paper, I have scratched the major lines and area around the eyes and ears using a scalpel and a fibreglass brush, mainly to get these parts in the right place, as I often lose some of the transferred drawing while moving my hand over the surface. I always use cotton gloves, a whole one on my left hand with which I wipe away the ink dust as I go, and the right hand glove I cut off the first three fingers and thumb about half way up, so I can hold the tools – while leaning my little finger on the board to steady my hand.
STEP TWO
I scratched most of the hairs on both faces, using the fibreglass brush, except on the noses, where I used a very fine syringe needle (kindly supplied by our local Vet).
STEP THREE
Still using the fibreglass brush, I removed some ink from the inside of the ears and scratched more hairs on the top cat’s face.
STEP FOUR
More hairs added to the top cat’s face, and extra ink removed from his lower face and chin (as these were white).
STEP FIVE
Leaving some black patches alone, I started work on the fur. To make the fur look softer than before, I used a fine scalpel and did one hair at a time (not quite as tedious as it sounds, especially if one has some fast music on the CD player)! The striped area slightly left-bottom is actually the front leg of the left cat, tucked in under her brother’s curled up back leg. (This is where your own photos come in handy, and I had to look up several reference photos to work this out! I used the fibreglass brush to do the hairs in the left cat’s ear. Shadows around the faces were done with watered down ink, using a small brush.
STEP SIX
Hairs in top cat’s ears and the row of light hairs in front of the ears were done next, then extra fur, including some on left cat’s body. I also touched up dark areas around the eyes with a fine brush and black ink.
STEP SEVEN
Using the fibreglass brush, I marked in the body hairs of the top cat, as he was quite striped, so I had to leave some of the black showing, and direct the hairs around the curled up leg et cetera.
FINAL STEP
Using a scalpel, I redid the body fur on both cats, painted the noses using Inktense Willow, Baked Earth, Mid Vermillion and Chilli Red – mixed together on a piece of watercolour paper, which I used as a palette. Last of all were the whiskers. What sort of cat would be seen without whiskers? (The cat on the left actually had ‘black and white’ whiskers!). A fine brush with black ink which was used for some, the others were done with a very sharp scalpel. Then I signed my name, (can you find it?). Finished at last! For the record – the top cat was actually named T.C. (Top Cat). Together they were, “Snuggled Up”.
ARTIST’S HINTS AND TIPS
• It is a good idea to wear cotton gloves when working on scratchboard, as the boards mark easily and the oil from your fingers does not disappear like eraser marks ( unwanted drawing and transfer marks can be erased with a plastic eraser). The marks will magically disappear when sprayed with varnish. I use a ‘Factis’ black eraser, but that is a personal choice. Cotton gloves are very cheap, and can be purchased at supermarkets and pharmacies.
• Being right handed, I cut the thumb and first three fingers (off the glove!) about half way up, leaving the little finger intact to steady my hand on the board. The cut off glove fingers make it easier to hold tools firmly. I leave the left hand glove intact to move the board if necessary, and brush off the scratched ink as I go. I work with my Artristic Easel over a piece of white paper, which catches the ink dust, which I wipe straight into a bin (with a tissue) at the end of each session. Obviously, if you are left-handed you would do the opposite. Many people use a block of wood et cetera to lean their board on a slight angle. If you do this, I suggest you use a larger piece of paper to wipe the dust onto,otherwise it can get very messy.
• I used a small fibreglass brush on part of the faces, and a larger one on the bodies. The larger brush is available in stores where other tools are sold and is very useful. The small ones are almost impossible to find here (in Australia), so I imported some from the USA. They are one of my favourite tools. But be careful! Do not touch the fibreglass with fingers, if fibres get into your fingers they are very hard to find and remove. Also, whilst using the fibreglass brushes, small pieces of fibres come off and fall onto the paper under your board. As with the ink dust, I wipe them straight into a bin or, better yet, use a vacuum cleaner. All this sounds a bit messy, but like anything worthwhile, it is worth the effort.
• I use spray varnish on my finished scratchboards, several light coats seem to work best – but they all have fumes, so I have set up a place outside where I can spray (when it is not windy)! If this is not convenient, a well-ventilated garage with open door would do. If several coats of varnish are used, the scratchboard can be framed without glass if desired.
• Ampersand scratchboards can be drawn directly onto with pencils, but I like to do my initial drawing on paper so I can rub out mistakes as I go, and not have too many unwanted marks on the board itself. I then use transfer paper to transfer the drawing directly onto the board; there is no need to draw every tiny line. All you need is just enough to see where all major parts are, although I must admit, I like to do the lot!
• Although I have a stylus, I must admit that I use a biro to transfer my drawings, as it is easier to see where I have already worked. An extra fine tool (which I used for the cat’s noses) was a hypodermic needle (gauge 23) kindly supplied by our local Vet.
• Strokes on scratchboard mostly need to be done towards you, that is why you will need to turn your board around quite often. I am unable to work almost flat, which is why I invested in the Artristic Easel, a wonderful invention by Victorian, Tony Barber. (I think he deserves a Medal.).It swivels around at the touch of a finger, and with a screw to loosen at the rear, allows you to move it vertically or horizontally. This is most helpful if you wish to paint with watercolours for instance.