Studio: international art (1.1893)

Drawing for Reproduction

of a cross-grid destroys all the beauty of their
natural grain, and its requirement by the zinco-
etching process, while the gelatine automatically
reproduces the actual pencil touch, exemplifies the
greater range and fidelity of the latter.

FROM THE ORIGINAL DRAWING BY CARL HAAG
REPRODUCED BY THE TYPO—ETCHING CO.

For solid line or dot drawings no materials are
better than Bristol board, or any pure white and
equally smooth (but not greasy) surface, with good
freshly-rubbed Indian, or E. Wolff s liquid Chinese
ink. For pencil or crayon work, Maclure's grained
lithographic paper (to be had in several varieties)
or Whatman drawing paperk"are the best surfaces ;
while E. Wolffs duragraph pencils or Conte's
chalks will make drawings at once fine and black.

Whether pen or pencil work be preferable is an
open question. The latter is more suited to fine
printing and artistic results than for ordinary pur-
poses, such as advertisements, cheap book illustra-
tions, &c. In these the clear hard printing of
black-and-white line work gives the pen the advan-
tage. But surely for freedom, delicacy and variety,
a combination of the two—which it is the advan-
tage of the gelatine process to render reproducible
—is best of all.

The question of reduction in size is one admit-
ting of only an approximate suggestion. An artist
addicted to broad, free, and open work may gain
by having his drawings reduced to one-fourth the
actual scale; while another working in closely-
finished and elaborate style may with advantage
order blocks equal to the originals in size. An
average reduction is " to three-fourths linear scale "
of the copy.

The chief danger that betrays an inexperienced
artist most is want of uniformity in his colour.
The temptation to use pale broad lines for the
distant work seems irresistible. These, when
translated into the absolute black of printers' ink,
are, of course, over-strong and falsely effective.
When once the necessity of an uniform blackness
(all the lighter effects being obtained by thinning
the line only) is grasped, the first principle of
drawing for process has been mastered. A con
crete example may make our meaning clear. In
point of suitability, no original is better than a
well-printed copper or steel engraving, the valu-
able characteristics being sharpness, cleanness, and
uniform blackness. In a block from such a copy
every line and dot should reappear.

But let us at once emphasise our contention that
these last arbitrary requisitions, though universally
taught and accepted, are adverse to Art, and
founded on error and self-interest. It is a mistake
to insist on the absolute reproduction of each line
and dot. The faithful re-presentation of the artistic
qualities of a drawing should be our sole aim. The
gelatine photo-relief process will reproduce pale,
grey or varying effects faithfully, by means of a
" rotten," or, as it might better be called, tinted
surface in the block. Against this so-called rotten-
ness an unfounded prejudice has arisen, which has
been a first cause of the above arbitrary requisi-
tions. The second cause is that zinco-etching,
owing to its very nature, cannot produce the
" rotten," or naturally tinted, line or surface. All
pale work thus in zinco-etchings becomes there-
fore over-strong, and is naturally prohibited. This,
however, is a defect in the process, and should

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