What is an aquatint box?

What is an aquatint box?

The Aquatint boxes are made with varnished plywood by Polymetal. The action of the boxes are both based on the traditional hand driven paddle wheel which is driven by a handle on the outside. It has a wooden grill that slides out so the plate can be placed on it easily.

How is aquatint done?

Like etching, aquatint is an intaglio printmaking technique, but is used to create tonal effects rather than lines. The plate is then immersed in an acid bath, just like etching. The acid eats into the metal around the particles to produce a granular pattern of tiny indented rings.

How do you get rid of aquatint?

To remove the aquatint on heavily aquatinted areas shave the area with the scraper first, then polish it with the burnisher afterwards.

What does aquatint look like?

The process is called aquatint because finished prints often resemble watercolour drawings or wash drawings. The technique consists of exposing a copperplate to acid through a layer of melted granulated resin. Etched or engraved lines are often used with aquatint to achieve greater definition of form.

Who invented aquatint?

Jan van de Velde IV
Aquatint was invented by the printmaker Jan van de Velde IV (30.54. 72) around 1650 in Amsterdam, where mezzotint, another tonal printing process, was also being developed.

How are highlights added to an aquatint?

The longer the area is exposed to acid, the darker it prints. Highlights are achived by stopping out the highlight areas after just a brief dunk in acid. This plate had to be removed, brinks painted with stop out, then redunked in the acid, many times.

Is the umbrella term for a family of techniques that involve incising marks into metal plates?

Intaglio is the umbrella term for a family of techniques that involve incising marks into metal plates—usually copper or zinc—or into an acrylic sheet. The intaglio matrix can also be created by using an acid to make the incised marks.

Who invented aquatint printing?