Scratchboard

Drawing with paper and pencil is a versatile and engaging art expression as are many painting techniques. If you like to create fine detail work, there is another material with which you might want to experiment--scratchboard, a straightforward product that uses rich black coating over bright white-base paper.

Scratchboard is easy to use for everyone from beginner to accomplished artist. It is a simple product with tremendous potential for contrast studies, linear designs and value work. What makes it so desirable for incising is its near-polished, smooth surface which is easily removed with any pointed or sharp instrument. Everything from push pins, straight pins, needles and tacks to etching scribes, wire brushes and X-Acto blades can be employed for varying effects. Your desk drawer is loaded with possible scribing tools.

The method by which images are created on scratchboard is subtractive. In the traditional scratchboard, it is a dark surface that is prepared for you to create and refine your sketch. Most artists build their drawings with light strokes until they have full, rich lights. Super-fine lines can be scratched to establish a basic sketch and then more and more detail can be added. The challenge is to create a dimensional drawing by removing the darks and establishing the lights in a scene. We are more accustomed to adding darks, as is the case with pencil drawing, charcoal and other media. This reversal is fun and can be rewarding because it is not the normal method of achievement.

Colored base papers are also available with a black coating. These are used to create vivid, rich, colorful drawings that reveal colors beneath the coating. Gold- and silver-base papers, as well as fluorescent and multi-colored sheets, open a wide variety of applications for the artist. When finished, these sheets resemble stained glass, especially when hung before a light source.

Details in scratchboard can be created in very much the same way as with pencil drawing. By making repeated short strokes that align in harmony, you can create the look of movement. Hard structures and dense areas can be mastered by using techniques such as cross-hatch or closely set line groups that are put down in a checkerboard pattern. When these patterns are close together, they look like stones, tiles or rough natural terrain.

Smooth-flowing lines can be useful and are easy to create on scratchboard. Rhythmic lines indicate movement, flow and harmony. Lazy flowing lines are used to create ties between subjects within a scene or to tie different areas together. Adding many flowing lines in close proximity can help to create a sense of order. But it is the bold, dramatic drawings on scratchboard that attract the most attention-- heavily scribed drawings that are rich and textured.

So dive into your supplies and see what types of pointed scratching tools you can come up with. Purchase some traditional black-on-white scratchboard or some of the bright colors and metallics and start drawing. Crisp linear work, dynamic details and unparalleled contrast await you.

Note: It is sometimes possible to correct mistakes by brushing over the area with permanent black ink. After drying, you can continue with your detail work.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 16 No. 3 -- January 2006