Intaglio

We're currently working on intaglio in my Introduction to Printmaking class.

I haven't started carving my image onto the plexi-glass plate yet, but I thought I would share my initial sketches that I worked on this week in class.

I started with a scientific diagram of the female body in order to get my proportions right, and traced it on the class light table.

Then, I added arteries and veins inside of the figure's body. Hopefully my end result will resemble a scientific illustration, which was a common use for intaglio when it was first invented.

In case your curious how intaglio works, here's an article from eHow that explains it pretty well. My class is using plexi-glass instead of copper to reduce the cost. Unfortunately, this type of printing takes a huge amount of pressure and can't easily be achieved if you don't have access to a press. According to my teacher, the only way you could successfully do this at home would be to run over the plate with your car!