Screen print

Here is the first draft of what I would like my screen print to look like. This is based off the Australian drawings of subject matter and have arranged them in a pattern which can be used as a screen print. 

I then scanned the drawings into Photoshop and began to recreate the pattern I had drafted.

Below is the screen print pattern that I created in Photoshop. 

To turn it into a screen print I experimented with colour. I used Australian style colours such as oranges, reds, pinks, yellow etc. After trying out colours i decided to go with a black background and then experiment with the colours and overlapping two to create a third colour.

I coloured the lines with white by selecting the white box and clicking 'command', so that all the lines were selected. Using the brush tool I went over the selected area so that all the lines were white.

I tried using the colours orange, red and yellow which fitted the theme however did not overlay correctly. So that when it is printed the colours won't overlap and create a new colour.

I chose the colours yellow and pink which when overlaid created a orange, which is a Analogous colour scheme. I was really happy with this as felt the colours matched the Australian aboriginal art theme.

Below is the document fully coloured in with the Analogous scheme of pinks and yellows which overlap to create orange.

I then ensured that the colours where on the correct layers E.g, when the yellow layer was turned off non of that colour remained on the document.























I turned each layer black as you can see below. This was so that I could print the 3 separate black layers on acetate which is needed to be burned onto the screen when placed under the UV light.

Here are the 3 pieces of acetates which show the black, yellow and pink layers. These went onto three screens that were covered in light sensitive emulsion. I then placed each acetate onto a screen under a UV light for 20 minutes. This burns the pattern onto the screen.

I then scrubbed the screen with a brush under cold water. The area covered by the black acetate will wash off, so will reveal a pattern. 

I then let the screen dry so i could begin screen printing, otherwise the ink will spread from the wetness of the screen. I dried it carefully using a hair dryer but placed it far enough away from the screen so it didn't burn.

Here are my three screens below which feature the three prints.

Here is a close up of one of the patterns. I am really happy on how the screens turned out as the details are really clear and crisp. Meaning that when it is printed the print will be detailed.

To push the black ink through the screen I used a squeegee. Whilst angling it towards me I applied pressure so that the screen meets the paper. This means that the ink will print onto the paper that is placed under the screen. I chose black for the first print as I was printing the background which is black.

The screen was held in place by a clamp so that when you are flooding the screen and applying pressure, the screen will not move and smear.

Here is the first print I screen printed. This is the background to the piece so I chose the colour black as it is the colour on the original design.

I then mixed the pink and yellow colours I needed to make the screen print. Using the piece of acetate that is under the screen, I was able to line up the design to the black background print so that the colours would fill the gaps. When I was happy with how it was lined up I removed the acetate so that the colours could be pushed through and create the pattern that I first created. Once again, I used the squeegee to push the coloured ink through the screen onto the black background print.

Here is the final screen print design. As you can see the colours are roughy lined up in the gaps and I ensured I had the right shades of pink and yellow so that when they overlapped, they created a orange colour. The overlapping was created by the two acetates, the pick and yellow acetates, having some of the same black bits on. Therefore when it was printed the yellow and pink merged to create orange. Although some of the colours are not exactly aligned and are a little out of place, I find this adds character to the design.