Scratching: drawing technique and tools

The content of the article

• What is scuffing
• Preparation of material for drawing using scratching technique
• Foundation creation
• Waxing
• Wax painting
• Creating a Scratch Drawing

Today, there are many drawing techniques. One of the most interesting is scratching, which attracts many drawing enthusiasts with its unusual effect and ease of execution. Following simple instructions, even an inexperienced person will be able to learn how to create real works of art. Scratching technique, otherwise called waxing, will be interesting to children and adults of any age. The works made in the grattage are distinguished by the contrast of the black background and white lines of the picture.

What is scuffing

Waxography is an ancient scratch technique. Under modern grattage (French. Gratter – scratch, scratch) understand scratching the picture on a sheet of paper or a board, which is covered with a thin layer of wax and mascara. This is currently a common professional method for creating graphic art compositions. With it, you can achieve clear strokes and create a spectacular look with minimal effort..

Scratch drawings became very popular at the beginning of the last century. Then in Russia began to actively practice the technique of gratography, which they began to use for the implementation of expressive and fantastic works. The works of M.V. Dobuzhinsky and Lithuanian schedule D.K. Tarabilden. The latter illustrated the book “One Hundred Folk Ballads” using this technique..

Scratching a pattern on a black background involves the use of any sharp object of suitable diameter. Traditionally, goose feathers, wooden sticks, and non-filled fountain pens are used to scratch strokes and images. The essence of modern gratting technique is as follows: a thick wax layer is applied to thick paper or a sheet of cardboard, which is then covered with black ink. When a layer of mascara is scratched with a sharp object, strokes are formed on a black background, the color of which will correspond to the color of the wax substrate.

To create a black-and-white image, a white sheet of paper needs to be coated with wax and ink, and to obtain a spectacular multi-colored pattern, the substrate is made of several colors of wax crayons. Suppose one more option – first, the base should be painted with watercolors, setting the color context of the future drawing, then coated with wax and mascara. The result will be colored scratching.

It is no coincidence that scratching became popular at the beginning of the last century, because then such qualities as simplicity, originality and conciseness were appreciated. It was possible to create patterns on a black background with a halftone effect using grattage using contours. This technique is often found in magazines and newspapers of the time. If the print quality of those works was mediocre, then among the promotional products there are virtuoso examples that show skill and a wide range of possibilities for gratting.

Even at this time, scratching is a unique drawing technique that is actively being introduced into programs for preschool development. Scratching for children is a relatively simple way to create drawings that hold great learning potential. He acquaints the baby with the basics of composition, develops fine motor skills of hands and imagination, gives an idea of ​​the physical properties of mascara, wax and paints, and also has a complex effect on children’s development.

Preparation of material for drawing using scratching technique

The history of using grattage is very long, so a lot of tools and materials for implementation have accumulated. To create a scratch pattern you will need:

• a sheet of cardboard or thick paper;
• black mascara or gouache;
• flat brush (wide) with soft pile;
• oil pastels, wax crayons or a paraffin candle;
• a wooden skewer (e.g. a toothpick), a quill, a nail, a knitting needle and other convenient tools for scratching – professional artists use cutters (special cutters).

Foundation creation

Having decided to start creating spectacular drawings by scratching, prepare a sheet of thick paper (whatman paper) or cardboard. You have several options to choose from:

• Leave the paper white..
• Make the base color. Apply watercolor in random order..
• Paint the cardboard with simple wax crayons. You can use one color or sketch colorful stripes without leaving empty spots..
• Take colored cardboard as the basis for scratching.
• Prepare a cardboard with a ready-made image on it, for example, a piece of a box of chocolates.

Waxing

Having prepared the basis for drawing with the scratching technique, apply wax on it. There are several ways to do this:

• Rub the wax candle into the base.
• Grate the candle in a container and place in a water bath. Once the wax has melted, apply it to the cardboard using a small brush..
• Light a tea candle and draw wax onto a brush directly from it, carefully transfer to cardboard.

If you have already applied wax crayons to the base, skip the wax step. If the application with crayons seemed uneven, then this problem can be fixed right at this stage. You can improve the situation with a solvent, for example, try using turpentine. Professional craftsmen use egg yolk, chalk, special clay instead of wax to paint with scratching technique.

Wax painting

For painting, you can use mascara, gouache or acrylic paint. The first two remedies are recommended to be slightly mixed with a soapy solution or a solution with shampoo. Due to this, the paint will not slide off the greasy wax surface. More details:

• One option involves the use of mascara. In the process, it will roll along the wax surface, so you have to apply several layers. As an option – give the base color with a sponge or cotton swab.
• The second method of painting involves the use of gouache. Paint (any) should be applied with spots. Such engraving will be less durable..
• For painting, the technique of gratting involves the use of acrylic paint. At the same time, there are subtleties – acrylic freezes with a film and therefore scratching is possible with small irregularities.

Creating a Scratch Drawing

Before starting to create an image using grattage, fix the sheet on plywood or table by gluing it with tape. Next, follow the step-by-step instructions:

1. Dry the surface thoroughly before starting work. Put a napkin or a blank sheet of paper on the “inactive” areas.
2. Paint the surface using oil pastels of different colors. For example, for the autumn landscape, take red and yellow tones, for the image of the underwater world, purple and blue.
3. To shades flow smoothly into each other, take a piece of paper and rub it on the surface. The oil surface is well smeared, so you get a solid multi-colored stain.
4. Paint over the entire surface using black ink or gouache. Do not forget to add some liquid soap or shampoo to the pigment.
5. Outline the main contours with a white pencil or crayon. Only outline the main outline, as erasing a pencil from such a surface without damaging it will be difficult.
6. Start scratching the marked outline with a sharp object. It’s not worth pushing too much – do it with such pressure to remove the black layer. Before scratching, make sure that the dark pigment is dried.
7. Having scratched the main contours, get down to working out the details and complete your drawing..

Scratching can be made negative or positive. In the first case, the substrate is made dark, and the background is light, and in the second (most common), the light pattern is scratched against a dark background. After covering the wax layer using mascara, you will get a semi-matte black surface that must be handled very carefully – do not splash with water, do not touch with your hands. Fingerprints immediately remain on it, which then cannot be removed by anything. Helpful hints:

• If you do not finish the wax cardboard, then you can not scratch a straight line, because the material will begin to crumble.
• It is very important to work on a completely flat surface so that the cardboard does not break and bend. Better fix the worksheet on plywood with adhesive tape..
• You can choose the materials for the scratching technique at your discretion. It can be thick paper, cardboard, plastic, wood, an old calendar and even metal. In the case of a metal and wooden surface, you can’t tint the base – just cover it with wax and scratch the image.
• Apply the paint with a flat brush with a soft pile – so the layer will turn out uniform. If you use a hard pile, it “injures” the wax layer. It is recommended to carry out with a brush only once, otherwise the surface will become wet and just swell.
• The intermediate layer can be made with a paraffin candle, egg yolk or wax crayons.
• The last colorful layer is created using colored gouache or black mascara. The final color in general can be any – it all depends on your compositional idea..
• To prevent gouache from painting your hands when scratching the picture, add some PVA to the paint.
• To prevent the paint from slipping on paraffin or wax during the application of the top coat, chalk the surface.
• If mascara or gouache rolls off a layer treated with wax crayons, you can first degrease the base with talc.