SCRATCHBOARD ART HOW-TO

Note: This page is under construction .......

Ever wanted to learn how to do Scratchboard Art?  I hope to break it down in pieces that you can easily understand.

 The Basics (in a nutshell):

Just what is scratchboard?


It is not a drawing although you start by drawing your image onto it. It is not a painting although you paint on acrylic inks (or any water color type of medium) for colorization. Your image is produced by scratching. The support may be cheap paper or good solid board. The concept is a support (paper or such) that is covered in a thin layer of white clay, then a layer of india ink. In order to get your image, you scratch through the ink to show the clay underneath. As you are scratching, you may add color to the clay, then scratch through that, add more color, and scratch again until you have the image to your liking.

This art is very labor intensive, but becomes one of the most lifelike of all arts when finished. Fur and hair is done almost one-by-one, layered with more ink, then more hairs on top, more ink, etc., in order to get depth.

If you ever want to try scratchboard, be sure to get a good support. The cheap paper is not the way to go. Scratchboard can be bought in some art supply stores and most are bought online. Instruments for scratching can be bought in kits, although you will find they do not do exactly what you had in mind but are good for beginning and learning. Anything sharp that will cut through the ink is fine. Scalpels, exacto knives, sewing needles, steel wool, etc, are all used to create the final image. Anything goes!

Full instructions:

NOTE:  Scratchboard Art can be inherently dangerous.  All tools are sharp and could cause injuries.  The fiberglass brush is just that, glass.  When it is used, tiny shards will break off the brush.  Yes, they can and will pierce your skin.  Remove them immediately.  Do not let children or pets near your tools or the ink dust as the dust is no good for their lungs and contains tiny bits of glass.  When scratchboarding it is YOUR responsibility to take care.
 
TOOLS (ones that I use, you may want something else as you learn to scratch)

(Click on image for a larger version)

Upper row:  Green kitchen scouring pad, fine non-oily steel wool, sandpaper
Tools: Straight blade X-acto knife, curved blade X-acto knife, sewing needle in mechanical pencil, 4 prong line tool, single line tool, many prong tool (for fur), regular fiberglass brush, thin fiberglass brush

What can they do?

(click for larger image)

FB=Fiberglass Brush

GKP=Green Kitchen Pad

SW=Steel Wool (fine)

SP=Sand Paper (extra fine)

X=X-acto knife straight blade, curved blade

N=Needle

4=4 prong line

line=Line Scratcher

FUR=many pronged fur scratcher

Shading, several different ways: Cross Hatching, Lines, Fiberglass Brush

I also use a swiffer for wiping  the black dust off the board continuously as I work .  Scratchboarding can be very very messy and the scratching hand tends to turn black from the dust.  It washes off easily though.

Another item to purchase will be white tansfer paper.  Black graphite cannot be seen. White erases off easily with a rubber eraser.

SCRATCHBOARDS

This is the type of scratchboard I use.  There are several brands, but I have started with Ampersand and I have no reason to change.  Their brand name is Scratchbord. The one I will show you how to scratch today will be  5x7.  It is fairly cheap to use for practice (about $2 a board online) and comes in a set of 3.  Scratchbord comes in many sizes.

REFERENCE IMAGES:

You can use anything for a reference.  It is best to use your own photograph or image.  Please do not use someone else's photos from off of the internet or from magazines, etc.  The photographer has worked  very hard to get these photos and they still own the copyright.  If this is used without their written permission, it is stealing.  However if you find a photo you really like, most photographers will give you their blessing to use it.  Always ask ahead of time.

The one I will be working with today is a from a photo of some local 'White Desert Poppies.'  I took the original photograph, cropped it, and turned it into black & white to make it easier to use for scratchboard.

Edited and cropped photo:

Original photo:

Please notice how I took out the twig and shadow that is in the original photo.  This is just for my own use as it now gives me a clear view of what I am to scratch.  For this demonstration, I will ignore everything except the flowers (no background or leaves).

TRANSFERRING THE IMAGE:

You may either print the image out at the correct size or sketch your own image from the photo.

If you click on the b/w photo, it will enlarge to a 5x7 size.  You have my permission to use my photo for your work.....I have tried to make it the right size.   I am not sure if printing will give you the right size but it is definitely worth a try.

The next step is to take your print or sketch and put it over the scratchboard and put your transfer paper underneath the image.  Be sure the right side is down!  Trace your image and it will be transferred to the board.  Give yourself guidelines for whatever will keep you on track.  As you can tell, I use the transfer paper many times.

Transfer paper on board

Drawing/print over transfer paper

After tracing, board will look like this:

 BEGINNING TO SCRATCH, IMPORTANT

Before you begin to even touch your first board after transferring your image,  be sure to test out all the tools to know how to use them and what they can do.  Take one of the boards that came in the 3/pak and use it specifically for that reason.  You can even label the scratch marks so you know what each tool can do.  Try the tool in a forward motion (towards you) and also in a backwards motion (away from you).  Each way can give you different results.  Once you  have scratched a line on your drawing board, it cannot easily be 'erased', so plan all strokes as best you can.  Never start out by outlining the work (in this case the flowers).  You will never see anything outlined in nature in this way.  Your individual strokes will define the edges without an outline.

SCRATCHING

First of all, plan on how you will do your scratching.  Will you use cross-hatching, straight strokes, a fiberglass brush? I decided to start mine with a fiberglass brush (FB).  The two photos below show the start.

For quick removal of black hold the FB upright:

For lighter removal, hold it lightly and drag it softly

Be sure to always follow your guidelines in the direction shown.  Do not go across in a different direction as the fiberglass brush will leave grooves as shown in the image.  And they will be hard to remove later.  By extending the fiberglass bristles out a little, you can soften the lines a little more.

Further refining.....Note that the flower on the left has some 'shading'.  This was accomplished by using some of the ink dust on my finger and rubbing it over the shaded surface.  This will be easily removed later for highlights.  This step can cause fiberglass shards to prick your fingers, be very very careful if you choose to go this way.

Keep going until you have both flowers like the one on the left.  Keep referring to the original photo for shading.  It never has to be exact, by changing it up it becomes 'yours'.  Just be sure the shadows are correct for the sunlight available.  Determine where the light is coming from and shade accordingly if you are going to change it.

(come back later for more.....)