Studio Brief 2: Printed Pictures
Screen Print Test 1

Having already tried screen printing a few times last year I reasonably familiar with the process of cleaning and preparing screens as well as the actual process of printing. However this was the first time I had tried using overlay to create a third colour from just two inks.

Mixing Colours for Overlays 

When mixing the inks I was aware that it is generally better to add less pigment to the medium so as to create a more translucent ink that will overlay more effectively. However having seen how pale some other people's inks had turned out when mixing this way I decided to add more as I desired a very bold and vivid look for my prints.

I thought adding more than I had initially planned on may have reduced the effectiveness of the overlay, however once I printed I was happy to see that three distinct colours had in fact been made. In general I was very happy with the out come of this print, although it could be argued the lighter blue is lost to the back ground somewhat in the smaller huts nearer the top of the image, for a first attempt at over lay it wasn't too bad.

However, as I thought, the over lay option on Photoshop doesn't accurately show how the colour separation will work when actually printed. Therefore, although I could still mock them up on screen, I'd have to think more carefully about how the inks would mix and input the colours manually on Photoshop so as to get an idea of how the printed image would look farther than rely on the overlay blending option.

Although I had initially quite liked this image and think that the subdued, still mood that I want has been created through the use of a low key colour pallet it isn't quite as surreal/uncanny enough in its appearance to be developed further. This is because the surreal elements, the floating towers in the back, look too much like normal buildings simple rising up out of the distance. Furthermore I think They look too obviously Japanese and feel a bit clumsy when used to try and communicate the philosophies and work of a Japanese write, especially one who doesn't himself strongly identify with Japanese culture.