Construct · 1 fields · 2 citations

aquatint: a standalone construct

One name. One construct. A landmark on the map.

● anchor · a printmaking construct Nearest construct by meaning·not indexed
aquatint1 CONSTRUCTAquatintAQUATINT · TONE

A single standalone construct; nearby constructs are located against it in the Collider. Tap a field for its definition, unit, and measures.

Printmaking (intaglio)

Etching continuous tone through a porous resin ground

Aquatint is an intaglio process for printing areas of continuous tone rather than line. A fine dust of acid-resistant resin is settled onto the plate and fused with heat, so the acid bites a mesh of tiny pits around each resin grain; those pitted areas hold ink and print as an even grey whose darkness is set by how long the plate is bitten. By biting in stages and stopping-out, a printmaker builds a range of flat tones, giving aquatint its characteristic look of washed, wash-like shading, often combined with etched line. Gascoigne's How to Identify Prints and The Complete Printmaker both describe the grounds and biting that distinguish it from line etching and from mezzotint.[1][2]

Unit
The tonal value of each area, set by resin grain size and biting time
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Judged from proofs by the evenness and range of printed tone across stopped-out stages

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Nearby constructs

mezzotint1 fields · 2 citationsanchor · a printmaking constructetching3 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, three constructs

References

  1. Gascoigne, B. (1995). How to identify prints: A complete guide to manual and mechanical processes from woodcut to ink jet. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 9780500234549
  2. Ross, J., Romano, C., & Ross, T. (1990). The complete printmaker: Techniques, traditions, innovations (Rev. & expanded ed.). Free Press. ISBN 9780029273722

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