Bassenji
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Etch-A-Sketch critter WIP
🕑 Added 2025-01-03 17:30:33 +0000 UTCI found this Etch-A-Sketch on the curb a few months ago. I was immediately excited to try to draw with it, but it was so old that the screen was scratched up with permanent lines. This toy has clearly been well-loved for many years. It made it feel a lot more special than a brand new one, and I like the crisscross texture the lines create. The frame was otherwise looking in good condition. Most importantly, this thing is extremely hard to draw with - it's so unintuitive. I now have so much respect for anyone that can make art with it. I was struggling to even write letters.
So of course, the next thought I had was to paint on it. I immediately had an idea of an ink demon that's trapped inside, licking the screen. At first I wanted to give it hypno eyes, but all versions I made of that made it look a bit too creepy. Drawing things pressed against glass is so challenging!!
I wanted a part of the painting to reminisce textures found in etch-a-sketch art. It was interesting to see different approaches artists took to filling up solid shapes.
The most common approach I saw was the vertical/horizontal lines
(Art by George Vlosich III). But a technique that charmed me was these lines swirling in and out of each other, almost like a fingerprint pattern.
(Art by Kyle Fleming).
I made a quick placeholder for areas I wanted this pattern to feel like it's being revealed, where the critter is less tightly woven together. I'm still unsure which pattern I will use, I will have to ponder it. I made some swirlies in my digital version, but I am now leaning more towards straight lines, to complement the crisscross background.
Once I was satisfied with the digital version, I printed it out to have a handy reference next to me.
As you can see, I wrapped all the frame up in tape, because I don't trust my clumsy ass to not smear paint all over it.
The next step was to cut out the negatives on sticker paper and paste them on the screen to mask out the areas I'd like to stay exposed.
There were many small details and transferring it was a bit tricky, but it worked out okay.
Only one layer of gesso this time. I did like three layers on the paddle board, and it made the illustration a bit raised.
Yippee!
I also tried scratching off the gesso with a bone folder, which worked out great. This will be useful for my plans later with the 'unraveling' effect.
ALSO! I am looking for name suggestions for this piece.
Comments
Bassenji
I love this!
ObservantLeo
Name-wise I would go for something along the lines of imaginary friend or childhood creation. Because we have a creature here living inside an old toy, eager to play with the viewer. Eager to play or Play again/once more would also be a fun idea
Bassenji
Thank you!! It is such an adventure and I'm excited about this one
Space Buck
😳😳 I'm at a loss for words, there's so much to love here—the curb find, the research you put into it, using one medium to pay tribute to the style of another medium, the inky kinky creature tempting the viewer....invitingly....uh what were we talking about again
