Reduction Printmaking: Here comes the sun

                  Describe which print you were most satisfied with?

I was most satisfied with print 7/9 because the colors printed well on top of each other and except for a few spots where the colors overlapped where they are not supposed too, the print still looks clean and finished. I wanted to use bright colors to make the bird contrast with the background and I think the colors came out very well. One thing I am very happy about is the clean sharp shapes that I was able to create, I knew to make it easier on myself I should use sharp lines and shapes. Lastly this print is very eye catching in the sharp lines and shapes, the contrasting colors and it's simplicity.

What was the most difficult part of this assignment?

The two big challenges I faced with this assignment was the variety of colors I used and all the negative space. The subject I chose;the toucan, is a very tropical and colorful bird and I even took out colors to make mine simpler but I still think I had too many colors. I had five colors which made the process long. I also found becuase my print was simply I had a alot of black space with no detail and when it came to carving out the colors more specifically the green it was very time consuming although I will be honest I cheated a bit. Although I faced these challenges with my prints I still think they came out well.

Describe what is strong about your design. Why is it a good design?

My design is very simple and I think that is why it is strong and effective. The shapes, colors and placement create a clear image of the bird. The shapes and colors  make the subject eye catching and yet simple. Also the placement of the bird to the bottom left corner makes the print more intersting than if it was smack dab in the middle. Lastly, although I don't have alot of detail in the background I think it puts more focus on the bird.

Describe how you used the elements and principles of design in your prints?

I used many principles  such as shape, color, design, placement, contrast, balance and unity. The shapes created the clear image of the bird and the bright colors contrasted with eachother. I placed the bird to the bottom left cornor to make the entire print more pleasing. I balanced the colors in the bird to make it look realistic. The colors created unity in the whole design and made it more eye catching because if the print was in one color it wouldn't be very eye catching.

If you could change one thing about your artwork, what would it be and why?

If I could change one thing it would be to have used less colors. I am happy with how the print came out and all the colors work well but having the multiply colors made it very time consumning with printing and carving. If I could also change one other thing it would be to have a design in the background becuase I had a lot of carving to do and although I did cheat a bit and cut out the background it still  made the entire process very time consuming.