Preliminary Imaging and Development

Before drawing on the stone, the artist should have a good idea what to draw. Most lithographic drawings are preceded by numerous preliminary drawings. Through these, the artist can pin-point her/his approaches to technique, content and composition. The nature of preliminary imaging and development varies considerably from one artist to the next, and even with a single artist from one image to the next. Sometimes an image will be totally developed at this stage (in which case, the stone drawing reproduces the preliminary idea as exactly as possible). At other times, the preliminary efforts have not been to develop a specific image, but instead to hone the techniques that will be employed in its making.

Preparing the Stone

1. Determining Image Size: In the UA printshop, students are required to use a minimum of 1" margins between the edges of the stone and the edges of the image. That is, the maximum permissable image size for a stone of 12"x16" is determined to be 10"x14" by subtracting 2" from each dimension.
2. Dilineating the Image Area: To assure that the drawn image is positioned properly on the stone, the image edges are drawn lightly with red conte or hard graphite.
3. Masking out the margins (optional): If desired, the borders can be masked out by covering them with an acidified gum etch. When possible, we use the recycled gum for this border etch. The border etch works well with dry media and most solvent washes, but it breaks down in contact with water (i.e., as with a water based tusche wash or from perspiring hands.)
4. Starting the Drawing:
   • Using a Preliminary (non-printable) sketch for drawing over. Some artists will start the stone drawing by first laying out a quick sketch with a non-printing material such as red conte. This allows the artist to work without fear of making mistakes that have to be later removed. A minimally developed conte image on the stone serves to guide drawing with the greasy materials.
   • Transfering a pre-existing sketch or drawing onto the stone with a non-printing material. This allows for the artist to develop an image fully (as in a sketchbook) before executing it on the stone. A common way of doing this is to use a paper rubbed down with conte or red oxide pigment like carbon paper and to trace the pre-existing image onto the stone. This tracing is then used as a guide for drawing with the greasy materials.
   • Drawing directly onto the stone with greasy materials without using a non-printing guide drawing or tracing.
5. Crayon Drawing tips:
   • Keeping track of which crayons (brand and grade) are used reduces some of the guesswork during etching.
   • Most crayon drawings incorporate the use of more than one grade of crayon. it is generally best to start with the harder crayons, working from hard to soft, as much as possible.
   • Erasing unwanted marks from a stone drawing usually has consequences. When possible, the artist should attempt to make the best of such marks, either by drawing over them or by adjusting the image to use them. If this is not possible, unwanted marks can be scraped off with a blade or abrasive material, but doing this alters the surface of the stone.
   • Drawing subtractively (i.e., scratching, incising, and scraping into drawn areas) is effective for making white marks, lightening areas, and providing improved precision - not to mention, for expanding the realms of markmaking and expression.