Etching
エッチング／腐食銅版画 / 16th century– / Technique / Intaglio Printing
A needle draws through the acid-resistant ground and the acid bites the metal it exposes, cutting lines into the plate that are thin, fluid and close to handwriting.
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At a glance
Visual cues
- Thin flowing lines
- Depth by biting
- Cross-hatching
- Plate marks
Best used for
- Series of travel notes or figures that keep the speed and hesitation of drawing
- Book illustration where atmosphere and shadow must come from line alone
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Dictionary entry
- Type
- Draw the lettering with the same needle so its weight matches the image
- Composition
- Build tone from hatching density and keep bare paper as the brightest area
- Material
- Vary line depth by bite time, stopping out in stages as the acid works
- Caution
- A uniform pen line filter is no substitute, since bite time, overlapping lines, ink left in the wiping and press pressure make the difference, and layering without timing fills detail with black.
- Further study
- ground / etching needle / acid bite / Rembrandt
Related entries
- Intaglio (凹版印刷)Same Intaglio Printing lineage.Compare Etching and Intaglio
- Woodcut (木版画)Editorially linked for a useful contrast.Compare Etching and Woodcut
Often confused with
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- Link
- https://indexstyle.org/styles/etching
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- [Etching — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/etching)
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