Every designer harnesses their inspiration from their surroundings, the objects
or photographs which have a meaning and trigger some kind of a feeling or a
memory. Drawing is always the first step, to loosen up and become familiar with
the matter. Spending hours in a studio, focusing on enhancing the objects
essence through the use of brushstrokes, quality of lines and colour...
Over decades artists have experimented with different techniques like etching,
engraving and screen-printing to produce different type of effects. Years of
experience and patience were needed when it came to working with a range of
materials and methods to produce prints.
As technology has evolved so have the opportunities to simplify the traditional methods of original print design making. But does this evolution and upbringing of programs/apps like #Photoshop Sketch or #AffinityPhoto, which can easily be attained by anyone, mean that anyone can do it? Does everyone, even the people with minimal artistic ability, have the opportunity to create high quality art? Photographs can be easily manipulated, distorted, layered with effects. You can choose from a range of brushstrokes, selection of paints and colours which you may not have had the access to otherwise. The entire process can takes place online, your artwork goes straight from your pdf to print.
There are many revolutionary ways of reproducing or constructing accurate
prints without any hand drawing at all. Today anyone with a mobile
phone or a laptop can produce a print quicker and more efficiently. Some may
say this has become a devolution in the art of printmaking, the sum of technical
expertise and skills, which were once a necessity, have somewhat become
irrelevant. By detaching ourselves more and more from our art, is there a
possibility that at some point the programs will completely produce designs for
us? The prints will lack a sense of humanity, a personal connection. It will all be
perfectly planned and constructed, with no space for happy accidents and the
small minimalistic human errors which gave each print its personality.
On the other hand, by working digitally there is a lower consumption of materials, there is less trouble with paint fumes, spills or dirt... Overall the entire process is less time consuming, which has become the main priority in any of today’s business.
#Textile printing isn’t a new process, it's an ancient art, but the techniques in what way the artists approach it are continuously progressing. From block printing, to screen printing, to now producing digital drawings and using computer-controlled lasers, injecting our designs right into the fabric. What will the future of print making look like? Through all of this change and development, will the old, traditional techniques still be relevant?