Monoprinting

Monoprinting

What are Monoprints?Monoprinting is a very simple but effective method of Printmaking. Mono means ‘alone’ in Latin. So you will be creating single unique prints.

Monoprints are known as the most painterly method among the printmaking techniques, a monoprint is often regarded as a printed painting

Monoprints often combine the spontaneity of printed inks and paper, creating a surface that is unlike any other art.

Example of positive and negative prints

You will be creating both positive and negative monoprints

1. First of all dollop a small amount of ink onto your plastic board, then dip your roller into it and roll the ink on a clean piece of the plastic. When rolling make sure you lift the roller so you don’t just roll the same bit of ink (this is not the layer of ink you will be working from, this is more like a recharge area).

2. Then you need to roll out the area of ink you will be working on. You want it nice and thin and even when you have got the correct surface area it should become ‘tacky;. Each time you need a bit more ink go back to your recharge area, not the dollop of ink, you need to keep the ink to a minimum.

What you will need:

An apron, newspaper, a plastic board, ink, roller, a range of marking materials Eg:pencils, pens and a range of papers to experiment with.

Step-by-step Monoprinting

3. You then place your paper on top of your rolled ink and draw on the back of it. Experiment to start with, with different types of pencil, pen, anything you can find. They all make slightly different marks.

4. Turn over your paper to see the results. There are often lovely accidental marks in the background when using this technique, these are what make Monoprints so charming

Step-by-step Monoprinting

Try making marks with your fingers, this leaves a lovely soft line, good for shading. Also remember if you're including any lettering you have to write backwards!

Tips…

Examples of adding shading with your fingers…

Add simple lines first and then create shading with your fingers. The harder you press the darker the marks will be.