Collagraphs

Collagraphy is a type of printmaking process, in which a textured surface is used to create prints. Different textures will naturally hold different amounts of ink, and therefore will produce different results.

The first thing we had to do in 3d was create 6 different collagraph designs, using a combination of different types of materials, mainly cardboard. These designs would then get photocopied and used later on in the project. The majority of my collagraphs were improvisational, though a few of them did take some inspiration from the designs I had already created.

Here's a bit about each of them:

• Design 1 - My first square was a slightly tweaked version of one of my Mondrian designs. The square of card I got had some pictures left on it, so I used these as a soft of background. I chose to hint at some of the lines in my design using curves, while others were replicated using thin strips of card. As for some of the squares within it, I used some thick, grey card to add those in. This turned out to be one of my favourite designs, though looking back, I think it'd have looked more cohesive if I'd incorporated the curves into another element too to help incorporate them better into the design.
• Design 2 - My second square was also going to reference my Mondrian designs, but during the process I began to improvise and stray from the pre-existing designs. I'm a big fan in the textural variation; the exposed corrugation in particular adds a nice bit of visual interest to an otherwise basic piece. That all said, I'm not the biggest fan of this one as it is so simple. I personally think that it doesn't look very well thought out, making it seem lazy and rushed.
• Design 3 - Once again, this design was somewhat inspired by my previous Mondrian inspired designs. Originally, I had planned for it to be a direct copy of my pre-existing "Owens" design, but instead I experimented with scale and positioning until I got this. I think it still looks interesting, even though it's not what I originally planned it to be. I'm not 100% satisfied though, and I think it might be that the piece doesn't look balanced enough in my opinion - the left side looks really bare, whereas the right side looks crowded in comparison. This makes some of the letters really noticeable, specifically "N", making not entirely abstract. This could've easily been avoided with a little more planning, or had I stuck to my original plan.
• Design 4 - By far, this is my least favourite design. I went into it with no plan whatsoever, and it really didn't work out. It started out with some random cardboard shapes, which I then used some paper-coated wire to hint at the letters of my name in attempt to salvage a design I was already disliking. It had worked somewhat, but I muddled up my wire shapes during the gluing process, which really impacted what I think of this design. There's no way I can think of that could improve / correct this design, and it was definitely a lesson to think about the potential results I could get from an initial idea before committing to a set of shapes I may not be that much of a fan of.
• Design 5- Thankfully, I learnt from the previous train wreck, and set out on a new improvisational design, choosing to keep a fairly sharp, triangular look to each shape. This was based upon the shape that had the curve cut out - when I found that bit of card, I knew I wanted to incorporate it, and avoiding including curves elsewhere really helped draw attention to it. I don't think I put enough thought into the contrasting textures - it doesn't look balanced or thought out. I also wish that I'd spend a little more time to ensure each triangle was crisper, with straighter lines, to really reinforce the contrast I wanted.
• Design 6- Ending on a high note, this design is one that I do like, even if there are changed I'd make. I wanted to go the entirely opposite direction of Design 5, and focused on highlighting the straight lines in the background by primarily creating curved lines. I love the variation in tone; the dark background really helped everything pop. I'm not a fan of the twisted card as it looks too clunky and rigid, breaking the overall "flow". I think that using some string could've helped correct this. I also think that this'd balance out the grey card, which looks a bit out of place as it is. Another way of dealing with that would be to swap it out for the same brown card as the rest.