I was interested in screen printing because not only does it look really fun, but I loved the idea of being able to reproduce an illustration multiple times and print onto different materials. The idea of having a tote bag or a pencil case with one of my own illustrations on just excites me so much!
I am still very new to screen printing so my knowledge is extremely limited, however I do know that there are many different methods to actually get your design onto the silk screen. The kit that I received involves the stencilling method where you have to cut your design out of a self-adhesive vinyl material and then stick that to the underneath of the screen. When I was researching this method I repeatedly read that the stencilling method can only be used for very simple designs and not for long runs. When I read this I was a bit disheartened because I had imagined being able to print quite a detailed design, but I was undeterred and just as determined to do a more complex design.
As for the design, I struggled to come up with an idea that I wanted to use as my first ever screen print. It got to the point when I was so desperate to try that the design mattered less to me. In the end, I used my sister's interest as inspiration - she loves historical fashion. So I did a bit of research into historical fashion (which I have to say I enjoyed very much) and decided to try and screen print a lady from the 1820s. (Please excuse if it is not entirely historically accurate, I gave a lot more focus to the design of the image on this one.) In the end, I was actually really pleased with the design. I found that having the challenge of screen printing the image forced me to simplify the design a lot and think about how it would all fit together when cut out of vinyl and I just love how bold the image looks!
So, once I was happy with the idea in my sketchbook, I redrew it as carefully as I could onto regular A4 printer paper. I then went over it in a felt tip pen so it was extremely clear which areas I would like the ink to be in the final print. Once this was done, I layered it over a piece of the vinyl and taped them both to a cutting mat - then the cutting begins. I have to say I was dreading this step because I thought my design would turn out to be waaay too complex and impossible to cut out by hand with a little craft knife. But like I said I was determined and in the end it turned out ok. I had to simplify the design a bit from the original sketch and I really struggled cutting out her eyes, but I got away with only one small cut on my finger so I would rate that as a success!
The next step was to peel off the backing of the vinyl and stick it onto the bottom of the frame. This actually proved quite difficult because of the leaf border, but with some help from my Dad, we managed to get it stuck down well. However, it was at this stage that I started to have doubts about whether my design would be too complicated after all because the vinyl wasn't completely flush with the screen and it kept lifting on certain points.
With that done I could start screen printing! Yay! My kit came with a hinge bracket that allows you to attach the frame to a surface and this was SO useful at keeping the frame in the same place. It would have been so much more difficult without it. I went for a blue ink colour because for some reason this is what I had imagined all along, but I'm sure it would have looked good in other colours too. My first attempt turned out pretty badly and the ink bled everywhere, but the more I did the better it got. It was very much a learning process so I was experimenting with different amounts of ink and different materials to print on. I used a bunch of different papers and had best results on a random piece of grey card that unfortunately we only had one piece of. However, I would say that I got the best results on some cotton fabric. The ink just seemed a lot cleaner on this, assumedly because it was more absorbent. The ink did run a bit in the more complex parts like the hairline, but I am still really happy with the results. And of course, I can now use the fabric prints to make other things which is very exciting!
This one was printed on fabric:
I was very excited when I was screen printing so unfortunately I completely forgot to take any progress pictures, but I will make sure to do that next time.
Overall, I am SUPER happy with how my first adventure into screen printing came out. The prints are not perfect, but I was honestly expecting awful results because I had thought my design would be far too complicated. I didn't expect to be able to make so many prints either, eventually the results stopped being so clean and some of the small details came loose from the screen, but I was very impressed at how long the vinyl stayed stuck on. I can see myself being hooked from this point though so expect more - I can't wait to try again!
Thanks for reading!
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