The Essentials of Illustration: A Practical Guide to the Reproduction of Drawings & Photographs for the Use of Scientists & OthersHill, Thomas George
Science
The Essentials of Illustration: A Practical Guide to the Reproduction of Drawings & Photographs for the Use of Scientists & Others
Hill, Thomas George
Engraving -- Printing; Illustration of books; Photomechanical processes
In making their drawings for reproduction by line blocks, authors have
at their disposal the black line, the white line, the black space,
the white space, the black dot and the white dot, all of which may be
combined in various ways. No tones, other than black and white, are
available; if it be desired to represent half-tones, they must be
rendered by the above-mentioned means.
In the majority of cases the originals should be made with black ink
on white Bristol board or smooth white paper; ordinary lead pencil
drawings on smooth paper are useless, and lead pencil, black crayon
or charcoal in combination with grained paper or board should not
be employed unless the draughtsman has the requisite skill and knows
exactly the limitations of the line block. For all ordinary folk black
ink and Bristol board cannot be improved upon.
The drawing may be made first with a soft lead pencil, using the
camera lucida or other optical aids to correct delineation. The pencil
lines are then gone over with ink; for this purpose a good black
ink is necessary. Wolff's Indian ink, Higgins' waterproof ink and
Steuber's waterproof drawing ink are highly satisfactory, and
there are many others. With regard to pens, a suitable implement is
all-important; Gillott's lithographic pens and Brandauer's No. 515 are
recommended. For straight lines of an even thickness a ruling pen is
very useful, and these may be obtained fitted with an adjustment which
enables the worker to rule a line of a definite thickness, _e.g._, .5
mm. and so on.
All drawings should be made larger than it is intended the
reproduction to be, for slight inaccuracies, ragged lines, and other
blemishes will thus appear less obvious. This drawing on a large scale
is often a stumbling block, because the work appears too open and the
draughtsman is tempted to put in too much; this must be avoided, else
the crowded lines may join together in the reduced reproduction. Also
it must be remembered not to draw too finely, else the work in parts
may disappear entirely in the reproduction. In drawing on an enlarged
scale a certain amount of exaggeration may be employed, in order that
when reduced the drawing may not be quite spiritless.
When representing a solid object, such as a plant or an animal, to
shew the external morphology, it is to be borne in mind that form
is the main thing to represent, and this can be expressed by outline
drawing alone. In fact, more or less primitive methods must be
employed, and better models cannot be followed than the best wood
cuts.
[Illustration: Fig. 9. The Lesser Celandine (_Ranunculus Ficaria_). By
R. G. Hatton. (From Hatton's _Craftsman's Handbook_).]
[Illustration: Fig. 10. The Lesser Celandine. After Fuchs. (From
Hatton's _Craftsman's Handbook_.)]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account