Customer Reviews

Digital Art Studio: Techniques for Combining Inkjet Printing with Traditional Art Materials

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm a professional artist and consider myself a reasonably knowledgeable user of Photoshop. I was glad I was able to borrow this before buying it, since, as someone without a specialized printmaking studio, it was useless to me. It is assumed that you have a large scale printer, and that you'd be willing to put all kinds of esoteric and potentially damaging coatings and materials through it.

To give you an idea of the specialized nature of this book, there is a little craft section in back with a section on how to print on fabric. The materials list includes "reactive textile dyes for inkjet printers" and "precautionary fire extinguisher." Sure, I just happen to stock my Epson here at home with reactive textile dyes and keep a fire extinguisher handy! Almost all of the other techniques are of this sort of nature.

If you are a very specialized printmaker with the right equipment, this will be helpful to you. If you are a regular artist with an inkjet printer who wants to explore new ways of working with your computer that are reasonably do-able, this probably will be less of a help.

For anyone, especially printmakers, attempting to deal with technology and combining technological with traditional processes; like etching , lithography, etc., the book "Digital Art Studio"by Karin Schminke, Dorothy Simpson Krause and Bonnie Lhotka is a comprehensive masterpiece. Explanations are thorough and understandable and beautifully illustrated with masterful works of art by the three authors. Perhaps best of all there is an excellent index, glossary, and resources section listing specific companies, addresses, phone numbers and websites for finding materials. It is in my opinion, one of the very best books of it's kind that I have ever seen in a long career as a printmaker.

I just received my copy in the mail and I'm overwhelmed with the outstanding imagery and techniques that the three artists of Digital Atelier offer in this book by Karin Schminke, Dorothy Simpson Krause and Bonny Lhotka. 

These are the three artists of Digital Atelier, and their website is mindblowing (www.digitalatelier.com). Don't forget to check the links to the individual artist websites. They started with professional, expensive inkjet printers through corporate sponsorships and grants, and it took ten years since the time these artists started experimenting and exhibiting for the technology to catch up with consumer inkjet printers.

This book is process oriented and is recommended for intermediate to advanced mixed-media artists and photographers who want to explore digital artmaking. They show you how to use your inkjet printer, albeit more expensive and professional models, to print on practically any material: fabrics, plastics, metals, papers, etc.  The past few weeks, I've been studying the techniques and I've ordered the InkAid product so I can create my own substrates for the low-end desktop printer, the Epson C84 with Durabright inks.  InkAid is a special precoat and it was developed by the Digital Atelier artists (www.inkaid.com).  I've been able to create interesting prints with my printer that neither the artists nor InkAid support - but I'm happy to report that they've both been very responsive and helpful with my questions.

You'll still need to know the basics of digital design and composition, but if you ever wanted to make your artwork explode onto textures, layers, collage and 3-D surfaces - this book is it. This is a process-oriented book so you will still have to develop your own digital imagery, compose the layers, and prepare the surfaces before you can print. You will need to have some experience with image editing techniques such as Photoshop, and how to scan, capture or upload images to your computer. This book is concerned with output - and intimate knowledge with the capabilities of your desktop and wide- or large-format printers is necessary. This is not a quick artmaking process. Precoating to prepare various materials for printing on requires time to dry the layers but the effort is worth it.

You will learn various image transfer and "emulsion" transfer (similar to Polaroid) techniques as well as some unusual printmaking and layering ideas: gelatin transfers, frescos, digital overprinting and underprinting, and collage. There's a whole chapter on transferring or printing images onto fabrics for both wearable and non-wearable art. The three artists offer numerous options to pursue and don't promise that their techniques will do everything. Amazingly, they do offer a lot.

You can also work on your printed images with traditional art media - such as pastels, colored pencils, acrylics, even encaustics, but those techniques are not detailed too much. This book assumes you have your own expertise but it offers more possibilities for traditional and digital artists. They position the inkjet printer as a well-placed tool in the mixed-media studio. All the techniques build in complexity and they are demonstrated very well in step-by-step photographs and text. Examples of artwork is numerous and varied and so the art gallery is outstanding.

As a new, self-taught collage artist, I am inspired to rework my best images and create new versions on various "canvases." This book as a great addition to my reference library. The only con to the book, and it's minor at that is some confusion I have with the materials needed for printing on or using as "carriers." Specifically, the list of polycarbonate, plastic sheets, polyester films. I have to take notes to keep track of which technique to try first as I shop for more materials but I am excited to start.

This book has been long-awaited by digital artists and I congratulate Digital Atelier on the launch and applaud the three artists for their generosity.

Summary: Take the humble inkjet printer and create stunning works of art!

"Digital Art Studio" is that peek into an artist's studio who is creating true art . .not just stylized photo prints. It's like working shoulder-to shoulder with an experienced printmaker who shows you all their secrets and tricks - even the experiments that didn't work . .and why! When you're done you'll be making prints on any substrate.

I've been searching the web for a source book like this and I can guarantee you there's nothing out there like it! I'd give it six stars if I could. (Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with the publisher or authors in any way)

I bought this book a few weeks ago and my copy is already dog-eared from multiple reads. As far as I know, this is the only book that tackles digital printmaking from an artist's perspective. Sure, there are countless books on digital prints for photographers, but this one is for the printmaker, the collage-artist, the painter and sculptor: someone who likes to get his/her hands in the muck. The authors do a wonderful job explaining sometimes complex techniques and the variety of applications and possibilities presented are truly inspiring. Excellent resource!

While I find it exciting to see the possibilities of this new frontier in art, I was disappointed with this book. It is packed with techniques that require expensive printers, hard-to-find art products and the use of outside service bureaus. Even with my experience in printmaking, painting and Photoshop, there is little here of practical benefit to my own collage and mixed media art.

Just as inkjet printers brought photographers out of the darkroom and into their homes, the techniques in this book do the same for artists, photographers, and creative people alike.

The wealth of knowledge and experience that these women share is invaluable to artists who don't have the means or methods to create such beautiful works of art.

The book is easy to read and full of wonderful color images and step by step instructions.

Every creative person should have this book on his or her shelf!

This is a great book for those exploring new options for printing digital photos and artwork. The techniques they demonstrate are not for beginners; a working knowledge of inkjet printing is probably a prerequisite before delving into this book. But for those who are comfortable with the basics of inkjet printing, this is an invaluable resource. It opens up a wealth of new ideas and approaches to printing on a wide variety of media. There is no other book like it out there right now. Recommended!

I found this book and the images in it inspirational. The authors give clear, understandable descriptions on how to achieve the various results. There are also techniques to use to ensure the prints produced are archival. This book is not for beginners, but any artist who wants to combine traditional materials with digital prints will find it to be a wealth of knowledge.

It's rare that one gets a chance to share in the cutting edge secrets of any new pioneering technology. For digital artists this is the best "how to" manual around. In this book, 3 superheroes of digital art share the results of their creative effort, their trial and error knowledge gained by doing and finally succeeding. Now we have a chance to stand on thier shoulders and look around. good stuff! Thanks you guys.