Screen Printing - three separations

Three colour separations, and full bird form (right)

 I was encouraged by one of my tutors to try a screen print, using multiple colours, but instead of me colouring the triangles using a pre-drawn pencil 'web', I was told to create something more unpredictable. Using a photograph of an Ibis bird I'd taken on my trip to Oxford back in the summer, I guessed where the darkest,  mid, and light tones were, and drew the triangles free-hand, making sure they all fitted within the bird's form. I then re-drew the triangles in Photoshop to make sure the lines were completely straight, and that there was no white space.

I found the print quite difficult... lining up all the layers perfectly was impossible, and I also kept having problems with the ink drying on the screen, which meant I had to keep re-washing, inking, and setting the screen. In the end it took two days in the studio. BUT, it was definitely not a wasted experiment - I now know I won't be using screen-printing for my final outcome - to create eight prints, all with three layers would be VERY labour heavy, and drawing the prints themselves will be very time-consuming. I've sent off for sample packs from various printers, so I'm now looking into getting my prints sent off to a printing company - halving my work-load and saving me getting stressed!

Screen print - two layers

Screen print - three layers