HOW TO APPLY SHADING SCREEN TO YOUR CARTOONS
Shading screens can give your cartoons that professional look and where and how you
apply the screen can also add character to your work.
A good choice, to start with, would be Formatt 7000 and Formatt 7002. This would give you two
shades of gray. Another good brand would be Letraset 904 and 909.
Avoid Mylar Gloss screens, they stick too well. Also avoid dry transfer screens because
they leave a waxy surface.
There are many screen patterns to choose from, but if you use a screen with too fine
a pattern, it will not hold up when you reduce the size of your cartoon. So before you buy
a lot of screen, experiment with one size first.
Lightly stick a piece
of screen over the part of your cartoon you would like to shade. Using an X-acto knife
cut out the parts of screen you do not want and peal off. Now put a piece of paper over
the screen and burnish it down tight.
The tricky part is not cutting through your
drawing while cutting out the screen. This is not much of a problem on Bristol board,
but I would wait until you get good at it before trying it on typing paper.
If you look
at Gary Larson's
The Far Side, you will see the use of a lot of screen. For a more simple but very
affective use of screen, check out some Garfield books by Jim Davis.
Cutting out screen
is a little hard at first, but after a dozen cartoons or so you will be a pro.
One bit of advice, screen is fun to use but don't over do it!
If you have
trouble obtaining pattern screen locally, you can buy it online from
TEXAS ART SUPPLY
