How To Print On Gelatin With Cardboard Scraps

I decided to experiment with cardboard scraps on a gelatin plate. For my prints I took cardboard tubes, large cardboard circle from the double sided tape, long cardboard tube from the kitchen foil and small cardboard tube from the thread. You don’t have to take only round shapes for this project. All you need is something which is not sharp and will not cut the plate.

Also I used Marabu Acryl Color paints but any acrylic paints will be good for it.

So, first of all you need to take three cardboard tubes and fold them.

One tube was cut and folded in spiral shape.

Then insert folded pieces into two remained tubes and spiral one put into the long cardboard tube. Inserted parts should be on the same level with the tubes to get the nice print.

Then add some paint to the gelatin plate, spread it with the brayer and gently press any shapes you like to the surface to get interesting pattern. Put paper on the plate, press it slightly with your hands or with the clean brayer, then peel off and enjoy the result. If there some paint remains on the printing plate, you can make a second print with another sheet of paper.

I didn’t like how spiral shape looked like on my print (not as spiral at all) so I used the other side of tube to make circles. Maybe I just needed to take a longer stripe of cardboard to make a spiral.

While printing, watch for inserted parts not to move inside the tubes.

The only thing I wasn’t happy about was using new recipe for my gelatin plate. It reacted with acrylic paints and made them thicker than I usually use. Paper stuck to the surface and it added some undesired texture to my prints.
But anyways, I’ve made prints I like and see a lot of potential to work with!

Next time you will see finished prints with some or much doodling on them.