Part of a series of intaglio prints I did back when I was in a design class, really like how they turned out. For those that are unfamiliar, intaglio is a style of printmaking in which a surface (in this case, a zinc plate) is covered with an acid-resistant coating that is etched away with a metal scraping tool to create the initial design on the plate. The plate is then soaked in acid, which incises, or "bites" the engraving into the plate. The acid-resistant ground is then removed with oil to clean the plate.

Next the plate is covered in ink, and is cleaned with a tarlatan cloth to remove excess ink. The plate itself is then applied to dampened paper, which is situated under a rolling press; the press compresses the paper onto the plate, which then prints the image on the paper.

To get the vibrant color change I used a rolling pin on lines of blue, pink, and orange ink, which was then rolled onto the ink covered plate to create the color transition. The half tone for the sky was done via mezzotint, a process in which steel wool is rubbed into the plate during the etching process. The yellow for the moon and window was added via applying small amounts of yellow ink to the areas with a q-tip.

I made a few more prints with different colors as well as some black and white ones. I love SleepyCast and each of its members, so I wanted to make something to show my appreciation for them. Hope you like it as well.