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Artist => General Art Discussions => Topic started by: Frog on April 18, 2015, 07:12:18 PM
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Back in the bad old days before computers were in every art department, we also had nothing like cad cut. When we needed to cut film to either make a plate with Rubylith, or an actual stencil with a water or solvent based indirect film, we used knives! Oh, the sissies used their fancy pants ball bearing swivel jobs, but I soldiered away, with my regular old basic X-Acto knife with a fixed #11 blade, holding it loosely, and cut fairly smooth curves.
At any rate, I'm adding names to printed left breast prints for a job due today for a local high school sending kids to a gathering of school choral groups in Disneyland.
After applying Kristin's name, I did a Homer Doh! when I realized that I had it with an "ten" rather than an "tin"
I don't have a cutter, a buddy, out of town today, cut 'em for me. What to do?
I surgically removed the "en" and then, relying on my old skill, hand cut the "in" transplant from some scrap.
Not perfect, but not too bad either.
As my old engraving and embossing foreman used to say "good to a blind man galloping past on a horse"
No fair zooming! ;)
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I did a lot of hand cutting too, back in the day, also with a fixed #11 blade, and yep, that's the way to hold it; very loosely in the crook of your thumb with your index finger on top. The other three fingers are on the material being cut to provide a steady base.
Nice job...but is this cut vinyl? I can't figure out how you surgically removed what was already pressed on...
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Nice job...but is this cut vinyl? I can't figure out how you surgically removed what was already pressed on...
Siser Easyweed. I carefully dampened the area with spotting fluid and peeled (and snipped) just what I wanted to remove.
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A craftsman for sure. Very well done even at the blow up version.
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Thanks, hopefully not a skill I need to use often, but one I'm glad to have learned.
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We used to hand cut sprayed mask that was applied on plastic signs. It was for "back-sprayed clear acrylic faces that were backlit with fluorescent tubes...otherwise known as electric signs. It was my main gig.
I'm glad not to have retained the skill that was required for your tiny, surgical repair Andy. My letters and other graphics were MUCH larger and therefore MUCH easier.
Cudos!
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Talent Frog!
I used the swivel knife which was about $1.01 more, sheesh.
Also how about the "Double-Blade" Exacto which allowed to cut
parallel lines, straight or curved - Ooooo..... Still have it somewhere.
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Talent Frog!
I used the swivel knife which was about $1.01 more, sheesh.
Also how about the "Double-Blade" Exacto which allowed to cut
parallel lines, straight or curved - Ooooo..... Still have it somewhere.
Nope, the good ball bearing swivels the guys in my shops used, I believe may have come from Ulano, and were a little closer to $10(big bucks in 1978!) They held a tiny blade.
The Grifold (I think that's it) held a swiveling offset blade more akin to the standard X-Acto, and the handle came to to a fine taper. Perhaps X-Acto had a similar cheapie, but I don't remember ever seeing it.
I also had a couple of different circle cutters, one from Grifold, that had two pieces that went on a standard ruler or yardstick.
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I'm sure everybody remembers the first time you ever cut amberlith and spent twenty minutes cutting out a design only to realize that you had gone all the way through the backing. DOH!
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I'm sure everybody remembers the first time you ever cut amberlith and spent twenty minutes cutting out a design only to realize that you had gone all the way through the backing. DOH!
Back in the summer of '69 (sounds like a song, don't it?) I got my first introduction to "Silk Screening" in the art department of Merritt College in Oakland CA printing yardage.
We got our necessary supplies from the college bookstore. Frames with real silk, and a knifecut indirect Ulano waterproof stencil film (a precursor to their present day Stay Sharp.)
It had a wax paper backing that helped develop the light hand by showing a distinct white line indicating too much pressure even without cutting all of the way through. We learned, at least with that film, that almost the weight of the knife was sufficient, and it helped keep clean lines when peeled and adhered (of course the lacquer thinner adhering routing was not without its own pitfalls)
With materials like the various heat seal films, it's a different ballgame, and they require a lot more pressure. I cut the vinyl, off of it's backing sheet, lightly glued to a paper print of the desired shape. With light enough color films, I print in reverse, glue the paper to the color side, and cut on my light table (with a clear cutting mat)
With dark films, I have the paper right-reading on the color side, and cut through it as well.
With a glue stick, if there is any residue of glue or paper, it's easily removed with water.
As I said, good to know in an emergency, but not something to want to rely upon too often.
Not quite up to showing off skills by hand drawing or painting a phony postage stamp but at times, a valuable a payoff for the time spent.
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I'm sure everybody remembers the first time you ever cut amberlith and spent twenty minutes cutting out a design only to realize that you had gone all the way through the backing. DOH!
Back in the summer of '69 (sounds like a song, don't it?) I got my first introduction to "Silk Screening" in the art department of Merritt College in Oakland CA printing yardage.
We got our necessary supplies from the college bookstore. Frames with real silk, and a knifecut indirect Ulano waterproof stencil film (a precursor to their present day Stay Sharp.)
It had a wax paper backing that helped develop the light hand by showing a distinct white line indicating too much pressure even without cutting all of the way through. We learned, at least with that film, that almost the weight of the knife was sufficient, and it helped keep clean lines when peeled and adhered (of course the lacquer thinner adhering routing was not without its own pitfalls)
With materials like the various heat seal films, it's a different ballgame, and they require a lot more pressure. I cut the vinyl, off of it's backing sheet, lightly glued to a paper print of the desired shape. With light enough color films, I print in reverse, glue the paper to the color side, and cut on my light table (with a clear cutting mat)
With dark films, I have the paper right-reading on the color side, and cut through it as well.
With a glue stick, if there is any residue of glue or paper, it's easily removed with water.
As I said, good to know in an emergency, but not something to want to rely upon too often.
Not quite up to showing off skills by hand drawing or painting a phony postage stamp but at times, a valuable a payoff for the time spent.
Frog ! You Bring Back Nice Memories
About the same time :) was invented.
My song started in '72 with "stay sharp green" and nazdar 5900 enamel printing my surfboard
laminates. The rest? That's another song!
Winston
PS. Send Us Some Water!
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Talent Frog!
I used the swivel knife which was about $1.01 more, sheesh.
Also how about the "Double-Blade" Exacto which allowed to cut
parallel lines, straight or curved - Ooooo..... Still have it somewhere.
Nope, the good ball bearing swivels the guys in my shops used, I believe may have come from Ulano, and were a little closer to $10(big bucks in 1978!) They held a tiny blade.
The Grifold (I think that's it) held a swiveling offset blade more akin to the standard X-Acto, and the handle came to to a fine taper. Perhaps X-Acto had a similar cheapie, but I don't remember ever seeing it.
I also had a couple of different circle cutters, one from Grifold, that had two pieces that went on a standard ruler or yardstick.
Just razzing ya- a regular blade was easier. Yes still have the tiny blade swivel, and remember usually over cutting when it wildly swung from side to side.
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old enough to have used the hand cut methods but not in the biz way back then I have spent many hours with the fine cutting tools from X-Acto however recently discovered this source for stuff that cuts , picks , holds blaw blaw blaw.
http://www.tedpella.com/supqckf.htm (http://www.tedpella.com/supqckf.htm)
we find these especially helpful for bunches of stuff we work on
http://www.tedpella.com/dissect_html/scalpel.htm (http://www.tedpella.com/dissect_html/scalpel.htm)
mooseman
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Ah memories of days of yore, if I could only remember them. We used the #11, and Xacto swivel, and the Ulano ball bearing swivel, which in the hands of a real illustrator sepatator, was absolutely invaluable. You could call her a sissy, but she carries, so it's probably best not to...
Steve
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When I was about 12 (late 60s) I remember my "Grammy" hand cutting screens to print pellon crests for her ball team......And even get really special at times my "flocking" them after printing them......
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Xacto #11 too. I took swivel knife baldes, wittled them down and stuck one
in my compass from drafting class. Perfect for circles.
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I'd love to have some of the computer guru separators and artists go through what we did back then when we used nothing more than #11 X-acto's, Rubylith or Amberlith, a #2 Rapidograph, opaque ink, Kimoto Pens, Kodak red block out, etc. What took hours/days/weeks back then can be done effortlessly in Photoshop. Halftones? PITA, just stipple in a tonal, no moire ever! I still have art bags, with keylines, rubyliths for every color to be knocked out and reversed with neg film, hand stippling, or cross hatch texture done on negative film, plus original Disney Art from my artist who now runs Disney Character Development (or something like that). The beauty of all this was the experimentation we all had to do to get something done. Crashing waterbase colors to get more colors from a six color press and a craft feel that is missing in today's prints. I love what PS and a good RIP have done for recreating great art, but sometimes back then all we had was a keyline and a basic concept that didn't fully complete itself until the print was done to see the resulting image of overlayed colors. For as much practice as we had in hand cutting fonts back then we could all be surgeons today! Formatt type? Chartpak? Linotype?. Our local film bureau output couldn't angle the halftones when we had them output 4/C process, all at 0,30,60,90, so we had to figure out how to stretch mesh, by hand at an angle, with funky wooden screens and rope to make them tight. Yes I am that old, but I do have a rock n roll band to stay young that knows 750 songs, so gettin old aint that bad!
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I'd love to have some of the computer guru separators and artists go through what we did back then when we used nothing more than #11 X-acto's, Rubylith or Amberlith, a #2 Rapidograph, opaque ink, Kimoto Pens, Kodak red block out, etc. What took hours/days/weeks back then can be done effortlessly in Photoshop. Halftones? PITA, just stipple in a tonal, no moire ever! I still have art bags, with keylines, rubyliths for every color to be knocked out and reversed with neg film, hand stippling, or cross hatch texture done on negative film, plus original Disney Art from my artist who now runs Disney Character Development (or something like that). The beauty of all this was the experimentation we all had to do to get something done. Crashing waterbase colors to get more colors from a six color press and a craft feel that is missing in today's prints. I love what PS and a good RIP have done for recreating great art, but sometimes back then all we had was a keyline and a basic concept that didn't fully complete itself until the print was done to see the resulting image of overlayed colors. For as much practice as we had in hand cutting fonts back then we could all be surgeons today! Formatt type? Chartpak? Linotype?. Our local film bureau output couldn't angle the halftones when we had them output 4/C process, all at 0,30,60,90, so we had to figure out how to stretch mesh, by hand at an angle, with funky wooden screens and rope to make them tight. Yes I am that old, but I do have a rock n roll band to stay young that knows 750 songs, so gettin old aint that bad!
Yeah, and also French curves, photostats, veloxes, Letraset, paste ups, color keys, Kodak Ultratec, and...(a #2 Rapidograph?...I had 'em in about ten sizes LOL)
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I'd love to have some of the computer guru separators and artists go through what we did back then when we used nothing more than #11 X-acto's, Rubylith or Amberlith, a #2 Rapidograph, opaque ink, Kimoto Pens, Kodak red block out, etc. What took hours/days/weeks back then can be done effortlessly in Photoshop. Halftones? PITA, just stipple in a tonal, no moire ever! I still have art bags, with keylines, rubyliths for every color to be knocked out and reversed with neg film, hand stippling, or cross hatch texture done on negative film, plus original Disney Art from my artist who now runs Disney Character Development (or something like that). The beauty of all this was the experimentation we all had to do to get something done. Crashing waterbase colors to get more colors from a six color press and a craft feel that is missing in today's prints. I love what PS and a good RIP have done for recreating great art, but sometimes back then all we had was a keyline and a basic concept that didn't fully complete itself until the print was done to see the resulting image of overlayed colors. For as much practice as we had in hand cutting fonts back then we could all be surgeons today! Formatt type? Chartpak? Linotype?. Our local film bureau output couldn't angle the halftones when we had them output 4/C process, all at 0,30,60,90, so we had to figure out how to stretch mesh, by hand at an angle, with funky wooden screens and rope to make them tight. Yes I am that old, but I do have a rock n roll band to stay young that knows 750 songs, so gettin old aint that bad!
Oh yeah, all that. We used to simulate process color by drawing a keyline, then pencil shading tones onto tracing paper, which were then halftoned with a halftone screen. Since we could never get rid of the background tone, we would white it out by hand, then shoot those to film. The stuff usually came out great. The weirdest part of this, is that the same artist works with me today, and hates Photoshop, loves Illustrator.
Steve