By Matt Fussell
The video featured on this page is a time lapse of an hour long live lesson that aired in the member section of this site on November 7, 2012. To see the video in real time, complete with commentary, visit artistic approach to crayon etching. (members video)
Crayon etchings are created by adding a layer of waxy crayons to drawing paper Next, a layer of ink or tempera paint is added over the waxy surface. Once the ink dries completely, it can be scratched away leaving the color of the crayon underneath to contrast nicely with the dark ink.
Crayon etchings are typically created using bright colors and are scratched out using patterns. This makes crayon etching a popular medium for elementary and middle school lessons. But crayon etchings can be approached with a more mature artistic approach as well. If we think of crayon etching more like scratchboard, the results are a bit less "elementary" and a bit more expressive.
In the demonstration featured on this page, I am approaching crayon etching in this manner. I begin by adding a layer of white crayon to the surface, instead of brightly colored crayons, and scratch the areas off in a manner similar to scratchboard.
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