Creative Techniques

[WR]

This is to all the old school'ers. In the days before the Mac and design packages, what techniques were used to get creative looks and effects?

Materials? Pens? Papers? I've always been a guy who works on the computer, and this is now killing me. It may not come in handy everyday, but knowing how to make creative stuff and effects without the computer does and will help you one day.

Creative techniques anybody? Please share! Thanks.

[Vikia]

I loved drawing illustrations with mechanical pens (Rapidiographs) with india ink. Laying on color with sheets of Pantone adhesive films cut with xactoblades.

I once did an entire office window in Pantone films in stainglass style. I brightened the office mood.

[WR]

Just one reply?

[morea]

for heavens sake WR, it's only been 3 hours since your first post!

[defjoe]

I work on my own comic so I do everything by hand when it comes to that. Pencil, ink with a brush and a pen. I have worked with nibs before but i don't like them.


Have you worked with Rubies to do color seps?

[Vikia]

Does anyone still use rub-on letters or symbols? or rubylith? statcamera? projector? border tape? tissue overlays with edits marked up? I remember hand tinting slides for presentations. Hand lettering posters and flipcharts in carefully measured marker letters. I can still divide a page faster with a scale, t-square and right angle using no math. Just angle the scale to the number of divisions you need and mark with a pencil.

[WR]

Whoa, that's a lot of things Vikia.

Morea, cool it!

[morea]

don't sass me, young 'un.

[EC]

I like overhead projectors and spraypaint.

[Keyare]

I used to use a nice #4 HB pencil then plunk a 40 degree screen thing over it and shoot it with the PMT camera with a slower-than-normal exposure to keep it nice and dark. The edges used to get lost sometimes so I had to keep the things small and in the bright spot. Then you take different pre-printed screens, stick them to a big sheet of mylar over top of your PMT and cut out the parts you don't want coloured. Then burn plates, slap em on the press and you got your nifty artwork all professionally printed and coloured. - just like the old comic books.

[Kool]

How about laying several layers of mylar between the neg & the plate for an instant spread. :cool:

[D-Zine]

I got to use alot of stuff in college but not much out of school cept the waxers..LOL! I like hot wax you know ;) OK only kidding!

[jamodu]

A couple of years ago I worked for a small printing firm, who used to print alot of school yearbooks. We used to shoot all the kids' questionnaires on a large format (it filled a room) camera straight to neg film then paint out all the spots with dragon's blood/photo opaque and expose to plate.

It probably would've been quicker to scan and clean up in PShop but the boss liked it done the old way and I kinda liked messing with the camera and working in the darkroom :)