drypoint etching!

So this is my latest project from my printmaking class; I just learned how to do drypoint etching on plexiglass and ran it through the press.  It's such a fun process!  I enjoyed myself today and will definitely print more of this image.  Maybe I will eventually get to the point where I can clean it properly, too; that's what all the smudges are.  >.<  

I will definitely do more of these: you take a sheet of glass, and an etching stylus, trace your design and then coat the glass with ink when you are done.  After that it's a simple matter of wiping away the ink and then pressing the bad boy.  The paper is given enough pressure that it picks up all the ink in the grooves of the glass from the scratches, and then when you are done you have a lovely reverse image!

Also, If you will excuse me, I just picked up Terry Pratchet's latest book from Amazon: "Snuff."  I'm going to go read it now!

Paste Papers and Ponyo

So, today I went to the library on campus and checked out Ponyo!  It's a Studio Ghibli movie and one of their latest, so I knew it was going to be fun; I had already seen some of it online, but the fan "translation" is really BAD.  Not so bad you can't understand it, but not great, either.  Misspellings and bad grammar, etc.

In other words it's worth it to see it on DVD even if you've already seen it online.  I watched it in English Dub (not something I usually do with anime, but Ghibli movies are the exception because it's usually very well done) with my brother, and enjoyed it a lot.  I'll watch the original Japanese with sub sometime soon as well, of course.  :-)  It's a great family movie and mainly for a younger age set than any of Miyazaki's other movies, but it can still be appreciated by even adults like me who still enjoy watching animated movies.  Beautifully animated water and a sense of movement in everything.

The dub was all right; Sasuke's voice actor was a bit too old so I jolted out of the movie a bit whenever he said anything more than "PONYO!" which is 80% of his dialogue; there's of course the strange technical details of matching english dub to Japanese words which cause a few odd sentence pauses as well, but overall it was definitely worth watching again, even with the English voice-actors.  It's not the best Miyazaki dub, though.

Anyway, as for the story, Ponyo is rescued by a boy named Sasuke and ends up wanting to become human; when she runs away from home she messes up the balance of the world and has to choose between having magic or love.  Cute, cute scenes and gorgeous animation.  I liked this movie better than either Kiki's Delivery Service or the outdated-feeling Nausica: Valley of the Wind.

OKAY, enough Ponyo!  At the library I also got a book on making paste papers since it's a project I've been wanting to try!  I'm going to attempt to make some at school next week in the print lab; we'll see how it goes.  It can't be that hard, after all.  http://lilbookbinder.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/paste-paper-tutorial/ and http://www.inward-bound.us/pastepaper.html look like good resources online as far as tutorials are concerned.