Hand-drawn Art
Hand-drawn art comes in many forms. An artist can create a keyline (an outline of the design) by drawing it on paper with an opaquing pen, shooting it on a camera or scanning it. Art can be created from a hand-drawn keyline provided the image is loaded into a scanning program, converted into paths and then placed into an art program. With the image in a format that can be manipulated, the artist can clean it up, change its size and position, add text and place color in selected areas. Another option is to draw directly onto vellum or onto a coated screen. This method is not recommended, but it is effective for simple one-color designs.
Computer-generated Art
Computer-generated art is conceived and designed on a computer through a variety of design programs.
The most common programs in the screen printing industry are PhotoShop, Illustrator, Freehand and Corel. Designs created on a computer are then separated with the computer's separation program.
Replications
Replications of fine art or photographs are most successful when they are shot with a digital camera or scanned into a computer. The artist can then utilize an advanced color separator program. The artist also can separate replications by hand through a series of hand-cut overlays.
After you have your print out, place it along with the Emulsion Coated Screen on the exposure unit to create the stencil. Once it finishes burning, use water to rinse off the unexposed emulsion on the screen and you will have your screen ready for screen print.