Knives
I would imagine that if I mentioned scratchboard to someone who knew vaguely what it was they would have an idea that you would scratch away the black to reveal white by using a sharp knife.
In previous issues of Creative Artist I’ve introduced a variety of tools for scratchboard from tattoo needles to fibreglass brushes, but the bread and butter tool for most artists would indeed be a single sharp blade. I use them a lot too, and in this article we’ll discuss a variety of sharp points and the effects you can get from them.
The beauty of scratchboard means you can use pretty much anything that will make a mark, from sandpaper to steel wool to rocks. All you are trying to do is reveal the white clay from beneath the black ink, and, with a bit of lateral thinking, many tools can be used.
No lateral thinking is required for this
