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Hand colouring b/w prints
I'm starting this post, after reading a couple of comments from forum members, under a recent monthly print swap picture, of which I hope the author Uwe, doesn't mind me referring to:
http://www.film-and-darkroom-user.or...php/photo/2814 Personally, I have dipped in and out of hand colouring over the years, but thought that I would offer what I know but just reading about it, I made some extra FB matt prints yesterday to work on. I can't quite remember, but I think that slightly lighter prints or ones with lots of paler areas, gives you more to work on, although some of mine done are rather dark, so I'll let you know how these come out also. First off, a book which I have and is a good reference book about the subject, with currently about four copies of, on ebay UK at good prices i.e. currently under £10 including p/p. The book is called, 'Painted Ladies: Art of Hand Colouring in Photography by James Wedge'. The other one that I have in my collection and is an excellent book, with currently only two copies available on ebay UK / Com at either about £50 or the ridiculous price at over £150! and just checking Amazon, it's just under £50... So, just in case your interested or curious as you may be lucky and find it elsewhere a lot cheaper, is 'Hand Colouring and Alternative Processes by Andrew Sanderson'. Also by Andrew, but this time for FREE though, is this old magazine article by him, which is well worth a read: http://www.andrewsanderson.com/docs/Handcolouring.pdf As for my experience, I have found FB papers, but especially the matt surfaces are the best, even if you are not really a fan of the matt surface. RC papers just don't seem to absorb the colours so easily and pencils of any kind are no good at all in my experience. I have some Ilford Art 300 paper that I want to try hand colouring on, as I have read about others saying that it works well. As for colouring materials, one the cheapest I think, is food colouring dyes. They come in a range of colours, are liquid, so easily diluted. I've tried watercolour paints, which can be bought cheaply, but they sit on the surface when dry, but try it if you have some or can get some, as you might not mind. Also if you have kids they might have some that you can borrow. My favourites bits to use are either coloured retouching inks, which are not so cheap, but I've had bottles of them since the 1980's - so they last a long time, or watercolour pencils. Like most things, you can get posh and expensive ones - as I was advised to when I went to college, pre-ebay / The Works / Wilkinsons. I know people who have bought a set for a few quid from The Works, and they work as good as my £30+ set. I've tried them both, so it's your choice. So, has anyone else done some hand colouring of prints and want to add any further suggestions? Terry S |
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Frankly what you did here is amazing and for anyone who hasn't seen it then it is well worth a look Mike |
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I have the Handcoloring Photographs step by step - by Sandra Laird & Carey Chambers. It came with a load of stage including a set of photographic dyes by Photocolor. I have a little play with the dyes but really need to read the book first. I think I have another book that has a chapter on hand colouring but can't remember where it is.
David |
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Dear Terry,
thank you for linking Andrews' article. In this article, Andrew speeks about coloured pencils. I said it in the comment to the sunflower print before: You should not use common pencils for that work. Unfortunately, I cannot find the source anymore, but is was an Amazon comment to a book about coloring. Here the annotator recommends Prismacolor Premium pencils. I used them, and the work well. But not very well. It is a good idea using matte or at least semi matte paper for it. The color is semi transparent so you don't cover the structure of the silver image. Here in Germany I found a source where I can buy single Prismacolor pencils. This is much better than a box which contains colours unusable for colouring. We need light hues most, and probably you wish to have some kind of light peach for colouring skin. |
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It's interesting that you recommend the pencils that you do. Having followed your link and read about them, it seems that they are 'wax' lead pencils. This is interesting as I have read on other sites about people using 'wax' / 'oil' crayons / pastels(?) on their pictures, although reading through the other link by Lostlabours / Ian, I don't think he particularly recommends using these. I suppose people will have to try various things to see which suits them best, so if anyone does try this process, whatever the result, it would be good to hear about your experience. And Ian - I have just re-read your article, by following your link (clicking it comes up with a security warning, but knowing you, I proceeded to the article. ). I've read it a number of times before and it is an informative read. It's interesting to see the procedures that you use. I have chemicals in to sepia tone and to produce a blue tone, but not any of the colour couplers. That might be something that I will look at into the future. But reading all these bits and bobs has definitely got me in the mood to try some toning and hand colouring! Terry S Last edited by Terry S; 12th March 2021 at 01:11 PM. |
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I started with these Prismacolor pencils because it is the easiest way to do some colouring. If I would do this more often I would probably change to translucent ink. The ink is produced here in Leipzig, the company is here since 1892!
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Terry I imagine the Prismacolor pencils will really be ideal for those small areas that often look good in otherwise b&w prints such as famous one of the London buses crossing Westminster Bridge
I think that kind of selective colouring can be particularly attractive Mike |
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I have a copy of the 'Painted Ladies' book which I picked up in a charity shop. I don't particularly like the Author's pictures, so I think I may put it on Ebay if I can get that kind of money!
I did try hand colouring a matt FB print some months ago, using artists watercolours. I found that the wet paint softened the emulsion, and the paint would slide back off again if I went back over an area. Probably dry pencils or alcohol based inks would work better. |
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