Troublesome Printers, Wintry Apocalypses, & Waiting To Dry Is the Hardest Part

January 6, 2025
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Click the image above for the full gallery.

So far, with all the art I've been making, I took a photo of the original art to print it on a photo printer. That way, I could take the photo (of the art) and give it more of a vintage photograph feel. That worked fine until some more recent ones, like with Carmilla. I just hit a similar snag with another one. The more detail I put in, the more I lose when I print it on a photo printer.

The image shows two layers: a printed photo of artwork on watercolor paper on top of the original piece. The original artwork, resting beneath, is vibrant and rich in detail, with earthy tones of brown, orange, and black blending seamlessly through textured gradients and dynamic ink splatters. In contrast, the printed photo above has lost much of the intricate detail and texture present in the original, resulting in a less vibrant and slightly muted representation of the art.
Exhibit A: The Jiajing Emperor.

The most immediately apparent problem is the vignette created with charcoal dust. However, the photo also lost some of the tassel, the blood-red color, and the paper's texture. Comparing the entire thing lost even more. For this one, I made what looks like a bloody mess outside doing the violent red splashes and didn't want to lose all that chaotic artistic energy.

Tae came to the rescue to take a good photo of the original art.

Watercolor and ink artwork depicting the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The piece features a minimalist design with warm golden hues in the background, splattered red stains resembling blood, and a golden bowl filled with dark red liquid at the center. The emperor's face is faintly outlined, with piercing green eyes and a black rope looping downwards, adding an ominous and haunting atmosphere.
Jiajing Emperor. Original artwork by J.A. Hernandez.

Going forward, I'll probably just get a photo of the original piece, as I'm putting in more detail and color—even though muted.

There are supposedly at least a few wintry apocalypses coming to Texas, so we'll see how much I get done with all the snow, ice, and freezing temperatures. Art-related, I've also recently learned that waiting for parts to dry is the hardest part. I get into an art-ing zone and then stop and wait for something to dry before working on the next part.

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