Printmaking Unleashed: More Than 50 Techniques for Expressive Mark Making

This is a terrific book for ideas and inspiration. There are enough projects to keep anyone busy!On the whole, I love this book. When I first saw the sample pages of glue gun stencil and stamp samples, I was sold!However, I must add a small note to one of the project techniques I've tried. It is "Making Clay Plates." Using Crayola's Model Magic brand air-drying clay is easy. However, cleaning and washing paint off these "stamps" affects this clay. There is no mention of "washing" the paint off in the book, just wiping the paint off.Some of the photos of the textures on the clay are very hard to discern. The images show yellow Model Magic, with practically no details.There is a good You Tube video by "The Frugal Crafter," which shows how to make stamps using Sculpey's Bake and Bendable Clay. I've just bought some of that clay. Since it is a polymer clay, it will not be affected by water after baking and cooling.But reading these pages from the book inspired me to look at other ways of making my own stamps -- so all was not lost.I'm surprised the author didn't include foam plates -- which are a great way to recycle, draw and play with -- even if they are described in other books and videos. Her slant on these would have been unique, I’m sure.One great bonus with this book is the reference to the "Artists Network.com" It is a wonderful site with lots of different tutorials of different art techniques in all kinds of media.Unleash your Inner Child, Play, and Have Fun!

So many techniques to choose from all with so many possibilities! The creative juices just gush into a waterfall of inspiration, full of colors and textures. If you are into Mixed Media, get this book!

Traci has many ideas in this book. I like the patterns she makes out of different material for stamps and in a collage. I especially like her ideas starting on page 62 on Translucent Acrylic Skins. I have not worked with Collage Pauge as of yet. But my wife, Sandy, would love this. With 50 different techniques to choose from, we will have lots of fun coming up with all sorts of projects. Sandy wants to paint fairies using some of these techniques. I told her that for a background for her fairies this book and other books like it will give her lots of ideas. I plan to do paintings of Viking and Greek warriors on ships with mermaid in the water using Hollywood character faces from movies.

While I am an experienced potter who works with layering slips and underglazes, I am relatively new to the world of printmaking. So it may be my knowledge gaps, but I am confused about the end point of these exercises. For example, on p. 26, the reader is invited to first wrap sticks and place them onto construction paper, then spray ink over them, continuing to add color in various ways. OK, then what? Is this the finished work? Or is a sheet of a better paper placed over the design which is then transferred. If the former, this is not what I would call printmaking (it is, however, similar to techniques I might use in clay), and I question why anyone would want to use construction paper, which is notorious for fading, to support a work of art. If the latter, then how does the artist transfer the print? At what stage of dryness? And with a brayer? Some 50 pages later, the author talks about transferring paint. but this is disconnected from the first part of the book and is not sequential. And the "end result" does not always appear to relate to the steps illustrated. The author admits she builds upon her previous books, but I wanted something I could use as a stand alone.

This book is full of ideas, just not many that I would use for my art. However, it did what a good book is supposed to do - it brought me inspiration and made me think outside the box on a few ideas.

I have only just recently purchased Printmaking Unleashed and Doodles Unleashed and I can tell you that Traci puts her heart and soul into them. The content is well laid out. There are tons of ideas and examples, and wonderful eye candy. I will purchase her 3rd book soon and any future books. If you are interested or already doing mixed media or art journaling I highly recommend these books from Traci Bautista.

This book is wonderful. It is jam packed with a wonderful variety of printmaking techniques and lots of ideas and inspiration. I will be using it for inspiration in my art journals and mixed media art. Traci's art is fabulous and anyone who loves her art will likely love this book as well (and even if you've never seen her art before, I think you'll still love it!). I wish it was spiral-bound so it would lay flat--I wish ALL art technique books were! That's the only con to this book really is that it's not spiral-bound. But that's easy to overlook when it's so full of techniques and inspiration.

I like this book. Tracie has a unique style of painting that is playful and substantial at the same time. This book will spark endless ideas for all types of creative projects.

Initially the first review of this book put me off, I have several printmaking books already and really didn't need a rehash of techniques. However, within the first few pages I came across techniques using a glue gun that I thought were inspired and the book goes on and on with great ideas and a little how to use those ideas at the end of each section. Hot stamping into wood, mono printing, the use of positive and negative foam shapes, layering.The only downside is that the book is firmly American orientated so many of the products need a bit of googling to find an alternative.I am glad I didn't let the first review put me off, sometimes you can judge a book by its cover.

I bought 2 one for me and one as a gift for someone else, I think it is a fun book, filled with great ideas and techniques,I am sure both I and the person I have bought it for will find it helpful and useful at university, lots of inspirational pages.I thought it was a perfect gift so lets hope so. Service was fast, delivered well before time.

Some interesting techniques although many seem a little 'primary schooly'. I do like the outcomes, especially the use of such vibrant colour schemes, however, finished articles often appear very similar.

love this book, vivid illustration with bright colours..if you are in to print making, I would.highly recommend this book!

Brilliant and informative book, just what I expected.