"Tilly" in Relief

I fondly named one of the alligators at the Tampa Aquarium "Tampa Tilly" immediately after my first visit.  She appeared to have strategically wedged herself as tightly as possible against the viewing window in a vertical position.  Her head was completely out of the water and she made eye contact with every approaching visitor.  Her seductive, wide, toothy smile made her appear to be very happy you were visiting and her mesmerizing stare seemed like a direct invitation to jump over the 6 inch-thick window and dive in for a visit.  While her tank-mate practiced log-flotation simulations, Tilly was in the forefront of the social scene.

Since that initial visit, I have drawn, painted or carved more than a half-dozen alligators.  There is something about their primitive attributes and bumpy, segmented surface that in intriguing to create on a two-dimensional surface.  Below is the relief version of "Tilly."  As you will see in the images that follow, the traditional steps that are essential in the creation of a black-line relief print are in order and will end with a couple of versions of the hand-painted relief print.

The first step is the sketch.....

"Tilly" in Relief - Pencil sketch on Strathmore 400 series tan paper.

This image is very reminiscent of the original "Tilly" pen and ink drawing.  The end of the snout is a little thicker and the depression down the central portion of the snout is deliberately more hollowed-out.  I think it will be more challenging to create a contoured, rough surface with the relief method.    Because I wanted to emphasize both the meatiness of the upper jaw AND the transfixing eyes, I decided to minimize the body, forearms and even the details on the tail; all of which were more prominent in the original pen and ink.

"Tilly in Relief - India ink over the original pencil sketch in preparation for adding soft graphite to the transfer sheet.

Using the darkest India ink in the Pentel pocket pen, I went over the key lines that would make up the relief portions of the block to be carved.  It was from this drawing that I attached the transfer paper and began using the 6B soft graphite pencil to retrace the important lines to be transferred to the block.