Digital Alchemy: Printmaking Techniques for Fine Art, Photography, and Mixed Media

by Bonny Pierce Lhotka

In Digital Alchemy, acclaimed printmaker Bonny Pierce Lhotka shows how to turn your standard inkjet printer into a seemingly magical instrument capable of transforming your printed images into true works of art. Using plenty of visuals and straightforward terms, Lhotka walks you step-by-step through over a dozen projects. Forget printing on boring old paper, in Digital Alchemy, you’ll learn how to transfer and print images to a variety of surfaces including metal, wood, fabric, stone, and plastic using the techniques Lhotka’s spent years developing. If you’re a photographer looking for new ways to personalize your work or a digital artist who’s ready to take your work to the next level, you’ll find all of the tools, techniques, and inspiration you need in this book. Lhotka’s enthusiasm for experimenting with unusual printing materials and processes has led her to create new and amazing transfer techniques, including one that resembles a Polaroid™ transfer on steroids. She

Genres: Art, Photography

307 pages, Paperback

First published December 17, 2010

Reviews

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for any digital designer who is interested in transfering digital images onto real world substrates. The author is imbuing decades of hard won knowlege to the reader... and its wisdom earned the hard way, by trial and error.

The book is filled with advanced techniques and is not for the timid. Some of the recommended equiptment cost upward of $5k. Some of the chemicals are hazardous and require carefull use. If that doesn't scare you off, this book is for you.

The author even has her own special transfer mix, based on Purrel hand sanitizer and other agents.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plenty of ideas, but a lot of reliance on the artist's line of products for the techniques.

[Missy Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Kindle version of this book doesn't provide a way to access instructional CDs that apparently really enhance the content. It appears the CDs aren't available except when bundled with the print version. As the author references these lessons quite often, leaving Kindle readers totally in the dark, I strongly recommend the print version. It's disappointing, especially because her work is incredible, and I was so looking forward to learning from her. To clarify, I did learn quite a bit, but I'm sure the CDs would have helped create a more comprehensive learning experience. It's frustrating that this shortcoming wasn't disclosed up-front.

UPDATE: Training videos are available online now, free of charge. I'm not sure yet whether they represent the same content included on CDs with the print version, but they're certainly helpful. This book just earned another star.