August 05, 2022

How to Use Ignite’s Monoprinting Kit

by Sydney Brink

You may have read “How to Make Gelli Prints” about monoprinting with a gelatin plate – but you can do a much simpler version of gelli prints without magazine transfers! Read on to learn how to use Ignite’s Monoprinting Kit.

Supplies to Make Gelli Print

Gelatin plate*
Acrylic paint*
Brayer*
Mixed media paper*
Stencils, items for texture, stamps*, or a paintbrush*
Scrap paper (for rolling off excess paint on the brayer)

*You can find these items in the Monoprint Kit 2 in Ignite’s Kit Library!

How to Use Ignite’s Monoprinting Kit

Choose a color to start with and dot some paint directly onto the plate. Use the brayer to spread the paint evenly over the surface of the gelatin plate.

Grab a mark-making tool of your choice. I used a piece of scrap plywood that was left behind by someone who cut out lots of little pieces on Ignite’s laser engraver. Use the brayer to evenly apply the stencil, and then pull it off.

Remove the stencil, and apply your paper to the gelatin plate. Rub the backside of the paper with your fingertips to get the paint from the plate to the paper. Then, remove your paper to see your first print!

The stencil has removed all of the paint that was outside of the cut out shapes. This is a form of “resist” art, or making art with overlays to make an image out of negative space.

What you do from here on out is up to you and your creativity! Do a second stencil on the plate in a different color, then line up your paper onto the plate based on where your first print was. Check out the previous blog for hints on how to make registration marks to get an even border.

Or, if it feels right to your creative process, use a stamp on the painted plate instead of a stencil.

Or you could use whatever else you have on hand to make something fun and unique, like a crumpled up plastic bag…

Or a Lego….

Or crepe paper!

Layering, textures, and color are the keys to successful gelli prints! What would happen if you used flowers or leaves on the gelli plate?

What about if you painted a picture onto the gelli plate before transferring your design to the paper? What do different colors look like layered on each other? The options are endless.