Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Scratchboard began as a practical solution for illustrators working before digital tools. Detailed hatching, stippling, and halftone conversion made illustration slow for the artist and expensive for the client. So artists used special boards designed to create high-contrast patterns and tones more efficiently.
Stipple board, also called coquille board, became especially useful for medical and scientific illustration because of its ability to reproduce detailed tonal effects efficiently. Some illustration boards later added a scratch-away plaster coating, leading to the development of scratchboard as a distinct medium.
Modern scratchboard supports a wide range of marks, textures, and expressive techniques using scratching tools, brushes, inks, watercolor, and toned surfaces. What began as a production method for print illustration evolved into a versatile drawing medium known for bold contrast and detailed texture.
Shop Scratchboard Art Materials at Blick here: dickblick.com/categories/drawing/scratchboard ?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=AtE&utm_content=Scratchboard
🧑🎨 Presentation by Amanda from our Merchandising Team
🫶🏽 Special thanks to artist Melissa Helene, whose work we included here
🎥 Filmed at Blick Studios in Chicago, Illinois
#ScratchboardArt #IllustrationHistory #TraditionalArt #ArtTechniques #PrintIllustration
Scratchboard began as a practical solution for illustrators working before digital tools. Detailed hatching, stippling, and halftone conversion made illustration slow for the artist and expensive for the client. So artists used special boards designed to create high-contrast patterns and tones more efficiently.
Stipple board, also called coquille board, became especially useful for medical and scientific illustration because of its ability to reproduce detailed tonal effects efficiently. Some illustration boards later added a scratch-away plaster coating, leading to the development of scratchboard as a distinct medium.
Modern scratchboard supports a wide range of marks, textures, and expressive techniques using scratching tools, brushes, inks, watercolor, and toned surfaces. What began as a production method for print illustration evolved into a versatile drawing medium known for bold contrast and detailed texture.
Shop Scratchboard Art Materials at Blick here: dickblick.com/categories/drawing/scratchboard ?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=AtE&utm_content=Scratchboard
🧑🎨 Presentation by Amanda from our Merchandising Team
🫶🏽 Special thanks to artist Melissa Helene, whose work we included here
🎥 Filmed at Blick Studios in Chicago, Illinois
#ScratchboardArt #IllustrationHistory #TraditionalArt #ArtTechniques #PrintIllustration
