 For monotype, you use a slow-drying medium. This is necessary; otherwise, your paper may stick too soon during the printing process, or your medium may dry before you can make a print. Typically, it will be oil-based. Personally, I use oil-based block printing ink. |
 In monotype, you create your artwork on a smooth metal or glass plate. Then, you place a piece of paper over it and transfer your artwork to the paper by rubbing the back of the paper. I usually use 2 plates: one for creating the artwork and one for mixing the paint. |
 You can use the glass plates from cheap photo frames very effectively to create your artwork. |
 For mixing and applying the paint to the glass plate, I use rollers. I also use a large roller for making the print. You can make your prints on regular drawing paper. |
 Besides rollers, you can also use brushes, palette knives, scrapers, etc., to create your artwork on the plate. Actually, there are no restrictions... |
 It can get quite messy... so it's better to wear gloves or apply artguard to your hands. Clean the plates after use with old rags and turpentine. |
 The basic technique of monotype is very simple. Use a palette knife to apply some ink to the large plate. I actually use this plate as a palette. It should be fairly large if you're working with a roller. Roll the ink with a roller until you have a nice thin layer. Your roller now has ink on it. |
 Now, use the roller to transfer the ink onto the plate where you want to create your artwork. Make sure the layer covers well. Now, roll your roller alternately over the ink on the large plate and over your glass plate. |
 You can see that I used red above and yellow below. Where the colors meet, I blended them together with the roller. Here, I use the roller, but you can also use brushes to apply the ink. |
 When you're satisfied, gently place a sheet of paper over the glass plate. Now, roll firmly with a large roller several times over the paper. The ink from the glass plate will now adhere to the paper. |
Carefully remove the paper from the glass plate. You'll see that the print has nicely transferred to the paper. Keep in mind that your final print is the mirror image of your design on the glass plate!! |
 Usually, you can make two prints from one plate. The second one is usually lighter. If you have a very thick layer of ink, you can sometimes even make 2 more prints. |
 Ink a piece of paper with the roller. Tear off pieces and place them on the plate. |
 You'll notice that the pieces of paper are darker, and the background is lighter. This is because it's the first print for the pieces of paper. Make sure your paper isn't too thick, otherwise, you'll get a blur around the edges of the pieces of paper, as seen here... |
 Here, I combine a rolled plate with working with a brush. With the brush, I can add much more detail than with a roller. |
 Then, I add inked pieces of paper on top. I tore these from a larger inked piece. If you look closely, you'll see small white edges on the pieces of paper caused by tearing. |
 This is the print it produces. The white edges you saw in the previous image also remain white in the print. |
 Another possibility is working with templates. You can cut a stencil from a piece of paper. You can then use either the cutout or the piece of paper afterward as a template. |
 Here, I first rolled the plate entirely in green and yellow. Then, I placed the paper with the cutout where I wanted my design on top. I further worked on the visible part. |
 Ultimately, this print is the result. Because I had to remove the paper with the cutout before I could make the final print, the background is lighter in color. It has been printed twice. |
| These are just a few tricks, of course. Use your own imagination and creativity to achieve even more surprising results. |