Bumblebee Screenprinting Process Sketches

By printing each of these layers on transparent plastic, I could create the layers for my screen print of a bumblebee. 

The first layer. I called it my base color layer. I wanted this warm orange to be behind everything, mixing with the yellow to give the pollen depth and glow. I ended up mixing a lighter orange ink. I wanted it to be clean when going from light to dark when building layers. 

The second layer/pollen layer. This is where the bright yellow really splashes into everything. It would look too muted if printed onto black ink, so I ordered it in the middle. It was very important that the sketch layer was aligned perfectly to let this color could shine through the black sketch layer. I wanted this bee to be smothered in pollen, and for his pollen sacs on his legs to be full.

The third layer or sketch layer as I called it. When making this image, I actually designed this layer first and added the color layers after to be placed underneath. I wanted to look very sketchy, and for the pollen to be consistent throughout the piece. 

The final composition sketch of when all layers are put together. The design in the background is meant to mimic an environmentally friendly French paper I ordered for this project to be printed on.