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Wood Block Printing
•INVENTION
The first efficient printer was created centuries ago in China and spread all throughout East Asia. These blocks were made of carved wood painted and printed on paper scrolls. Each color within a painting has its own carving. It even spread from Asia into Europe. Even Vincent Van Goph used this technique in his paintings. Once you make the blocks, you can print endless copies. This revolutionized printing until the paper printer was invented hundreds of years later. -
Jan 1, 1200
Oil Paints
•INVENTION
Oil paints are made up of pigments suspended in a slow drying oil. They've been used as early as the 1200s, but artists began using them everywhere by the 1500s. Many of the most classic paintings were made using oils and canvass. -
Jan 1, 1564
Graphite Pencil
•DISCOVERY
The first graphite pencil was made after a major graphite mine was unearthed. Unbeknownst to the public, graphite is carbon, not lead. The English dominated the sale of pencils because there were no other known graphite mines at the time. Artists mainly used pencils to aid their artistic process. -
Water Colors
•INVENTION
Created by chemists and painters William Winsor and Henry Newton, watercolors were a huge impact on painters at the time. The color could be lifted out of the paper by simply adding water. Their name lives on in the William Winsor and Henry Newton- The World's Finest Artist's Materials. -
Crayons
•INVENTION
Crayons were created by cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith two decades ago. At the time, they only had 8 colors that sold for a nickel each. Today, Crayola makes hundreds of different kid-friendly colors that also sparkle, glow in the dark, change color, and wash off walls. Almost every kid from the 90's grew up coloring with crayons. -
Colored Pencils
•NEW IDEA
Colored pencils were introduced gradually after the invention of the graphite pencil. Factories began producing them for children's medium. Instead of graphite, the middle is a wax mixed with pigments similar to crayons. Colored pencils have a unique blending technique that many other mediums do not have. -
Acrylic Paints
• INVENTION
Acrylics are a special type of vibrant paint that are diluted in water, but resistant once dry. They were made commercially available to artists in 1934. Today, acrylics are available in classrooms and art stores everywhere. They are one of the most practical paints out there for fine artists. -
Gesso
•INVENTION
Liquitex, an acrylic paint company, developed the first water-based acrylic gesso. Gesso is a unique acrylic glue. It consists of binder, chalk, gypsum, and pigment,. Often times it is used to prepare a piece for painting. It strengthens and whitens the area where ever it is applied. -
Photoshop
•NEW IDEA
There were many drafts dating back to 1988, but Photoshop 1.0 was released for Macintosh exclusively two years later. Adobe went on to make a Creative Suite of Adobe products, including Illustrator, After Effects, Dream Weaver, etc. Though at first it was used to digitally manipulate photos alone, many artists use the program to paint digitally. -
Ink Pen
•INVENTION
The first reservoir pen was made in 953, but the invention of ink itself dates thousands of years back in ancient China. The Chinese used it for calligraphy, art, and communication through scrolls. This spread through East Asia and eventually Europe (the ink well and quill). It's permenant, dark appearance made it very useful for writing as well as art.
