Editing Mezzotint (section)

==Light to dark method==
[[Image:6409 bassenge2vaillerant.jpg|thumb|left|Early mezzotint by [[Wallerant Vaillant]], Siegen's assistant or tutor. Young man reading, with statue of Cupid. Probably made using light to dark technique. {{cvt|27.5|x|21.3|cm|in|frac=16}}]]

The first mezzotints by [[Ludwig von Siegen]] were made using the light to dark method. The metal plate was tooled to create indentations and parts of the image that were to stay light in tone were kept smooth. This method was referred to as the 'Additive method'; that is, adding areas of indentations to the plate for the areas of the print that were to appear darker in tone. This technique meant that it was possible to create the image directly by only roughening a blank plate selectively, where the darker parts of the image are to be. By varying the degree of smoothing, mid-tones between black and white can be created, hence the name ''mezzo-tinto'' which is [[Italian language|Italian]] for "[[half-tone]]" or "half-painted".<ref>Griffiths (1996b), 85; Mayor, 511; Barker</ref>