retouch

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Process of correcting or improving artwork, particularly photographs (either positives or negatives), by means of an airbrush, or by hand, using a pencil, crayon, paintbrush, or other means, in order to remove imperfections or add new qualities to the work. The commercial artist who specializes in this process is known as a retoucher.

verb

To improve by making minor changes or additions: polish, touch up. See better/worse.

The whole concept of ‘finishing’ has changed significantly over the years. Once it referred as much to work on negatives as to work on prints; today it is confined almost exclusively to prints.

Negatives

Negative finishing consists of three steps: spotting, retouching, and varnishing, not necessarily in that order.

Spotting consists of filling ‘pinholes’ in plates, clear areas caused for the most part by dust spots during exposure or by air bells during development; rarely, from imperfect coating. A pinhole reads as a dark spot in the print, so the aim is either to match the surrounding negative tone perfectly (resulting in no flaw in the print) or to fill it slightly darker, resulting in a light spot on the print which is much easier to conceal than a dark spot. When the flaw is a hairline, rather than a spot, by far the best way to make it disappear is to break it up into ever-shorter sections: trying to ‘paint’ along the line will make things worse, not better. Dark spots on a negative are easier to spot out at the print stage, when they will be light spots. The normal media for negative spotting are either dyes or pigments, diluted to the appropriate tone. Both tend to darken as they dry.

Retouching—such as removing, or at least greatly reducing, wrinkled complexions—could be done with dyes and pigments, but pencil retouching was much more usual. Each retoucher had a personal style. Some worked in tiny circular scribbles, others with tiny ticks. In the great days of Hollywood retouching, entire complexions were rebuilt in this way. The classic way to ‘fix’ pencil retouching (which was in its nature easily smudged or removed) was to hold the negative in the steam from a kettle, thereby softening the gelatine and fixing the retouching in it. This is remarkably effective.

Varnishing was done for one or more of three reasons. First, it could be used to protect retouching, but this was hazardous, as it brought the risk of disturbing the handwork: the varnish was always flowed on, rather than painted. Second, it could provide a ‘tooth’ for further retouching, especially on the shiny side of a glass plate: numerous formulae were published. And third, it protected the negative from the printing medium: printing-out paper was particularly risky on a humid day, as the excess of silver nitrate could stain the negative. Modern photographers tend to use very thin clear polyester film between the negative and the paper for the same reason.

Prints

Print finishing is much the same as negative finishing, and again, the same media and techniques are used, though pencil retouching was never used much and today is hardly used at all. Pigments sit on the surface and are therefore more obtrusive, but they are also easier to use; dyes, which sink in, are invisible but make it much harder to correct mistakes. An extremely useful innovation of the 1990s was ‘SpotPens’, very fine-tipped fibre-tip pens charged with dyes of different intensities. Glycerine in the dyes retarded absorption, allowing corrections for a brief while before the spot became invisible.

— Roger W. Hicks

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In knapping flint, stone, or obsidian, the final edge-working carried out during the production of an implement. Whether on a core tool, flake, or blade, retouch usually comprises fine flaking and chipping to shape, blunt, or sharpen a particular edge. Several different styles are recognized, including invasive retouch which is achieved by working from the edge of the implement towards the centre. Also known as .

For a list of words related to retouch, see:

• Graphic Design - retouch: (vb) change details of negative or photographic print with pencil, brush, airbrush, or computer

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Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - retouchere
v. intr. - retouchere, udføre retouchering
n. - retouchering

Nederlands (Dutch)
retoucheren (foto)

Français (French)
v. tr. - retoucher
v. intr. - retoucher
n. - retouche

Deutsch (German)
v. - retuschieren
n. - Retusche

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - τελειοποιώ, εξωραϊζω, ρετουσάρω, (επαν)επεξεργάζομαι
n. - εξωραϊσμός, ρετουσάρισμα, (επαν)επεξεργασία

Italiano (Italian)
ritocco, ritoccare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - retocar, aperfeiçoar
n. - retoque (m)

Русский (Russian)
исправление, ретушь, ретуширование, ретушировать

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - retocar, limar, pulir
v. intr. - retocarse
n. - retoque

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - retuschera
n. - retusch

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
润饰, 润色, 补染, 修整, 修正部分, 修正

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 潤飾, 潤色, 補染, 修整
v. intr. - 潤飾, 潤色, 補染, 修整
n. - 潤飾, 修正部分, 修正

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 다시 손대다, 손질하다
v. intr. - 다시 손보다, 수정 하다
n. - 손질 , 수정 , 가필

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 手を入れる, 染め合わせる
n. - 修正, 修正されたもの

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يهذب, ينقح (الاسم) تنقيح, تهذيب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮ריטש, שיפר או תיקן (ציור, צילום)‬
v. intr. - ‮עסק בתיקון או בשינוי (ריטוש) של צילום‬
n. - ‮ריטוש, שיפור או תיקון של תצלום‬

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