Rasterarbeit

Rasterarbeit is a German term that broadly denotes artistic and technical work that uses a raster, grid or pattern of discrete elements to represent tone, structure or information. The expression is applied in several fields including graphic arts, printing, digital imaging and fine art practice.

In traditional printmaking and reproduction, rasterarbeit refers to techniques that convert continuous tones into a pattern of dots or lines, as in halftone printing. This allows photographs and shaded drawings to be reproduced with presses that can only print solid ink. In digital contexts the term overlaps with rasterization, the process of translating vector information into pixel-based images for screens and printers.

In drawing and painting, rasterarbeit can describe the grid method: overlaying a grid on a source image and copying it square by square to scale or transfer proportions accurately. The approach is used for enlargement, study and precise composition. In contemporary art and tattooing, raster or dot-based techniques — sometimes called dotwork — employ stippling and repeated marks to build texture and form.

Applications include commercial reproduction, image editing, cartography, textile design and pedagogical drawing exercises. Related concepts are raster graphics, halftone, pixelation and the grid method. Usage and nuance vary by discipline; in German-language contexts the word emphasizes the role of a regular pattern or raster as a working principle.