I've been surprised to find that I really enjoy doing woodcuts. Some recent projects have let me experiment with it, and although I'm still terrible at it, I do enjoy the process. The first project was to do an illustration from a classic novel. I chose
Robinson Crusoe. He seems to be constantly worrying about religion, so I created the image on the left on Asian Plywood. The second project was to do 15 prints (all the same) utilizing the print lab (screen print, relief print, etc.). Sign and number the pieces, one for each of our fellow illustration classmates. I decided to do a children's book version of
The Wild Hunt - on the right.
At first, I liked the Asian plywood better, it carved more easily. But then it warped. Hm. The MDF was a little harder to carve, but stayed flat. Here's my print setup:
I was so proud of myself, I didn't need to ask for help once!
Not even when I used the more modern relief printer.
Although, maybe I should have. Our third project was to create a portfolio to hold the 15 prints we get from our classmates. I made the portfolio just fine, then decided to make a label using a linocut. What's wrong with this picture?
Did you get it? Click the image to go see the answer.
Yeah. That was an hour of my life wasted. PAH! And I don't like working on the lino as much anyhow. But, y'know what? I'm LEARNING!!!!!
So the final prints were done. Maybe you noticed I made the same mistake on the Robinson Crusoe piece? Lucky for me, the final product was digital for that one, so I was able to reverse it. The project also required a second color being added in. Here's my final:
The Wild Hunt took a little longer. I had to ink the woodcut, carefully place it on the relief printer with paper facing right side down, then the heavy fabric on top. Roll, roll, roll, roll... for every single print—16 total (one was a test).
It was time consuming. But I got them all done.
I think they look better from a distance. My method is a mess, but considering this was only the third woodcut of my life, I'm okay with it. (I hope I get better at this!) Meanwhile, this is what my classmates will receive:
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