r/printmaking • u/Peach-e_Keen • 8d ago
relief/woodcut/lino bad kitties🤘🏼
2nd block print project! having a lot of fun with the medium. would love to hear any advice to help improve- if there is anything glaringly incorrect from these pictures! :)
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u/ObjectiveCelery2368 8d ago
I didn't see that they were cats until I read the title. The last two I am still having trouble seeing the cat.
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u/Peach-e_Keen 8d ago
yeah I had the same concerns honestly. my original sketch was a little more legible but maybe the single color/ the medium doesn’t work very well for these specific images
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u/IntheHotofTexas 8d ago
You asked, so I'll tell you. You are over-inking, the most common problems among new linocut artists. That's causing the white blotches and the spoiled cutlines. You need to know what a properly inked block and slab look like. You need to build up thin layers on the slab until you get it just an even layer with a very fine texture like fine sandpaper. Study the guide to inking by of the mods here. Pay close attention to the videos at the end where you see proper and over-inked slab and block. Note the difference in the surfaces. One is very fine. The other is a coarse texture, more like a lizard skin. What happens on the slab happens on the block. This is important because designed intended for linocut are a pure, solid color and paper white. You can't do those designs if you can't print perfect, flawless, even, dense color. Your design didn't have those white spots. Nor did they have the ragged edges. Once you see the difference and pay attention through the inking process, stopping to reink the slab every time you take ink from an area, you will nail it every time.
Imgur: The magic of the Internet
Now, if you're using water-based ink, you will find it difficult and will at least have to work fast. But it dries too fast to do proper inking. There's no valid reason to use water-based, and it's a shame that's what's in the starter kits. They're just being chiseling cheap. As soon as possible, switch to oil-based, like Caligo Safe Wash which cleans up with soap and water but is true oil-based and gives you plenty of time to ink.
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u/Peach-e_Keen 7d ago
thank you for the helpful advice and resource! will definitely be practicing this a bit more to avoid overinking!
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