For a quick rundown lino printing
of the steps in this instructable, please watch the video that comes with it!
Similar to what I learned in art school lino printing, I provide a comprehensive, in-depth tutorial for making your very own linocut in this instructable. Design, safety, printing, and cleanup are all covered. Although it is intended for beginning to intermediate printmakers, I believe anyone who is interested in printmaking could benefit from it!
How does a linocut work
A design that is carved into a relief block of linoleum is called a linocut. Although it lacks the grain and tendency to split woodblocks, it is a printmaking technique similar to woodcutting. By carving away negative space, a relief is created in the print. This relief, like a lino printing stamp, can be printed multiple times to produce an image.
Materials I’ve compiled a comprehensive list of everything you’ll need to get started as a serious linocut printmaker below! You can use many of these supplies for many months or years. Even though I’ve provided links to major online retailers, most, if not all, of these tools can be found at your neighborhood art supply store, and they’d love your business. Like independent bookstores, independent art supply stores are under threat from
large corporations lino printing
and require your support to continue being an important part of your community. The Preston Arts Center is the local art supply store I like best.
It’s time to start thinking about your design after gathering your materials. The linoleum, also known as a “block,” can accommodate anything. To get a better idea of how the finished product might look, I suggest first sketching out an idea on paper. If at all possible, you don’t want to waste linoleum or ink!
Keep in mind that your finished design will be the mirror image of your block. That basically means that you must cut everything in the opposite direction! This won’t really matter much for most things, but it’s important to remember that words and letters must be carved backwards in order for your final print to be readable.
Tip:
On your phone, take a picture of your sketch lino printing. Reverse the image using your favorite photo editing app. This helps you decide what to carve into lino printing your block more effectively!
Step 2: Cut the block to size. Place your drawing on the linoleum and cut it to size. On the linoleum, draw the image’s general size in pencil, leaving some extra space. Take a box cutter or the blade-shaped carving tool in your set of carving gouges and cut your block out of the rest of the linoleum after you have marked the rough size you want for it.When you print, you can save linoleum and ink by cutting a smaller block out of the entire sheet of linoleum to
use for carving lino printing
When you are determining the size, place your sketch close to a corner. Two sides are easier to cut than four!After you’ve made a few good cuts, give the linoleum a try by bending and flexing it. It will frequently break free without requiring additional cutting.
Security tip lino printing
Take your time—this is not a race! Never cut in the direction of your free hand. If your blade slips, you run the risk of getting cut, which is helped by this!
Step 3: Draw the image on the block. Draw your lino printing sketch on the block with a pencil and a sharpie marker, leaving a few inches of space at the top (you can always cut away any excess after carving, if you want). I use the sharpie to outline everything roughly after sketching it out with the pencil. Fill in the blacks with the sharpie until you have a
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very strong image lino printing
This is not your finished work! Flip your sketch over and try again if you don’t like how it looks on the block. Remember that this is not a race!. lino printing The block won’t slide when you’re carving it because you taped it down. You are less likely to cut yourself while trying to hold the block down or make a mistake that will affect your final print because the block isn’t moving around. Additionally, it lets you cut without having to hold the image in place, giving you more control over the cutting tool once you get started!
To examine each lino printing
blade, unscrew the bottom lino printing screw to open the cutting tool’s handle. It’s likely that you’ve already cut the block to size with the cutting tool. Take some time to look at the others and choose one to try out on your block before you start carving Begin carving
Now, start lino printing
carving your block with the gouge you picked and your carving tool! The parts that are not black should be carved. The image’s relief, or negative space, is created as a result of this. In your final print, anything you cut out will appear white or blank.
I prefer to begin with the smallest gouge and, if necessary, work my way up to the largest. Since creating texture is my favorite part of printing, I leave some space between my cuts. Keep in mind to work slowly and patiently!
You can always remove more, but you lino printing can’t put back the pieces you carved out! At first, it’s best to proceed cautiously and carve out as little space as possible.
Actually, you don’t have to carve very deeply! When you print by hand—which is what I’m going to show you today—even small cuts will look good on your prints.