03  Hon Jing Xi

the sketch: observe and sketch down what we see (small details too!)

-it was a fun process but it got me when i had to understand exactly how it works e.g. the part we do not cut out would be printed (it was my first time learning it)

the linocut: cut according to what we drew on the linoblock; cut according to the lines we drew and the area we choose to cut

-it was difficult to control the tools given (the thin lines took me some time to cut) but the process was really enjoying, i did some background designs too

the print: use the paint given and use the roller to spread the paint over the linoblock; then print on paper

-it looks quite grainy (means that area was not cut "clean" enough), and i think the extra leaves design on the bottom ruined the overall aesthetic of the leaf

outline original black and white design, sketch the black and white spaces (shadows, reflections, facial features)

-overall was okay, took me some time to identify the shadows (blacker areas) as the picture i took was not taken in a bright space

reverse outline (trace it out) of black and white design on the other side of the paper, shade the areas that are to be black (no grey)

-this process was great! ; remember to shade it because there's a purpose for it at the back!

reversed portrait onto linoblock using ballpoint pen and carbon paper; outline with permanent marker and colour the areas that are to be black

-i had to put in quite some force in this process or else you wont be able to see the portrait on the linoblock; the process was generally okay!

colour scheme: choose 2 contrasting colours for face and background, use colour pencil to  colour onto the reversed outline paper, reflections on face or hair are to be left white; to write printing stages at the bottom of the paper 

-i ENJOYED this process as we get to choose colours that we didn't have when we did the leaf! i decided to go with a more fun and amusing colour combination 

(i forgot to take a picture!)

1st printing stage: start carving out your linoblock based on the printing stages you have written down before; this stage is "cut white, print blue" (cut features on face, reflections etc, print face)

-i struggled on this part because there are some small details on the face which i took quite a long time to cut it out

1st cut, 1st print: using the colour of the ink you have planned before, print the first cut, suggest to print it 3 times or more, preferably 5 times

-it didn't turn out how I wanted it to be as there were many white areas > need more paint! + some parts that i cut out on the linoblock didn't really show up on the print > improvements to be made! (to cut deeper)
+ i got to learn that its better to wipe of excess paint on the sides as it may affect the colour that we later are going to print on (colour difference); my teacher suggested me to mix a darker shade of blue for the next print as the contrast was not really there

1st cut, 2nd print: redo the 1st printing stage

-from my second print, you can see that the features on face is now much more clearer and less small white spaces could be seen

1st cut, 3rd print: redo the 1st printing stage 

-from my third print, you can see that the features on face is now even much more clearer and specific and very less small white spaces could be seen, i was satisfied with this already + approved by my teacher so i decided to move on to the 2nd printing stage

2nd printing stage: to "cut blue, print pink" (cut face, print background)

-this process was quite dreading, i think it took me 1.5 lessons to complete this(can improve on the speed of doing this carving step) but overall i was satisfied with this step

2nd cut, 1st print: using the colour of the ink you have planned before, print the second cut; suggest to test print it first and then print it on the previous few '1st cut prints'

-i did not test print the background first (thinking back i think its because i totally forgot about it); i didn't use back the same alignment template > pink paint covered many parts of the face (i only realised after i finished this 1st print and the next 2nd print); again, paint was too less > pink paint was not solid and there were many empty spaces in between; i tried this on one of my failed '1st cut prints' so i was not quite disappointed in this step 

2nd cut, 2nd print; redo the 2nd printing stage

-i think this step was quite okay, just that i didn't use back the same alignment template > did not cover the spaces that were to be the background colour pink + i accidentally moved the linoblock around when i was printing it + paint too much

2nd cut, 3rd print; redo the 2nd printing stage

-at first i thought i was so done because there was so many pink blotches on the face and it was the last '1st cut print' i had but on second thought i remembered that the black paint later on would help cover up so i was quite relieved + i think i was lucky enough to find back the alignment template for this '1st cut print' so yes! very happy with this!

3rd printing stage (final cut!): "cut pink, print black" (cut background, print black-hair and other feature on face + clothes)

-was fast on this process and i think this last cut looks amazing, happy!

3rd cut, test print 1: test print of 3rd printing stage to make sure you have cut well! (black was the planned colour so that everything stands out, must use black!)

-i put too much paint on the linoblock + moved it when printing so you can actually see that some of the paint actually smudged out and it looks pretty horrendous > so i went to further cut out the face details afterwards (more clear + specific)

3rd cut, test print 2: repeat test print step

-again, paint was less so there were many white spaces; face details on this step was much clearer, i liked it!

3rd cut, test print 3: repeat test print step

-definitely much better than the previous one & satisfied with it so i went to do the last cut, final print!