Today We Will:
select our final image
transfer to our lino
begin carving (if ready)
Check your design and remember...
Lino suits bold and generous design LINES.
CONTOUR LINES to outline shapes/borders is typically most successful.
PATTERNS can be made in the way you cut, repeating shapes or subjects in your design.
Cutting direction matters! Consider you goals, make if cohesive to create UNITY
Always work on the whole image when you are drawing for lino: a tree drifting off into nothing is fine in a pencil sketch, but will look weak as a lino cut. Don’t be afraid to manipulate your source images to fit the design COMPOSITION.
Make sure you think about the BALANCE of your cutting.
If your cut marks are the same LINE WEIGHT and DENSITY over the entire design, it will be harder to read than a design that has a variety of busy and quiet areas, bold marks and intricate cutting. - Bold Thick Color/Spaces = Good.
Before You Transfer
Before transferring the design to lino, do a black and white test.
Quickly shade your drawing to show
what will be carved away (white)
what will remain inked (black)
Think about positive and negative space, this is one of the biggest challenges in relief printmaking.
Is the design still clear when only black and white are visible?
Are there strong bold shapes?
Is there enough contrast between light and dark areas?
If the image becomes confusing in black and white, it will usually print poorly.
Try - Try again - until you find success on this step! When you DO have a successful design, THEN you can move to....
Transferring Your Image to Lino
Place your final drawing face up.
Shade the entire back of the drawing with graphite pencil.
Place the drawing on top of the lino block.
Carefully trace over all lines with firm pressure.
*Note, do NOT press so hard you rip your paper or mark the lino block
This will transfer the drawing onto the lino surface.
Important
After transferring the design, go over your lines with permanent marker.
This helps you clearly see what areas you will carve.
Remember
Everything you carve away will become white in the final print.
Everything you leave uncarved will hold ink.