See a step by step demo of the woodcut process, a relief printmaking technique from beginning to end.
- 1 min short (best & worst tools)
- 1 min short (blotters)
- 1 min. short (printmaking paper)
- 1 min short (bad woodcut tools)
- 1 min. short (shopping for paper)
- 2 min. version (signing & editions)
- 5 min. version (hand printing)
- 41 min. version (full tutorial)
You’ll see comprehensive explanations of tools, types of wood, carving, inking, hand printing, pin registration, preparing paper, and more. Demo by Art Prof Clara Lieu.
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Video Walkthrough
- Woodcut is a very stable, relief printmaking process.
- Linoleum block carving is a good entry point for relief printmaking.
- A linoleum block will not yield marks that are as thin and precise and can often flake off when the areas are extremely detailed.
- Any type of wood can be used for woodcut, you’ll have to get your wood at a lumberyard, not an art supply store.
- Your carving tools really can make or break your experience with woodcut, poor tools can make the process incredibly frustrating.
- The Ashley Iles: special back bent tool block cutters are excellent tools because they are back bent and can cut more gracefully than tools that are not.
- Woodcuts can have very bold, stark shapes that can be really compelling and dramatic.
- A bench hook is important for safety, to keep your block stable as you carve.
- A “Wood is Good ” rubber mallet is very helpful when clearing out very large areas, you can use the weight of the mallet to help you.
- You have to have a lot of patience to carve, it’s not fast and rushing it won’t get you good results.
- Doing a quick rubbing of your block with a graphite stick can be a great way to preview what your block looks like without the hassle of printing.
- The process of inking and printing a relief print may seem very straightforward and easy, but it’s not!
- When inking, you want to print about 3 prints where you deliberately under ink the block and slowly build towards a fully inked block.
- Too much ink can be a problem as very thin carved areas can get filled in.
- Your first proof should have just the thinnest layer of ink, and then build from there.
- Wood putty can be used to fill small areas that you don’t like. (don’t buy Miniwax, it’s the one that messed me up in the tutorial)
- Pin registration with Ternes Burton Stripping Tabs and Ternes Burton stainless register pins makes for extremely precise registration.
- Rice papers are helpful when hand printing because they are thinner and more likely to absorb the ink compared to thicker papers.
- Digital sketches can be helpful when trying to figure out what to carve.
- Create several digital sketches that are very different to explore your options.
Art Supplies
general
- Cotton rags
- Plastic scraper
- Poplar wood (go to a lumberyard)
- Wood putty (don’t buy Miniwax, it’s the one that messed me up)
drawing
- White conté crayon (or any chalky white drawing tool)
- Faber-Castell colored pencil
- Sharpie marker
- India ink
- Graphite stick
- Sumi brush (or any soft brush)
- Faber-Castell dust free eraser
Paper
tools
- “Wood is Good ” rubber mallet
- Bench hook
- Sharpening stone
- Sharpening stone oil
- Ashley Iles: special back bent tool block cutters
- Ashley Iles back bent tools: V shape
- Ashley Iles back bent tools: U shape
- Ashley Iles back bent tools: Gouge
registration
- Blue Painter’s Tape
- Heavy weight cardboard
- Ternes Burton Stripping Tabs
- Ternes Burton stainless register pins
inking & printing
Printmaking Suppliers
Prof Lieu’s woodcuts
Artists mentioned
- Albrecht Dürer
- Alison Saar
- Anselm Kiefer
- Artemio Rodriguez
- Christian Rohlfs
- Conrad Felixmüller
- David Alfaro Siqueiros
- Elizabeth Cartlett
- Émile Bernard
- Erich Heckel
- Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
- Ethel Magafan
- Franz Marc
- Giuseppe Scolari
- Hale Woodruff
- Heinrich Campendonk
- John J.A. Murphy
- Kang Ning
- Karl Schmidt-Rottluff
- Käthe Kollwitz
- Leonard Baskin
- Margaret Burroughs
- Max Beckmann
- Max Pechstein
- Edvard Munch
- Niccolò Boldrini
- Emil Nolde
- Rufino Tamayo
- Sue Coe
- Walter Helbig
Reference Photos
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