It’s been a while, but I’m finally back to creating new work and I finally got around to proofing my latest yesterday evening..

I decided that I would embrace the chaos of extended inks for this one, and designed the plates with transparencies in mind, so there are some fun things happening in there regarding layer interactions.

The colours are nowhere near where I’d like them, I was shooting for those lovely blue-green colours you get with clear thick vintage glass, but ended up with neon turquoise!

I built the four individual layers in procreate and modelled the layer interactions by studying an old codd bottle I have lying around. It’s not as realistic as I was aiming for, but I’m actually super happy with it, if I remove any more material from the plates, it won’t be much.

Anyway, it feels good to be back 😊

Not pictured, the bandaid on my finger. I was picking something off of the gouge and my hands spasmed. Stuck the edge right into my finger like a goof.

Speedball water based ink on no name kraft cardstock for a test print.

Hi guys! I’m new to linocut printing and I really enjoy the process of creating my own designs in procreate and transferring them over, but sometimes I struggle with converting my ideas to a black and white print. Sometimes it breaks my brain lol. Do you guys have any tips on how you take real life photo inspo and translate it to black and white simple lines? TIA!

I've been printing for about 6 months now and started experimenting with colored ink, and boy has it not been going well. The print comes out super blotchy with uneven pigment, or doesn't adhere to the paper at all. The last image has a print that didn't have enough ink, but it shows the uneven pigment problem pretty well.

At first I thought I wasn't inking enough, then too much, not pressing hard enough.... But varying the amount of ink I use doesn't fix it, using a spoon or a book or even walking over the print to press it makes no difference, dampening the paper didn't really do much, I'm just losing it here. The last image has a print that didn't have enough ink, but it shows the uneven pigment problem.

I'm using essdee everything - block, roller, and ink - and about 250gr paper made for mixed media. If anyone has any advice I would seriously really appreciate it!

Hey everyone!

I'm exploring an idea for a beginner-friendly linocut kit and would love to get some honest feedback from people who actually do printmaking.

The idea is to combine a small template printer with basic linocut tools, so you could:

1. Choose or upload a design
2. Print it out
3. Transfer it onto a carving block
4. Carve and make your print

The goal is to make the design transfer process easier, especially for beginners who aren't confident in their drawing skills.

The obvious downside is that adding a printer would make the kit more expensive than a regular starter kit.

So I'm curious:

• Is transferring designs onto carving blocks something you find frustrating or time-consuming?
• Would a printer like this actually make your workflow easier, or would you rather stick with tracing paper or other methods?
• Would you consider paying extra for a kit like this, or does it sound unnecessary?

I'm still in the early stages of exploring the idea, so honest feedback (even if you think it's a terrible idea!) would be really helpful.

Thanks!