A Beginners Guide to Linocut

Welcome back to another edition of the internet’s premium printmaking newsletter! I’d like to give a special warm welcome to the 12 new readers who joined the community last week!

In this week’s issue:

• A little housekeeping

• A Beginners Guide to Linocut

• Printober Week 1

• Question Time!

Cartoon of the Week

Housekeeping

You may have noticed a different color scheme in today's newsletter. As mentioned last week, I am changing this up, however, am still conducting an audience survey. If I could have a minute of your time by filling it out, I would greatly appreciate it!

One of the most notable Inkplate changes will be to the Artist Highlight. These interviews will return in November after Printober is over. I am scheduling new artists to interview which means if you are interested in participating, then let me know here.

Now, let's dive in.

A Beginners Guide to Linocut

If you are reading this newsletter, I will assume you already have an idea of what linocut is and if you are not then you are in for a treat! Linocut, woodcut, wood engraving, letterpress, rubber stamping are all part of the relief printing family.

Relief printing is a relatively toxic-free printmaking technique. This is one of the reasons it has become amongst the most popular form of printmaking with hobbyists and just about anyone working from home.

Linocuts are relief prints made from linoleum, although recently, the term linocut has also been used to refer to prints made from synthetic carving blocks, such as the pink, blue or white easy carve blocks. These blocks tend to have the consistency of erasers and can also be used as such. 😉

To make a linocut, you simply draw or transfer a design to your carving block, then with the use of gouges, carve away unwanted material. The block is then inked with a roller. Only the raised parts of the block that contain ink will transfer the ink to paper or textile. Finally, the block and paper/textile are pressed either by hand or with the use of a press. Each time you wish to make a new print you re-ink your block.

Linocut is a fairly low technology art form that just about anyone can do. In order to get started, you need to have a basic kit that includes the following:

• Gouges (cutting tools)

• Linoleum

• Ink

• Ink Plate (surface to roll your ink on, preferably glass, but any non-porous surface works too)

• Roller

• Wooden Spoon

• Pencil/Markers

If you are wondering which tools you should get started with, I recommend you read this article where I go over different toolkits for different budgets. As a rule of thumb, I recommend getting a good mid-price set of tools that you can afford. Sometimes, cheap tools are frustrating to use or just plain bad. Trust me, I have gone through the entire lineup of Hobby Lobby tools! I’m just not living for them sis.

After picking your tools, the second most important thing is paper. I recommend starting with whatever paper you can afford. If you are not able to get some printmaking paper, then try using Mix-Media paper. I found they are thick enough to hold several layers of ink, but not too thick to be cumbersome when burnishing by hand. If you want to get yourself some printmaking paper, then read this article where I go more in detail about my recommendations.

Getting Comfortable with Linoleum

Now that you have the basic printmaking tools, let's get started!

The first thing you want to do is get familiar with your gouges. Always keep in mind that gouges are sharp. If misused, you could end up with a nasty cut. Most linocut tools come with blades in three different shapes: v, u, and knife. Blades are commonly measured in millimeters, and depending on your set you may have a 1mm, 2mm, or 3mm gouge.

I personally use a set of Power Grip Woodworking tools. Despite being for wood carving tools, they are excellent for linoleum. If you can afford them, I would highly recommend getting them too.

A stress free way to get comfortable with your new gouges, and to better understand what kind of lines they will cut, is to practice your carving on a blank linoleum block. I know we all want to jump right into carving our design, but if you have never carved before you may end up making a mistake when cutting and unlike other art techniques there is no easy way to fix mistakes in linocut.

On a piece of linoleum, either draw a tic-tac-toe grid or if you have an irregular strip of linoleum like me, draw vertical lines to create squares. The idea is to clearly mark several boxes on the linoleum.

Then grab a 1mm V gouge and make a few cuts in one of the squares. Make straight lines, cross hatching and curves. Try carving just the surface, then dig deeply. Work your way with all the different size blades at your disposal. Get a feel of them, the resistance of the lino, and the pressure points in your arms while you work.

Pro Tip: Always carve away from your body. There will be times when you will be tempted to carve in the direction of your body. A way to avoid this is by rotating your block so that your hand motion drives the gouge away from your body parts. If for some reason you can not rotate the block, and your hand, arm, or body part is on the way. Carve VERY slowly. You do not want to slip and cut yourself.

After you have worked with the 1mm tool switched to a U gouge, then try the knife. Make sure you use all of the blade shapes and sizes at your disposal. You want to see what they are all capable of. Once you have your linoleum all carved up, roll some ink and pull a few prints. By knowing the types of marks a tool can do, you will be better set for carving your own complex designs.

If you need a visual reference for this exercise, then make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I will be dropping a video there about this exercise.

Printober Week One

The time has come, for you to printmake, for your life! Good luck and don't fudge it up.

Sorry, not sorry. I had to include that RuPaul's Drag Race reference this week!

Seriously, I am not sure about you, but I am excited for the challenge. For this first week, I will be carving a whale. As a reminder, you do not need to carve 31 mini blocks this month. You also have the option to do one block a week. What you decided to carve is up to you. Just make sure it's part of the official prompt list.

If you decided to participate make sure to post your pictures on Instagram and use #printober2022 and #tallactubre. If you would like your work to be showcased on the @printober_official account, make sure you send us a collaboration request! I can’t wait to see what you create!

Question Time!

Well my first question would be: ‘what kind of inkpad are you using?’ I would read the ingredients label on the inkpad or the manufacturer's website to see what the ink mixture is made of and work my way to a solution that would clean it up.

When I clean rubber stamps, I use a mixture of Dr. Bronner’s Soap and water. I drop the stamp inside a bowl and let the soap dissolve some of the ink. Then, I brush it gently with an old toothbrush. I do not rub the stamp with my fingers, since my sausage fingers will damage it. I have done it in the past.

If soap and water is not doing the trick then consider a mild solvent, like a Gamsol or nail polish remover. Work in a well ventilated area if you end up going this route.

Archival inks are hard to wash up, but that is kinda the point. I would only be worried if there are caked layers of ink on your stamp.

Hey Hold Up!

If you have time to give me your thoughts about ‘The Inkplate,’ I would greatly appreciate it as this will help me move forward with designing and curating content for you. 😊

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Thanks for reading. See ya next week