Production and Techniques of Printmaking -- [II] Woodblock Prints (Woodcut) (1)

Wooden boards, as the material of prints, are one of the earliest media used by mankind to make prints. With a history of more than a thousand years, woodblock prints were almost exclusively used in ancient China. Although woodblock prints have lost their former luster in the modern West, in China, where there is a rich tradition of woodblock prints, woodcuts still maintain an advantage. This is in addition to the public's preferences and habits, it is compared to copper, lithography, etc., or because it is easy to popularize the reason.

Woodblock prints for a long time, people have been regarded as the typical letterpress, but woodblock, especially modern, has not only been the best plate material for letterpress, but also intaglio, integrated version, air pressure version of the affordable and good plate material. At present, many domestic printmaking authors apply the "color top" is actually the woodblock convex and concave surface of the integrated use: woodblock watermark is also an example of convex-concave combination (woodblock of the depression of the accumulation of ink more, the grain area of the ink is less, and thus showing woodblock). Now, people use a variety of coatings (such as varnish, wax grams, plastic, etc.), brushed on the wood surface, so that the knife is free to go, eliminating the obstruction of the grain, both metal intaglio effect: also use the wood plate (a variety of plywood) of the flat and cheap and used as a comprehensive version, cut and paste version of the base plate and so on. With the progress of science and technology and people's continuous exploration, wood panels as plate material will also have a broader future.

This section describes the general uses of wood panels as plates, as follows.

1 . Tools and materials

The tools and materials of woodblock prints, like paper plates and other types of plates, consist of three parts: the plate, the engraving tool and the printing tool.

A. Plate Material:

All the surface flat, can be into the knife of the board can be used. Especially modern woodcut, more no matter what, different texture and texture of the plate, there will be different artistic effects, the important thing is to use the right place. Generally according to the content of the performance is coarse or detailed, to choose the texture of the plate. If the wood class white peach, plum wood, ginkgo (white fruit tree) and so on because of its tight wood, fine, can be used to carve a delicate prints. Northern wrought wood, southern camphor, maple wood is also a good woodcut plate material. But now because these boards are more and more difficult to get (in addition to some authors of the origin of the wood), so people try to find other boards and its substitutes, to make woodblock prints. The market can be bought everywhere three clip, five clipboard, as well as sawdust board, etc., has been most of the woodblock prints used by the author. Popular in foreign hemp glue plate (Inocut), plastic plate, plaster plate, etc., the essence is also a substitute for wood.

B. Engraving tools:

Artistic woodcut knife box (Figure 161, 162). Boxed wood carving knife is now available on the market, for beginners, eight packages are enough. In the art supplies store to buy woodcutting knife, to the kind of box has a large flat mouth and large round mouth knife is good. If not, you can go to the market to sell iron products stores or stalls to buy a medium-sized chisel (the tip of the flat thin for the top), in order to prepare for the carving of large prints and shoveling the bottom of the use of woodcutting knives are usually Mitsubishi (angle) knife, round mouth knife, flat mouth knife, beveled mouth knife, square mouth knife, and so on. The characteristics and use of various knives are briefly described as follows:

The name of the various parts of the carving knife: blade, face, trunk and handle. (See Figure 163)

The correct way to hold the knife is: the right hand to hold the knife, the left hand middle finger and forefinger against the knife stem, to control the direction of the knife and speed, and is not easy to hurt your fingers. (Figure 164)

Mitsubishi knife, the tip of the blade angle into the wood, push forward, carving lines: you can also blade into the wood on one side, as a flat knife to use: can also be used as fluctuating shovel push carving, into the knife and out of the knife is a two-pronged line, or chisel carving, i.e., the knife into the wood, back to pick the wood, carving a triangular white spots. (Figure 165)

round mouth knife, to carve large surface-based. General carving method is four a shovel, into the knife and out of the knife in a circular arc; two is digging, the knife into the wood, that is, stop, will be picking off the wood chips with the knife, or back after the knife with the hand will be plucked off the wood chips. The two ends of this knife are one square and one round; three is a horizontal knife carving line, holding the knife, not forward push, but with the left hand middle finger and index finger against the knife stem when the knife is pushed hard to the right side of the run, while holding the knife in the right hand, the pressure blade on the surface of the wood, you can carve a soft line; four is to rock the knife, the knife handle is slightly vertical, the left and right rocking knife to move forward, carving the line such as a rope shape. (Figs. 165, 166-1 )

Flat Knife (also known as the flat knife): This knife is like a woodworking chisel, but the chisel used in carpentry is thicker and more suited to hammering, while the woodcutting flat knife is thinner and more suited to the hand force into the knife. Now many wood carvers in the woodworking chisel engraving, often with a mallet, the knife touch more ancient. Carving method is generally five: a shovel, the knife touch is square; two is digging, flat push into the wood, back knife pick wood chips; three is to a knife tip carving line, such as ploughing a field, and then use the blade surface against the wood surface, the "plough" up the wood chips chipped, or in the carving line of the other two sides of the same method and then make up into a knife, the two knives a folder, as the Mitsubishi knife, a knife, the chips will be dug out: four is Cutting, slightly vertical knife, force straight into the wood surface, in turn, the lines and shapes carved out, as if carving chapter chiseling stone, if the hand is not enough, then the hammer can be used to whack it. In this case, the knife should be held in the left hand with a fist, and the mallet in the right hand to knock (see Figure 166 - 4); Fifth, the chisel line, vertical into the knife, to straighten the edge of the mark into a long line, such as "folding the ruler bone", "house leakage marks" (Figures 165, 166-3 )

Slanted knife

Beveled knife (also known as oblique knife): generally to carve the main line, or as a complementary cutting knife for other knives. There are two ways to carve the line: one is before the tip of the knife, slightly vertical knife pull line; the second is to use the back of the knife angle flat push carve line, such as plowing, and the flat knife with the same. The difference is that the beveled knife is easier to control than the flat mouth into the knife.

square mouth knife (also known as the square knife): is a recent new product, it is a set of Mitsubishi knife, round knife, flat knife in one, if the use of the right way, very convenient.

The use of the knife is generally so, but in the specific carving, it will be different, according to the author's different favorites, with a knife to focus on. Some woodcutters, mainly round knife, some are accustomed to using the flat knife and slanting knife; there are also mainly Mitsubishi knife, carving very fine. In general, a woodcut with a knife should not be too mixed, a Mitsubishi, a round mouth, and then a little while after the flat mouth, so that the knife touch will appear to be fragmented, not coordinated. A piece of music has a main theme, a painting has a main tone, and a woodcut also needs a main knife. Woodcutting was once called the art of the carving knife, and this is what it means.

In addition to the above-mentioned knives, you can also have some nails, knives, sandpaper, saws, scissors, soldering iron, etc., for the production of a variety of texture of the layout. (Figs. 161, 162)

On sharpening: As the saying goes, "sharpening is not a mistake," the carving knife used for a long time will become blunt, bluntness will have to be sharpened, and do not grind the opposite will be a misstep, affecting the carving of the mood. Sharpening tools: oil stone, emery and whetstone bricks, etc. Flat and beveled mouths are easier to sharpen. Flat and beveled knives are easier to sharpen, just pay attention to the flatness of the edge when sharpening. Mitsubishi and round cutters are more difficult to sharpen. Mitsubishi knives should be sharpened separately with equal force and frequency. The rounded edge needs to be rolled back and forth on a whetstone, or a circular groove should be dug in the whetstone, and the edge should be ground flatly back and forth. Each blade sharp or not, you need to look at the blade with or without a bright line of reflection, if there is no they indicate that the blade grinding.

Knife preservation: After the knife, if not used temporarily, in order to prevent rust, can be smeared on the head of the knife oil or vegetable oil.

C. Printing

The printing of the woodblock prints watermarks and oil marks, and the two tools and materials used are slightly different. Now the list of comparisons:

Oil printing

Printing paper one by one, generally available on the market can buy white paper or colored paper can be, but in order to solid surface light is appropriate, such as drawing paper, drawing paper, cardboard and coated paper for the top. There is also rice paper or blotting paper to oil printing, prints without reflection.

rubbing tools a one of the easiest is the handle of the woodcutting knife and the general metal spoon, but a large area of overprinting, need to work with Malian (see production method). Take a piece of hardwood to make their own rubbing tools with different grinding surfaces, very desirable and interesting. (See Figure 161)

Ink tools a one ① rubber roller size of a number of each. Printmaking special small roller on the market is more difficult to buy, photographic equipment stores have photographic roller can also be used, but the quality is too hard. It is best to buy a good reputation in the stationery store printing cylinder, cut into large, medium and small three sections, homemade roller, ideal. ② ink spatula size of each one. ③ a glass plate or a few small, adjust the ink.

pigments a one to printing black and white offset ink-based, and then equipped with various colors of oil paint. But before using the oil painting pigment, the color mixing oil in the pigment must be sucked off with the burlap paper (or other coarse paper) before it can be used with the offset white ink for printing or the color mixing oil used by the printing house (Veli oil or white oil). If you use oil paint directly, because of the lack of viscosity, it is not easy to get on the paper surface, and after printing, there are heavy oil traces seeping out of the form, affecting the effect of printmaking.

Other

One by one, L-shaped positioning angle ruler (with wooden strips of homemade).

Watermark

Printing paper one one Xuan paper, to clip the Xuan is appropriate (many times to lift and pull the paper is not easy to damage the paper, and easy to control the moisture), and other absorbent paper such as filter paper.

rubbing tools one one Malian or brown rake. (See after the production method)

Ink tools a one ① brush, underline pen, brush, gouache or oil paintbrush size of a number of. ② color mixing and a number of small white ceramic dishes.

Pigments I I Watercolor, gouache and Chinese painting pigments are available.

Other one-one spray bottle, paperweight (with iron, porcelain stick or hardwood block can be).

Malian production method : It consists of bamboo shoots skin, rope disk and round wooden board.

The dried bamboo shoots soak water to soften the skin, flatten and wipe off the water, according to the diagram cut into ten a triple clamp cut and sawed into a round (the size of the bamboo shoots with the skin to determine), a strong cotton rope or brown rope (rope thick in 3-4 mm or so) disk tight into a round, the size of the round triple clamp coincides with the fear of loose rope disk, you can use transparent tape to seal the cross first (see Figure), and then the round plate with the rope disk to the cross (see Figure), and then the rope disk with the rope disk. In order to avoid loose rope disk, you can first use transparent tape to seal with a cross (see figure), and then the round plate and rope disk with white glue. To be dry, tear off the tape, the surface smeared all over the yellow wax, placed in the bamboo shoots (Note: bamboo shoots have fine hairs on the outer skin, towards the inside, the inner skin smooth outside), according to the diagram of the rope disk board wrapped tightly, and finally the bamboo shoots connected to the ends of the skin with the rope tightly tightened to the handlebar. Malian was then made (see fig. 167). Note: Contemporary art historian Mr. Shi Yan in the 1940s proved that the Malian was actually imported from China to Japan via Korea, and was later slightly improved into the modern Malian. Japanese people call "eight" "dagger" baren and China's "horse hyena" (previously used woodblock print rubbing tool "horse hyena" is made of horsehair). "It is a brush made of horsehair. In ancient times, it was also made of brown leather). Therefore, the Malian real system originated in China.

Brown rake is the current face of China's traditional rubbing tool, which is composed of brown pieces and square wood strips. Take about a hand long, 4-5 cm thick square wood a (to hardwood for the top), with a round chisel in the center of the spine to control a groove in a brown piece of brown silk folded into the width of the wooden bar, and then wrapped tightly in kraft paper (or other sturdy paper), and will be the brown roll ends of the trimmed tightly (the length of just can also wrap the ends of the wooden strip), pressed in the wooden strip under the same time, while the two ends of the rope fastened to the wooden back groove in a final tearing off the brown roll outside the kraft paper, so that brown rake is made. Finally, tear off the kraft paper from the outside of the roll. (Figure 168)

The production of the roller : according to the ratio of 1/2, 1/3, 1/6 will be reputed to print with the roller a cut in two, the core of the wood on both sides of the drilled holes with the handle of the wire frame will be. (See Figure 107)