Snowflakes Are Dancing!

Printing!  Test prints went well so I moved onto printing on Arches 88.

 I like the color.  8-]  Half blue, half white...with a dash of red.

This one is good and solid:

But I really like the wood texture that comes thru on this one:

Either would make a good Schuyler House xmas card.  I'll think about it a bit while they dry.

Note to self:  Change signature line to "from your friends at Schuyler House."

Snowflakes Have Danced

Done carving, tho I know full well once I ink it up and it swells a bit, I'll have some areas to recarve.  But at this point it's done.  8-]

Now for a test print.

Snowflakes Still Dancing

Back to carving after a short hiatus to edit a semi-annual poetry collection.  Snowflakes are almost there.  Then I can do a test print.

A faux print (bw mirrored image of the block) looks pretty good:

It's funny.  I get so used to looking at the block while I'm carving that the actual image starts to look strange.  But I'll adjust.  ;- ]

Carving is a good way to dispel nervous energy today, election day.  Off to cast my ballot shortly.

Motifs

Got the cartoon down to a set of motifs.

I can play with coloring the background now, as well as the snowflakes.  The chop is just a placeholder for whatever I'll be carving, and probably in the same colorway as the rest of the card.

Bill did his math magic on the card size and what size to carve the image on the block (i.e., how much margin to leave so I can crop it to fit).  Now all I have to decide is whether I want to carve an 8x10 or a 9x12 block.  Tiny detail seems to call for a larger block.

~*~

Measuring now.  Bill worked up the measurements for me,

Print 4.61 x 7.17  

Bleed (full image) 4.72 x 7.28

On the 8 x 10, 10 inches high, 6.5 inches wide

On the 9 x 12, 12 inches high, 7 3/4 inches wide

but I really have to print out a cartoon and hold it up to the block to see what I think.  Still dithering between blocks, but I'm leaning toward the larger one.  That castle motif is awfully small.

Xmas Card in July (now Aug.)

I can't believe I'm actually started the 2012 xmas card early.  Just in the input stage -- googling snowflakes and santas and lots of holiday images trying to get some ideas.  Nothing is gelling yet, but I have some motifs.

One of them is snowflakes, as in the photo-realistic ones.  That would be fun to carve.  Bill wants a castle in the background, like the first SH xmas card.

I'm thinking something even farther in the background, up on a hill, with snowflakes in the extreme foreground.

But not so much on the ground as in the air.  I do like the edge on flakes tho.

Another thought is a b&w image with just a dab of color (tho that doesn't lend itself to snowflakes very well).

Then I keep looking at polar bears...I really don't have anything nailed down yet.  ;- ]

Xmas Card 2011

Cards ordered thru Vista Print.  *whew* 

What a project.  One complication after another, but it's done now.

I'm calling it Denizens until something better occurs to me.  I can't give in to my other title:  Not Even a Mouse.  That'd be the 3rd xmas print titled that.  ;->  I really am a creature of habit.

Xmas Card - Second Block

Second block printed (all at once, as the rainy weather kept the ink from drying out).  8-]

I think the project was an overall success (altho at this point all I see are the glaring errors).  ;- j

Now I wait for them to dry and then scan them into the computer and start making the xmas cards with Vista Print.  I am so behind on this project.  I think the xmas cards are going to be new year's cards this year.  ;- y

Xmas Card - First Block

First block printed.  8-]  Waiting for it to dry now so I can print the second block.

Carving Around Ornaments

Carved around the ornaments.  They'll be less fiddly to ink now.

Because we're so dry right now (Santa Ana dry) I'm having trouble with ink drying out, especially when I ink up both the window and all the ornaments.  So I'm thinking of printing them separately.

That'll be three printings with two blocks.  What a complicated process this xmas card is turning into.

Test Print - Window Block

Test print of the window block went about as expected.  The window area prints fine, but the ornaments are giving me troubles yet.  For one thing I need to carve out the areas around the ornaments more so I don't get ink on the tree.

At least the two blocks line up -- I tested the window print and the tree print up against the patio door and they matched up.  *whew*

The window was coming alive nicely, but the ornaments are still resisting ink.  But rather than fight with the difficult little things I've decided to carve some more first.  Next time will be better.

It does look kinda kewl overlaid with the green tree print. 

Another thing I noticed tho was how paranoid I am about the two "blocks" being two sides of the same block.  I'm just sure I'm going to mess one up somehow.  I don't think I like being so frugal -- next time I'll use two separate blocks.

Block Two

Still on block two.  Ornaments isolated.  Now working on the window and the mice. 

Then I can make a test print for placement.  Still have to carve ornament holes in the first block.

This part's going a lot faster.

I'm finding my erganomically designed carving tools are best for this part.  I'd forgotten how comfortable they are in the hand since I've been using the finer Japanese tools.  It's a trade-off; ease of use vs. smaller mm.

Ok, ready to do some test printing.  Tomorrow.  8 hours is plenty of time for one day.

2-Block Xmas Card

Short cuts always take longer.  *sigh*  Because I'd carved the original block differently than my cartoon I've had to trace and transfer the image with wax paper (the only thing I could see well enough thru on the block) and chalk onto the back of the block.

Now I'm carving away around the ornaments; next the window scene.  Ugly, ugly work.  I hate how the block looks.

Also need to carve a hole for the ornaments on the first block.

White Line - Tree

Less than pleased with the white line approach to this print.  I inked the tree and powedered the ornaments and stray splotches but the job is labor and time consuming and less than satisfactory.  Short cuts always take longer.

I'll go ahead and carve a second block of ornaments and the window scene and just carve away all the ornaments on the tree.  Less time and labor in the long run.

I can use the back of the block tho that's a new concept as well.  Learn something new with every project.

White Line - More Carving

Almost done with the tree.  Just a few ornaments left at the top.  Then I can test print the tree and see how much trouble it'll be to clean up the ornaments each time.

Time for a test print.

White Line - Carving Continues

Another couple hours of work this morning.  I'll get back to it this afternoon.

BTW, I'm battling my way thru my supply of baltic birch.  It's rather chippy.  I'd gotten used to shina, which I much prefer and will go back to when these blocks are used up.

chip between ribbon and gingerbread cookie

White Line - Carving

Cartoon transfered to block

Starting to carve

Slow going, but I'll be able to start printing the tree as soon as it's carved.  Then I'll finish carving the window area.

White Line

Block is stained and when it's dry I'll transfer the cartoon.  I've decided to do a white line woodcut and ink it up and print it in two passes.  This is pretty much what I do when I tap in colors and print at once, but this will be more like carving two blocks.  I'll still have to take care with alignment.

Tempus fugit.  Sure don't want it to frangit!  ;- j

Still More Messing

I really must stop messing with the design and start carving.  I'm not sure what I think of the addition of garland around the window.  I think it actually detracts.  Or it might balance the color.  But which?

I think I can get away with carving 2 blocks.  One for the green and one for the black, with the ornaments tapped in.  I'll have to see if that's practical.

carve

Working on composition balance now.  This is what it'll look like on the 9"x12" block.  It looks like crap because I overlay images in PageMaker.  I'm only interested in the placement of image and white space here.  The tree comes a little past the center of the block, but the window is a more dynamic image.

I've decided against the garland.

Huh.  I've just noticed the center of the window is the center of the card. 

print

Can't forget what's mirror and what's not.  Keep an eye on the castle.  ;- j

Card will be more like 4.25"x7.75", but I'll keep this balance.

Xmas Card - Colors

Working on colors and motifs.  I may need 3 blocks to do this:  one for the green tree, one for the ornaments, with tapped in colors, and one for the window.

I don't want to go to the trouble of erasing all the ornaments, but there'll be a 3rd block with just the ornaments and the present in the mouse's hands.

Ok, here's the bw version minus the tree:

I can make a stencil mask for the tree when printing the window, then mask the window when printing the ornaments.  A second block can be the tree minus the ornaments.

Working on block size now.  Has to match well with the required card size.

Pastel Sketch

Working on some pastel sketches.  How big can the mice get and how small can the castle get?  I think the castle has to be a tad larger.  Maybe the mice have to be a tad smaller.

Mice don't look too bad size-wise.  Castle might get a little bigger.  (I can really tell I'm playing now.)  ;- j