Preliminary skater sketches
I’m one of those people that has a lot of stuff. My apartment always seems to be cluttered, I think that entropy is a little stronger than usual in my life.
Last night I reached a tilting point. I have been working late hours and not sleeping quite enough, and one of the results is that I have ignored a lot of the nuts and bolts of life. I spent last night tightening the nuts and picking up the bolts, taking care of laundry, dishes, and most of all de-cluttering my desk.
This morning I woke up to a clean desk with my computers, drawing supplies, carving tools, and the most basic of office tools. The simplicity and cleanliness breathed new life into my morning work.
A nice clean work space makes everything nicer.
New (No) Work
My emphasis on cleanliness kept me away from this series of skater prints I have been working on. I have one in progress though, so I thought I would show you how I make these things.
I start out with a few quick sketches, like you see on the right. These are little more than scribbles, to get the basic gist of the shapes, movement, and energy I am trying to get.
I think about the overall movement in the sketch first of all, then later I fill it in with the structural details of the body. It is very easy to draw figures that look stiff and sorta awkward, it takes a bit more work to make the figures look like they are moving. I don’t always completely succeed, but that is where my mind is.
Pencil Sketch for the 3rd Skater Woodblock
Once I’m done with the quick sketches, I do a more fleshed out sketch, where I really work out how I want the print to look. Check it out on the left
I build up these sketches with darker and darker pencil lines. I start with a very hard pencil, usually a 4H, sometimes a 6H.
Quick note about pencils: Pencils are designated by how hard or soft the graphite is. Harder graphite makes a finer, lighter line, softer graphite makes a darker, “smooshier” line. The range is from 9H (the hardest), to 9B (the softest). HB is right in the middle, #2 pencils are typically HB.
Altogether, the scale is: 9B, 8B, …, 2B, B, F, HB, B, 2B, …, 8B, 9B.
So back to the sketch, I use a 4H to sketch the basic shapes. After I have gotten this fairly well determined, I use a 2H to continue to flesh out the drawing. I use the 2H until the drawing starts to take shape.
last I switch to a soft pencil, a 6B, to really nail the linework. These woodblock prints will be printed in black and white, with no grayscale. The soft pencil puts a very dark line on the paper, and it duplicates the effect that a carved block will have fairly well.
The other advantage of using a soft pencil is that they do not hold a sharp point for longer than a few lines. It is difficult to get a very fine line with the woodblocks that I am using, so using the softer pencil gives me a better idea of what I will realistically be able to carve.
Put it on Wood
Third skater block, carving in progress
When I’m happy with the sketch, I draw the image again in pencil on the block. I usually again start with the 4H, but have to be careful, because the pencil will scratch the block surface if I press too hard. I follow the same pattern as with the paper sketch, I switch to a 2H, then eventually a 6B. When the 6B drawing is done, I start carving.
As I carve, I continually remark the block with my 6B pencil, because the graphite smears away as I work. I also tip the pencil on the side, and rub it over the carved areas, to get an idea of how the block will look when I roll it with ink.
The carving takes a while, especially delicate areas like the hands and face. The block you see on the right is my progress after about 2 hours of carving.
The head and the left arm are carved, but that is it. This block probably has another 2 or 3 hours of carving to do.
And of course, what was I listening to when I worked on this?
- Crucifix – Dehumanization
- Operation Ivy – Energy
- Final Conflict – Ashes to Ashes
- Bad Religion – ’80 – ‘85
It’s just punk rock.
Tags: Punk Rock, Skate, Sketch Book, Woodblock Print
How many are you going to carve in this series?
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog post ..Carlos Throws Down, and Closed Means Closed. Yep, the Week in Review =-.
@Dave, I’ll do at least 4, and probably at most 4. I plan on being done with all of these by Sunday evening.
These are many things in addition to pictures of guys on skateboards. Proof of concept, DP, business experiment, etc.
This is a way cool “how I did it” post. thanks for sharing some insight into your work. Is woodblock printing one of those dying arts or is it popular? Also, you have talked about art school, did they teach you how to do the woodblock prints there or did you learn that on your own? they seem very old school and classic, like something not many people do anymore.
.-= Justin Matthews´s last blog post ..What Do You Mean? I Have Kids? =-.
@Justin, thanks! One purpose of this site is to show all of the “behind the scenes” stuff that goes into making the art.
There are a lot of questions there! I think I will have to write an entire post discussing just this.
Executive summary, I emphasized in printmaking in art school, and learned woodblock printing then. In art school, I mostly did lithography, but that requires thousands of dollars worth of equipment and lots of space.
The most common type of fine art printmaking is probably Intaglio (ie. etchings). Woodblocks aren’t that common, likely because it is the least versatile printmaking method. Wood has a natural limit to what it can do, due purely to the fact that it is wood.
Cool! Thanks for the primer, I will look forward to the post with all of the details. I know some things about making prints, I was fairly good in high school with screen printing and offset press printing. I just wasn’t as good coming up with the ideas so I got out of graphic design.
Still your stuff is way cool. I like the idea that the woodblocks are only good for X amount of printing. that keeps a uniqueness and limited availability to your art. That limited edition can drive your prices up as well as demand.
Good luck!
Justin
.-= Justin Matthews´s last blog post ..What Do You Mean? I Have Kids? =-.
When you made your first block and called him silly I almost commented telling you not to call your art silly – never belittle your art. I decided lecturing made a bad impression.
So, can I tell you I get immense amusement from the fact that this “silly” series just refuses to let go of you. Loving the work, and especially this step by step… I can imagine that carving must be hugely meditative; I’d definitely lose myself in it.
Yours,
Megan
.-= Megan Potter´s last blog post ..5 Ways Lists Can Change Your Life =-.
Rad. This seems like pillar content to me. I don’t know, ask that Doolin guy…very cool getting in behind the scenes like that. Art takes patience and it sounds like this is no exception.
Checked out a few more D.I. songs yesterday…killer. Your recent posts are definitely putting me in a punk mood these days.
.-= Carlos Velez´s last blog post ..Coming Clean & Transparent: You Need A Story Of Success In Progress =-.
@Megan, Carving *is* fairly meditative. When I get into it, I really focus, and become really present with the block, my knife, and my hand. Other thoughts fade away.
@Carlos, I was listening to metal a lot recently, but this got my punk rock juices flowing again. Punk rock is what I grew up with, and it feels good to listen to it a bunch again. If you can track down “Horse Bites, Dog Cries”, or “Team Goon” by D.I., I *highly* recommend those albums.