i did a small project for my printmaking class last year involving horror/sci-fi anti-heroes. of course, being an alien and predator fan, they had to go in there. actually, i think i was just looking for an excuse.
this is a linoleum reduction print. an explanation of the process:
you have a sheet of linoleum, affixed to a wood block. this one is 8x10. you take a special kind chisel, or gouging tool, or knife, and you carve out an area. you apply ink to the linoleum, put it on paper, and run it through a press. the area you carved out is white, the area you inked is whatever color ink you used. it's fairly easy, you just have to get over thinking in negative.
now, if you want to do more than one color, you first carve out the white areas (if any), and print the block your first color. then you carve out the area you want to be that color, and print the block your second color. sound complicated? it is.
especially when you do
six or seven colors. it requires putting a drawing on the block in sharpie for reference, thinking completely inside-out to know what to carve and when, planning like hell, making multiple copies because you can't go back... and due to the fact that paper can really only absorb so much ink, MONTHS of drying time between colors. this ONE project took longer than the semester i was doing it for.
the result:
http://www.avpgalaxy.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pos=6in retrospect, i should have spent a little longer on the drawing phase. i kind of rushed it to meet the deadline, which i promptly missed by a full year. as a result, the proportions are a little wonky, though not bad for the first time i've ever drawn a predatori was more focussed on compressing the original (dave dorman) painting into a reasonable color palette, and making it line-art because linoleum's not good at gradations.
