Linocuts

These should have been posted a while back, but it's been awfully busy with graduation, moving, etc. I finally managed to get some clear shots of my prints from last semester during the commencement show, so it's high time they got posted. These are all linoleum block prints, using bone black and a mixed red I made myself, and the two-color print is on two blocks hand printed with a registration system. Two of these are based on short stories by Neil Gaiman.

On the left is "Be Bold, Be Bold," created for the short story "The White Road." If you've never read it, you really should; it's a fairytale re-interpretation of the classic English story about a Bluebeard-style killer who was actually a Fox. The damning evidence thrown down at the end is a severed hand, but only the accused man realizes that it's actually a fox's paw.

This one is actually a re-print for commencement of a block cut my sophomore year. It was actually my first linocut, but I still really like it. This paper suits it a lot better, though; it's a paper called Nideggen, and I ended up printing on it all semester. The texture is really nice under the block ink, and gives almost a linen scroll look in person.

The last one here is called "Time Is Fluid Here," based on a mobius story called "Other People." It's about a demon who turns a man into a demon who turns a man into a demon who.... You get the picture. It can be read in round over and over, which I did once, it was really interesting. The description of the demon in the story doesn't match the one I drew, but I wanted to re-invent him a little and keep him more closely related to the human version.

I Wish I Knew You (Loved Me)

Chronologically, this drawing actually came before Patron Saint of Rock 'n Roll, but I just finished up the final texturing and processing for print tonight. This was done entirely in illustrator before the textures, and though I have a lot of things I would change about it if I had the time I feel better about the end result than I did initially. This is a companion piece of sorts to the Patron Saint piece, since they feature the same character and related themes and looks. This was a really valuable learned experience for me, even if the final piece isn't my favorite.

With any luck, the next post here will be photos of the completed Book of Many Beasts and the Commencement show!

Patron Saint of Rock 'n Roll

This is the companion to another piece I'm not quite finished with or particularly happy with, but I'm really pleased with the results on this one. This was surprisingly fast to complete, though I spent a lot of time fiddling with my texture layering. Rom makes a great rough-and-tumble angel, but I'm not sure he deserves that halo....

Oh, and just because I like it in this form too but it's not worth uploading to the main website, here's just the line work as well. Nice sharp pencils are one of my favorite things.