A New Experiment...

Hello everybody, and welcome back again. No update on Think Digital/Act Analog just yet, but I've been working on some other designs, and I wanted to keep you abreast of my work.

In my last post, I explained how I was taking some requests via twitter or my comments section. I only got a couple replies, but they've been enough to keep me busy. The whole point has been to try some things I might not have had it not been for someone else pushing me to give it a whirl. I wanted to challenge myself to use some different techniques than I usually do. I haven't finished my work yet, but I wanted to show where it's headed.

My first request was for an owl, and while I had a lot of trouble working out how to draw the avian subject, I think it has turned out fairly well.

I've got it on the block and starting making some cuts this evening, but I want to wait to show you the final print instead of a lot of intermediary steps. The second request I received was for a pirate ship. This sort of devolved into just a ship, but it's in the ballpark...

Sorry for the poor image quality. This design is a little rougher, but I kind of like it that way, and I'm anxious to see how it fleshes out on the block.

I'm hoping to get these both printed this upcoming weekend, as well as pulling a second proof of Think Digital/Act Analog. I will, of course, keep you updated on my progress. I appreciate any feedback that you might have for me, and my offer to take requests is still open! You can Toss an idea in the comments here or tweet it at me on twitter (which is also a good place to get updates about what I'm up to, what I'm working on, and what kind of weirdness my day might have going at any given moment). You can find me under @CaptGam.

Thanks again for dropping by, and I hope to hear from you!

Unless otherwise noted, all work by Wade Ellett is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Think Digital/Act Analog: Pulling Proofs

Good evening everyone, hope the week has treated you well! There are lots of things going on right now and they're all good. The fiance is pretty well settled into the apartment, work is going swimmingly, and my adventures in printmaking are keeping me busy.

If you're interested in keeping up with the updates or to see the sometimes interesting, often weird, and occasionally funny blurbs that comes out of my mind via 140 characters or less, follow me on Twitter: @CaptGam

Now, as promised I want to show you how Think Digital/Act Analog has progressed. Last time I wrote about it, I had finished the preliminary carving and I was just about ready to ink the block and pull some proofs. So I got everything ready and laid out on the table.

Next up is spreading some ink on my plate with a roller called a brayer. I spread it up and down, and left to right,making sure to get it evenly spread. As I roll it out, it starts to make a delightful crackling noise that lets me know that it's ready to put on the block.

Rolling the ink onto the block is easy enough, but it's important to make sure that the ink is evenly spread on all the printing surfaces. There is a lot of non-printing surface on the digital half of the block and unfortunately I didn't manage to get it all carved down far enough, so I got some ink on those surfaces too(which you'll see on the proof). After rolling the ink, it's time for the printing! This design is too large for my small lever press, so I had to hand print it using a baren.

Or since I don't have a nice baren (yet), I hand printed with a wooden spoon. It takes a little time and it can wear the wrist out pretty quick, but using consistent pressure and making sure to rub all the printing surface, hand printing can yield excellent results.

Just not this time... These are good results, but you can see where there needs to be some fine tuning and additional carving. Also, the ink coverage on the analog side needs some work. Not to worry, those edits can be made, and the ink coverage can be improved using different paper, different ink, or additional techniques such as dampening the paper.

Hopefully I'll be able to finish the edits soon and pull a second proof to see about improving that ink coverage. It will be a new experience for me so it may take a little experimenting, but you can count on me figuring it out (and writing about the process here)!

In other news, I'm working on another project as well, but I need your help. Here's the deal, I'm looking to make a series of smaller prints to get some needed experience in the illustration and carving. As far as subject matter goes, I'm taking requests. Tell me what you'd like to see as a print in the comment section here or you can tweet it at me: @CaptGam. If I use your suggestion, I'll send you a copy of the finished print. Let's see what we can make together!

Unless otherwise noted, all work by Wade Ellett is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

A Most Unexpected Print

Greetings one and all!

I've fallen a little behind on the old Misadventures blog here. Between the holidays and moving my girlfriend into the apartment, things have been a little hectic here. Hectic, but good.

My last post detailed the process of carving a design I've been working on, tentatively titled Think Digital/Act Analog.

But I'm not going to talk about that right now. Instead, I figured I'd take a few minutes to tell you about something else.

It starts with me. My name is Wade, and I make prints.

Some are pretty, some are funny, some make a statement, but they're all bits and pieces of me.

Here recently, I made a very important print.

And for the record, she said yes.

Thanks for checking in and sharing the excitement with me.

As we get settled back in here, I promise you'll finally get the post on the actual printing of Think Digital/Act Analog, as well as much more to come after that. There are a lot of exciting things happening here at the Misadventures Printshop!

If you're interested in getting any updates on when new posts are coming out, or if you'd like to read about the art project that is my life via 140 characters or less, follow me on Twitter: @CaptGam

Unless otherwise noted, all work by Wade Ellett is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.