lino printing
learning to carve lino stamps, starting small with eraser practice blocks. sketching designs, figuring out what's simple enough to carve but still looks good.
the sketches
my first step into lino printing was sketching out ideas for a tiny eraser stamp (3x2cm). i needed designs simple enough that i could actually carve them, but that still looked good. i used pinterest for design inspiration with some music playing in the background. i wasn’t expecting to enjoy the sketching process as much as i did.
this was actually my first time drawing in over 10 years. i’ve always told myself i couldn’t be an artist because “i can’t draw”, but this proved me wrong, and i had a lot of fun doing it.
you can kind of tell i started near the centre and worked outwards, as the designs get a lot better towards the edges.
why an eraser?
i’ve never carved anything before, so i wanted to practise on a cheap eraser first rather than mess up on real lino or a softcut block. it’s a good way to learn the basics of carving at a small scale before committing to something bigger.
what’s next
once i’ve picked a design and carved the eraser stamp, i’d like to move on to actual lino or softcut blocks and try some proper prints.