#29 - Hamlet Poster - In Which the Fountain Splits

Today was a long day in the studio. A bit grueling, but very successful. I did my first real split fountain, and I think it came out really well. Always trying to learn new things. The first step in the process was sort of ridiculous: I spent nearly two hours just mixing ink to get the right color. The rest of the process went like this:
Get the inks and brayers all raring to go...

Ink up the title...

Ink up the middle...

Ink up the gradation at the bottom...

Ink up the gradation at the top...

Press that sucker... Lather, rinse and repeat 28 times.

#29 - Welcome to Linochadia

I got the big OK from the director, and off we go! This should be a pretty straightforward piece. The only thing that will require a little futzing around will be the split fountain background.

Here's the first block, waiting in anticipation of the gouge:

And here it is, all done, waiting in anticipation of the ink:

I've made buckets of linochad already, and my studio is Linochadia. Ah, the feel of strips of lino stuck to the bottom of one's feet! Track it 'round, I say! Track it everywhere! Track it to the outskirts of our fair home!

#29 - Hamlet Is Finally Feeling Final, And That's That.

I really have drawn this to death. Even the guy in the mirror died, right? This piece feels ready to print. I just need to get feedback from the director of the play. I hope he gives me the thumbs up, but if not, his input is always excellent and helpful. All of his suggestions have led to better sketches. There's no reason not to improve on this, so I'm ready for whatever he says.

I've had to distill things down to be more basic so that the various parts of the composition harmonize rather than do battle with each other. Also, certain elements started looking like other things: the circle looked like an eyeball, the fleur de lis (which are now gone) looked like Dickensian lamp posts - things like that. Now everything looks like what it is supposed to be. I'm going for the look of nature growing up into the man made.

#29 - Hamlet, Hamlet, Hamlet

I've sketched, cut, pasted, Sharpied, White-Outed, photocopied and stared at this poster. I've been working on it pretty much every day since my last post, but I haven't been happy with anything I've made until now. It has been a difficult process, especially the not liking it part. I think I've finally achieved a visual harmony, with all of the elements marrying well. I'm beginning to love it, and am looking forward to doing a final sketch.

So, here's the latest.

#29 - Hamlet

I've been sketching out ideas for the poster for San Jose Youth Shakespeare's upcoming production of Hamlet. After trying a few different ideas, I think it's starting to gel into something good. Here's the latest:

Seems like a skull is a must do for a Hamlet poster, so this one is reflected in a mirror. Pretty spooky.
I like my sketch, but how to manage the layers and planning? I needed to try it out. I used little blocks and chose parts of the image to work on. I only spent a day on this, and carved at high speed just to get an idea of colors and layers. I still need to put another color on: gray to go over the skull in the mirror, and maybe to add some highlights to the plant life. The test print really gave me some good ideas of things to try, but it also showed me the pitfalls. I do see that a piece like this has to be planned out, every inch of it. Here's my sample print:

#28 - Better Color Scheme

This is happier! Good enough. Onto the next project.

#28 - Silly Harpist Redo

Again I learned a lot doing this print. Am I happy with it? No. The colors are wrong. I want to do it again with different colors. This one is just too dark and makes no sense.

The carving is very good, and it took hours and hours. I have come so far since I began doing linos about 9 months ago. Someday I will look back on this print and be amazed at how my skills again improved. Practice, practice, practice.