Block Print for Beginners: Learn to make lino blocks and create unique relief prints (Volume 2) (Inspired Artist, 2)

As someone who has never tried block printing before, this was a perfect primer. The instructions are straightforward with enough detail to feel confident it getting started. The projects are varied and fun, with lots of helpful photos. I borrowed this one from the library just to check it out, but I am ordering my own copy to keep for reference.

As a printmaking minor in college, I have collected a library shelf of beautiful books on the subject. I was not prepared for how good this book is. For a newcomer or an experienced printmaker, this book is beyond excellent. The best resource I have found on the topic. Well done.

I do block printing and wanted to get it to see if there was anything new to me in it. Plus, I wanted to see how good of a beginner book it is. It's pretty comprehensive on the basics.There's not much to carving a block other than getting a decent set of linoleum (Lino) block cutting tools and just digging in. Cut away what you do not want to ink, in other words whatever you want to show up on your print, cut around those areas. When you draw or transfer your image onto the block, remember it's in reverse. If you have words they must be put down on the block in reverse, the mirror image.There are several YouTube videos with instructions you can watch for a demo of how to do it. I use mostly my U and V shaped tools when I carve. You can buy mounted or unmounted linoleum as well as soft cut blocks. Because of my MS making my hands funky, I've started using mainly soft cut blocks and that's what is mostly shown in the book. The soft cut carve easier so they're great for beginners, kids, and people who have issues with their hands like I do. Also needed are a brayer (I prefer the soft roller brayers over the hard) to spread the ink onto the block, an inking plate with is something hard and smooth to roll the ink out on (I use a sheet of glass around 8" X 10" or 9" X 12" and it's easy to clean), and block printing ink. Water based block printing ink is the easiest to clean up. You can use the back of a wooden spoon to transfer the ink onto the paper or a barren. If you're just staring out, a wood spoon is fine until you see if you like it, then move up to using a barren if you'd like. I used a wooden spoon for years, then moved to a barren, now I use a printing press.Block printing is a lot of fun and worth trying out using this book as a guide. It's not that expensive of an art form to get into and great activity for the family. You may find that you have a passion for it and become a printmaker artist.I may even pull out my wood block cutting tools and give that another go. I have only done a few wood block prints and that was decades ago. This book is awfully inspiring.I hadn't though of cutting up my soft cut blocks into separate sections to ink them with different colors then reassembling them to print. So I'm going to definitely try that out. This really is a decent book on how to do block printing.

This covers a lot of ground on block printing. It's useful to get an overview of how it's done. But I felt it 'skipped' steps in carving. Meaning the author starts out in with a fresh block but very quickly in a short number of steps you're at the completed very detailed block. There are videos that show the carving process itself better. But this book is good for providing a broad look of tools and how a block print comes together.

I am happy with my order of this book, Block Print for Beginners. This arrived to me well-packaged and in pristine condition. I really like this book because it provides clear instruction in an easy-to-read format. There are many clear, high-quality photos to accompany the examples and to display the methods used for basic block printing techniques and some that are more advanced. Elise Young has done a great job with her book as it's been very helpful to me as a refresher. This is a nice quality book with thick pages and a sturdy binding.Essential information is provided to help beginners of all skill-levels begin their own projects using block printing techniques. I especially like the details about tools. I have not block-printed in many years and found that I had nearly all the tools already on-hand. I do personally advise anyone new to using a carving knife to do so with a bench hook for safety reasons. One thing that is so nice about this art form is that the basic tools used are relatively inexpensive and need very little storage space. I first learned to block print with linoleum as a child, and since then I have not made many significant hand carved block print projects for many years. I was in need of a re-fresher and find that books are often more helpful as I can read ahead and then look at the book anytime during the process without needing to stop to consult a computer. I have even learned several new techniques I had not learned before!I find this is a book and art form that is appropriate for anyone with enough hand strength and sense of self-protection to safely use a knife. I would highly recommend this to be in every art teacher's school studio library. This is a reference that will be very relevant for many years into the future. I hope that you find my experience helpful as you kindly click the button below.