David GearyApr 1

I've been teaching myself Japanese woodblock printing - "mokuhanga" - for a bit now, so it might be interesting to post something of my attempts.

My current print is the 'Fuchū' vignette taken from panel 6 of #Hiroshige's 'harimaz-e' series, Pictures of the Fifty-three Stations of the #Tokaido (with slightly modified border proportions to fit the block size).

Nice and simple 🤨

First step: make a digital copy, separating each colour onto its own layer.

#mokuhanga #woodblockprinting #ukiyoe

Show threadDavid Geary
With the colour separations done, the black outlines are transferred to the first wood block - the keyblock - for carving. This is a 150 x 200mm block of katsura, a wood more readily available than the traditional mountain cherry (although, ironically, both of my usual suppliers are now out-of-stock).
Apr 1 at 6:09pmWeb
Show threadDavid Geary6d ago

And that's the colour blocks now carved. One each for the background, the red kimono and glow in the lantern, and the yellow kimono collar and pattern and the lantern.

#mokuhanga #woodblockprinting #ukiyoe