Carve it once, print it forever, give the best one away.
Your mission
Pull the Perfect Print
Carve one bold design, then pull at least three good prints from it. Lay them side by side, pick your sharpest one, sign it and give it to whoever carved alongside you.
Bonus challenge: Carve each other's initials into the corner of your blocks so every print is signed before the ink even hits it.
Grab a friend and spend an afternoon carving a design into a soft linoleum block, then rolling on ink and pulling print after print of the same bold image. Your first pull is the big moment: peel the paper back and your drawing is suddenly there in crisp black.
Printmakers have been doing this for centuries, and the thrill hasn't changed: you carve a picture, ink it up, press paper on top, and lift off a copy you made with your own hands. You'll sketch a simple high-contrast design, scoop it out of an 8x10 inch block with a V-gouge, roll on black ink and burnish the paper down. Bold shapes print better than fine detail, so beginners actually have the advantage here. By the end you'll have a stack of matching prints and a block you can use again forever.
There's a particular kind of pride in handmade copies. Not one precious original, but eight or ten prints you can give away, frame, mail, tape above your desk. The block remembers your design, so every time you ink it up again, it comes back. You made something that keeps making itself.
Top gear to make this quest great.
Pull it off
Five gouge shapes in one handle let you cut fine outlines and scoop out big areas.
Get on Amazon · $17.99 — Speedball Linoleum Cutter Set with Interchangeable Blades
Soft gray linoleum that carves easily, and two blocks mean a practice run before the real thing.
Thick black ink that gives crisp prints on paper and washes off with soap and water.
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Clear a table, pour a drink, and give yourself a full afternoon with no rush. Essential: a linoleum cutter set with five interchangeable gouges, an 8x10 inch unmounted gray linoleum block, water-based block printing ink made for relief printing on paper, a 4-inch hard rubber brayer, and a non-slip mat or bench hook to brace the block. Handy extras: a bamboo baren (presses paper more evenly than a spoon and won't tear it), graphite transfer paper for moving your sketch onto the block, and a soft brush to sweep away carved crumbs. Have bandages and antiseptic on the table before the first cut.
A good quest stays a good story. These are general notes; your gear's manual, the venue's rules and local law come first.
Draw simple. A leaf, a cat's silhouette, a mountain, a bird. Chunky shapes print beautifully and thin wiggly lines fight you, so aim for something with more black than white in it. Then transfer your sketch onto the block with graphite paper, or just draw straight on with a pencil, and shade every area you plan to carve away.
Brace the block on your non-slip mat. Start with the small V-gouge to outline your shapes, pushing the blade away from you with your other hand flat on the table behind it. Then switch to the wide U-gouges to scoop out big open areas. Warm linoleum carves like butter, so sit the block somewhere cozy for a few minutes first.
Brush away all the carved crumbs first, or they'll print as specks. Squeeze a line of black ink onto a glass sheet or old ceramic tile and roll the brayer through it until it sounds tacky rather than wet. Then roll ink across your block top to bottom, then side to side. The raised parts drink it up and the grooves stay clean.
Here's the moment. Lay your paper down on the inked block and don't let it shift. Press with the baren in small circular motions, working from the center outward, for a solid 30 to 60 seconds. Lift one corner to check your coverage, press any pale spots again, then peel the whole sheet off. Your design, in crisp black, made by you.
The block is inked and you've got the technique, so keep going. Re-roll ink between prints and pull three, five, ten copies. Line them up and compare: the later ones usually beat the first. Pick your sharpest print, sign the corner and hand it to whoever carved beside you. Then clean the brayer and palette with soap and water right away.
Stack your dry prints flat with newsprint between them so nothing smudges. Wrap your block and tuck it away, because a carved block lasts indefinitely. Any time you want more copies, it's ten minutes of inking and you're printing again. Give the design a name while you're at it.
You carved a block from scratch and printed a stack of copies from it. Frame your best one, then dare your carving partner to beat it next weekend.
You bring the curiosity. We've found the tools.
Pull it off
Five gouge shapes in one handle let you cut fine outlines and scoop out big areas.
Get on Amazon · $17.99 — Speedball Linoleum Cutter Set with Interchangeable Bladeswhat to look for & our pick →
Soft gray linoleum that carves easily, and two blocks mean a practice run before the real thing.
Battleship gray linoleum sheets, pre-cut and ready to carve, softer than mounted blocks
Get on Amazon · $13.99 — Unmounted Linoleum Block (6x8 inch, pack of 2)what to look for & our pick →
Thick black ink that gives crisp prints on paper and washes off with soap and water.
Get on Amazon · $16.99 — Water-based block printing ink, blackdetails & deals →
Rolls a thin, even layer of ink onto your block, which is what makes prints look sharp.
Roller with firm rubber cylinder for applying ink evenly to blocks
Get on Amazon · $6.98 — 4-inch Hard Rubber Brayerwhat to look for & our pick →
Most cuts happen when the block slides. This holds it still while you push the blade away from you.
Get on Amazon · $18.08 — Bench hook or non-slip carving matdetails & deals →RELATED GEAR GUIDE
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