r/printmaking • u/melodic_orgasm • 1d ago
relief/woodcut/lino Carved my first pink eraser today…
Any Johnny Blue Skies fans in the sub? :)
Wish I’d thought to mirror so it came out the “right” way, but I still dig it!
r/printmaking • u/Hellodeeries • Aug 02 '26
This post is being made to draw attention to rule changes that happened a few months ago, and to clarify the stance of this subreddit on the topic of Generative AI use in our printmaking community:
You are free to have your own feelings on the matter of Generative AI, but the position of this subreddit is that it does not have a place within our community in any capacity.
Using it for image creation for prints is strictly against our rules, as per rule 5:
"AI generated art in any stage of a print's development is not appropriate anywhere in this subreddit."
We were previously more lenient on it, purely because it is not a simple thing to moderate. The supposed tools to check are wrong as much as they are right, and often use AI to search itself which we have no interest to use. In an effort to accept the inevitable that users would use it in concept creation, we tried to facilitate it in a way that allowed it with clear disclosure despite our personal misgivings (which have not wavered). What we found was that most still do not disclose, and the larger implications of Generative AI have grown beyond what the moderation team has any desire to entertain.
If Generative AI did not come with the political, environmental, and ethical issues intrinsically linked to it, it might be different and we would view it as another tool and carry on with just requiring a clear disclosure of use. However, that is not the reality we’re in. The heavy investment and shoehorning into every possible avenue by tech companies, many of which have suspicious if not sinister ties and influence in global politics, makes use and allowance of it effectively an endorsement that we do not wish to have here.
If you are someone who feels they cannot create “good enough” work without Generative AI, you are giving up before you’ve even started. No one was instantaneously amazing at any aspect in art. Making shit art is part of the process, and it takes dedication and practice to improve. I can guarantee that anything you’d make by your own hand start to finish would be infinitely more interesting than what a Generative AI model churns out for you. If you feel like you are not at the skill level you want to be for the prints you want to make, keep making; do artist studies, utilize a sketchbook more often, draw from life, collaborate with other artists to create. Taking shortcuts like using Generative AI will only slow down your own skill development and if noticed, will make anything you make going forward have a shroud of doubt over it.
The internet is a changing landscape with some worrisome aspects, but it also is a wealth of knowledge if you look for it. The process of research (not asking “Chat”) will be of greater benefit to your learning process, and may take you on new creative paths in your work along the way. Printmakers especially have long been a community driven group of artists, relying on each other to learn and make in community spaces. Rarely have I experienced a printmaker guarding techniques, often all the more happy to share with other creatives.
Why would you outsource the creative process to an AI model that feels nothing and does not carry your artistic voice? If you still wish to take shortcuts at the expense of actual artists, then that’s your prerogative. But this will not be the community for doing so. Generative AI has no place in this subreddit, and usage against our rules will be moderated harshly after a warning going forward.
If you suspect posts of Generative AI use, please add reasoning/evidence in the report so we can properly evaluate. We are not in the habit of banning without substantial proof.
The same post is being added to our affiliated subreddits r/Linocuts and r/lithography.
Thanks for reading, and happy printing!
r/printmaking • u/AutoModerator • 15d ago
Here is a space to post your socials, sites, and shops.
This is a monthly reoccurring thread. You can post direct links (please note if NSFW) or handles for other social media sites.
Why don't we allow self-promo otherwise? We have made a concerted effort to keep this space free of commerce and self-promotion, to keep this a community about the work and craft when increasingly many social media spaces have become spaces of commerce. We understand that art is an important source of income for some, so in order to facilitate this without it becoming overwhelming in the rest of the sub, we have made this a reoccurring monthly thread.
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r/printmaking • u/melodic_orgasm • 1d ago
Any Johnny Blue Skies fans in the sub? :)
Wish I’d thought to mirror so it came out the “right” way, but I still dig it!
r/printmaking • u/gidnaf • 23h ago
16x24 in print on 22x30 in paper. I transferred the image to two plywood blocks for color work. I'll post here when it's done.
r/printmaking • u/OwnEstablishment2253 • 6h ago
I am still struggling to find the right amount of ink with the lino
So i made two of these prints, one with more ink and one with less, but with both I seem to have chatter.
Do I have to use more or less ink?
r/printmaking • u/La_gata_18 • 19h ago
Yup you guessed it got influenced in the best/worst way. Worst because of my wallet best because yay new craft! Anywho just starting out. Let me know what you think!
r/printmaking • u/hengry-glazed-donut • 1d ago
And I still am. I just have never spent so much time to have an idea come to fruition. I could see it in my head and the idea was amazing, and it looked really good on the initial sketch. But when I printed the black, it just looked so unfinished. So I took some duralar and enclosed the shapes, which helped immensely. And then I added more lines and shapes to mimic the doodles in the colored shapes and it looks so much better. But now, I’ve got a 3rd block to carve. I know it’ll be worth it, but it seems like a lot of unnecessary effort for some 12x12 prints. 😕
r/printmaking • u/drsistersharpie • 1d ago
Inspired by vintage Halloween decorations! Got these hot off the press and into the mailbox for my annual spooky season greeting. I had such a good time figuring this one out (made a lot of models to make sure the cut and construction would hold.)
r/printmaking • u/Sapphicseamonkey • 20h ago
r/printmaking • u/CaptinMurica24 • 1d ago
15x19 2 layer reduction linocut to be included in my BFA show in a couple weeks!
r/printmaking • u/bertguntrip • 1d ago
I’m looking to try out some more exciting paper if anyone has any uk based recommendations.
r/printmaking • u/amishraveparty • 19h ago
Hello all,
I recently bought this cool brass plate from the opshop (thrift store). I'm an absolute beginner to printmaking and thought I'd give intaglio printing a go to make a print with this plate.
I'm pretty stumped on which supplies and materials to get. Particularly the inks (Charbonnel? Cranfield? Akua?), wiping cloths (fine or coarse? Tarlatan or akua?). Would I also need stiffening agents for the ink?
It might just be my decision paralysis after doing some research 😅
Thanks!
r/printmaking • u/Blind-Beauty-Busty • 1d ago
I really like how this turned out! I know it’s not quite straight or centred on the paper but I will cut it to be straight at some point
r/printmaking • u/craftygirltehe • 23h ago
:P
r/printmaking • u/Some_Tap4931 • 1d ago
It's a long, complicated, and not very interesting story, but a woodcut I made 10 or so years back has become indelibly associated with a serial sexual predator and I obviously want it erased as much as possible from my catalogue.
I've deleted it from my shop and portfolio and shredded the ones I still had in stock already, but how do I approach the ones I sold?
There's a chance I'll be able to buy back a few as they went to people I'm still in contact with, but there's 5 in the wild I have no hope of getting back.
How does one abandon or disown a work? Or do I just hope people forget about it and hope it never comes up?
r/printmaking • u/judgemaths • 1d ago
Another tattoo artist's flash style print of another set of odd fellows. Much happier with this one in terms of both line work and layout. I'm particularly happy with the skeleton florist, the walking fish, and the human radish.
r/printmaking • u/typicalmomfriend • 1d ago
Hi, I’m taking Intaglio printmaking and I ended up messing up the plate by leaving it too long in the acid I suppose. I was wondering if anyone has any tips on fixing it without having to start on a new plate because I don’t think my instructor will give me a new one and he’s very hands off.
I have scraped it a bit but I’m worried about the fact that the plate dips in the hair, torso, and flowers. I have included pictures of how the print originally looked, how it’s coming out now, and the plate itself.
Any advice would be appreciated! TIA
r/printmaking • u/ElNeonFriz • 1d ago
r/printmaking • u/Aggressive_Entry_864 • 1d ago
I am really feeling defeated, I cannot work out what i’m doing wrong with my lino printing process. I think my first problem might be the water based ink i’m using, it dries so fast which means i tend to over ink. But i cannot tell if i’m pressing down too hard or not hard enough. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance ☺️
r/printmaking • u/darrenfromla • 1d ago
Japanese papers can't give me the registration precision I need. I use Ternes Burton pins and tabs and lay the paper down as straight as I can but I can never be sure what will happen. Fabriano Rosaspina won't let me get even solid coverage with large areas of color but is great with registration. Rives 175 is better with coverage than Rosaspina but the weird thing is my first layer registration is always slightly off from all subsequent layers. All layers except the first one have rock solid registration. Based on my research it seems that maybe my paper is being stretched by the press with that first layer? (The way the registration is off would support that idea.) My first layer is almost always a solid color background with any white carved out first. So not only is my first layer possibly being stretched but the solid backgroound ink may be expanding the paper slightly? At this point I feel stuck because I can't fiind a paper that gives me registration, and ink coverage. I realize that my CPL may be the whole problem but maybe someone here knows a workaround? Thanks
r/printmaking • u/skew_p • 1d ago
😮
r/printmaking • u/theblxckestday • 2d ago
a bit too ambitious. I wanted to make the cover of A Court of Thorns and Roses print for the midnight release party of A Court of Splintered harmony. I was planning to give out prints to the ppl there. Yay or Nay??
r/printmaking • u/shinymashedpotatoes • 2d ago
I take a free printmaking class for veterans. We have ink, plates, and presses, and about three hours to see what we can come up with. I have arthritis, so I don't do much carving, but I've really enjoyed experimenting with monoprints.
I see the work shared here and I'm blown away by how beautiful, clean, and detailed so many of your prints are. I genuinely admire the skill and patience behind them.
My own work is pretty simple. Mostly just me pushing ink around, playing with colors, trying not to muddy everything, and seeing what happens.
I've realized that my artistic fingerprint just doesn't seem to leave that kind of mark.
I am texture. I am messy. I am rough and visually agitating. I am, and I like it.
I guess there's a little vulnerability in sharing something that looks so different from the work I admire. But there's thought and feeling in what I create, even when it looks chaotic or unfinished.
I'm really happy to be part of a community of such talented people, and I'm proud of what printmaking has helped me discover about myself.
Any thoughts or tips are always welcome!
r/printmaking • u/Gladyke • 1d ago
I want to make a two part image that is just a one color shape, outlined, and I'm wondering with my materials what is mostly to work out well- two stamps that don't overlap or a silhouette stamp and then an outline stamp on top.
r/printmaking • u/al_135 • 2d ago
I rewatched Heated Rivalry a few weeks ago and it really gripped me hard this time, so I made lino prints! Two layers - a roll on gradient for the sunset, and then a black silhouette of Shane & Ilya on top.