Alex Beard

Course:  Relief Printmaking 1, ART 210
Professor: Jessi Hardesty
Assignment Title:  Japanese Printmaking: The Connection Between Traditional and Block Printing and Modern Manga

Assignment Details

Origins, Information of the origins of Printmaking in Japan. A Manga Timeline, a timeline that focuses on the evolution of manga and the impact of printmaking. Influential Figures, artists and printmakers that had an impact on the development of printmaking and manga. Ukiyo-e, Image of the Floating World, the art style behind these methods. The Three Step Process of Creating Woodblocks, the creation process of woodblocks that is used to create prints.

Application

The Three Step Process of Creating Woodblocks. There are three main steps in the creation of woodblocks. The first step is the artist. The artist will create the image on a thin sheet of paper. Once they completed the image, the artist would leave the paper with a woodcarver who would perform the next step. The carver would place the paper on wooden blocks that were usually made from cherry wood and engrave the blocks using the appropriate tools (usually chisels and gouges). These blocks would be carved individually one by one, each color a new woodblock. The blocks are then taken to the printer, who arranges the blocks in sequential order and prints them on Japanese rice paper (which is made from mulberry bark) using watercolors. The last step is to sell the woodblock prints. This is when a publisher takes over and takes on responsibility for all further decisions. During the Edo period (1603 – 1868), there were more than 2.000 active publishers. There were additional craftsmen that were also involved in this process, including people such as papermakers.

Results/Conclusions

Over hundreds of years, woodblock printing has evolved so much. It is integrated into most of modern-day society that we do not even think about it. It is the foundation of the printing press, modern-day printers, and is still used in the traditional sense. Which gives us the ability to print the millions of books and manga that we now have available around the world. Through that, it impacts culture around the world. Amusement parks, music genres, career choices, and more recently the creation of live action adaptations of various manga. The impact from manga is vast and continues to grow. All in thanks to woodblock printing.

Challenges and Successes

The challenges that I encountered when completing my project was when I was creating my woodblock. It was a lengthy process and I quickly understood the comments that were made about being unable to undue my carvings. That anything that I carved would be permanent and if I made a mistake, then I would have to incorporate that into my design. The other challenge that I encountered was when I was figuring out the color for my scorpion. The ink used in printmaking is available in certain colors depending on the manufacturer. The shades are created are created when those colors are mixed. I did a lot of experimenting until I came up with the shade I wanted and could easily recreate the color. For me, success was when I saw the final print when I had the color I wanted in my image.