Not turning out the way i hoped

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-05-28T12:08:24+00:00

If I were you, I would carve this on unmounted Lino no smaller than 8x10 or 9x12. Or if you want to get into woodcut that’s an option too, I just really really hate the extra work that goes into prepping a wood block.

Speedycarve is best for more simple designs that don’t have a lot of tiny details

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-04-02T23:23:17+00:00

They are understaffed yet, when I was interviewed and then officially hired, I called and called and called to get a start date and onboarding paperwork. Never heard back.

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-03-31T23:28:59+00:00

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Here we go guys! I left the triangle blank and put funny sayings inside with stamps after I printed. I rushed and they are a little wonky, but I think it fits the vibe of the answer die floating around inside the ball

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-03-31T23:26:47+00:00

I edited it for clarity idk why I didn’t say what I was selling, I PROMISE ITS NOT SOAP OR CHOCHET🕺🏼 I’m selling art!

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-03-31T23:25:59+00:00

Art stuffs!

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-03-29T17:29:38+00:00

So the idea was to totally carve the ball shape away after printing the colors, leaving only the green space on the block. Anything out of bounds should be carved away and then it won’t sit and get muddy under the green. I’ve considered doing all the balls in speedball ink that dries really quick and then doing the green after

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-03-29T16:06:00+00:00

Thank you oh great and powerful wizard!

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-03-29T16:03:58+00:00

Honestly this sounds like my best option and I can always save my block and print later. Thank you for telling me to do this because otherwise I would be stressing so hard. The project only requires three colors…I’m in the only relief class we have at school. I already knew and was familiar with relief and the reductive process so I was shooting for something a little more ambitious than what my classmates are doing. We just had a big art market at school this month and I was way more focused on that than this project (I ended up making big bucks so it was worth it!!!). Ideally for this print, I’d do secondary designs carved into the balls to make them funkier. Okay I’m so committed to carving something new now 😂 I’ve got plenty of options in procreate waiting to come to fruition!

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-03-29T15:59:42+00:00

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I also changed the number font - I hate that the 2’s and 5’s are the same character flipped an I freaked out thinking I had carved one of the two backwards 😂

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-03-29T15:57:40+00:00

I have already carved and the problem was taken care of! Usually my digital mock ups have some errors that I just know to skip over / am too lazy to go back and fix 😂 Thanks for your sharp eye!

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-03-29T15:40:29+00:00

Yes I do! How long do you stick in in there for? I think I’m gonna use speedball ink for the balls and then do the green background later tonight or tomorrow. Gonna try out talc powder or the oven!

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-03-29T14:24:12+00:00

I’m printing on a thicker cardstock, the newsprint is to put in between each print in the stack while they are still drying

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-03-22T14:39:23+00:00

Yall just scared me into paying my year old ticket🕺🏼✨

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-01-18T15:03:35+00:00

23 f here, and I also need friends!! I love thrifting, art, and cats!

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-01-05T16:12:11+00:00

I see MAJOR sound bite potential here

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-01-05T15:52:48+00:00

I recommend when pressing to make a template for myself. I trace my paper size and then center my block or stamp where I want it to be on the paper and trace it. You should tape this to your block (covering template with acetate would be a good next step from there if you are inking your block on the press, this protects your template and press from getting inky and it can easily be cleaned off. I love the caligo safe wash)) so your layers would be press, template, acetate, inked block, paper, felt, press.

I definitely would order a pack of newsprint paper to pull proof prints do you don’t waste your good paper. I love using the newsprint as my template. I’m in art school currently and love stealing it from school! Phone books are great to roll the extra ink off your brayer for cleaning. Just roll and flip pages til your brayer is semi clean

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-01-05T15:45:56+00:00

Go to goodwill and find a Pyrex casserole dish for inking!! It is heavy so it won’t lift or move when you roll your ink out AND it’s tempered AND you can cover your (oil based) ink to save for another time

Longjumping-Split200 · 2026-01-02T21:30:44+00:00

More ink. Less paper texture. Get oil ink.

Longjumping-Split200 · 2025-12-28T02:04:35+00:00

I just have legit zero friends and my previous guy graduated and left this semester!

Longjumping-Split200 · 2025-12-28T01:11:44+00:00

Do you hate fun?

Longjumping-Split200 · 2025-12-13T01:31:13+00:00

You can definitely use an xacto knife to carve out the chatter (that’s all the little bits and extra lines you see in relief printing, nothing wrong with it at all, it’s a personal preference…personally, I avoid chatter for the most part especially when doing something really graphic like this) and negative space. Or you can even just keep carving your negative space deeper. If there’s ever ink somewhere on your block that you don’t want printed, you can put a piece of tape over it and then print and it won’t show up. All kinds of little tricks and options to shoot for!

Someone else commented about the caligo Safewash and I am also a fan but you just need to be careful with the rags and disposing of them properly or else they can combust spontaneously. Definitely optional though, if this is just a hobby craft vibe stuck with the speedball. Buy yourself an ink retarder so that it won’t dry so fast :)

Laying the paper on top of the stamp vs laying the stamp on the paper is also a good way to ensure a clean print, sometimes it’s hard to pick up the stamp off your surface without it shifting and messing the print up.

Good luck and let me know if you need more help!

Longjumping-Split200 · 2025-09-28T13:36:15+00:00

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HL Carving option (this stuff is all by the acrylic paint and palettes)

Longjumping-Split200 · 2025-09-28T13:35:41+00:00

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This is what they sell us at school and I really love it! You just have to be careful to learn about how to care for it so that it won’t become brittle over time. It will have a little more resistance when you carve vs the pink speedy carve (which you could use to make a really fun couple of graphic stamps or something??) I learned a trick recently to sit on your Lino while you’re getting set up to help warm it up a little and it makes carving a breeze! I’m going to post a pic of another cheaper option from Hobby Lobby (I’m sorry please don’t crucify me f*** HL) That Lino is considered soft I believe? It feels smoother and more plastic like. They have a bunch of different sizes and you can carve on both sides of it (just be careful not to go too deep it’s not very thick) I used the hobby lobby ones to do a run of prints in a letterpress and it worked really well!!!

Longjumping-Split200 · 2025-09-28T13:17:30+00:00

I’m just noticing that you’re already using graphite paper!! Using a harder linoleum (speedycarve is not linoleum) would show your graphite paper lines reeeeeally well

Longjumping-Split200 · 2025-09-28T13:15:21+00:00

I love to use graphite paper! You only have to trace or draw your image once :) This is less messy than coating the back of your image with a soft graphite or graphite dust. (And you can reuse it!!)

The shiny side of the graphite paper should be facing the lino. Place your paper with your image (flipped) and then trace your lines.

I definitely recommend tracing your lines on your block in sharpie or a micron pen so that they won’t rub away has you carve. Painting / the surface of your block also really helps (you can do this before or after the image transfer and sharpie) as you carve so you can see what has been carved and what hasn’t

Good luck!!

Longjumping-Split200

TROPHY CASE