Lino Print 3 4 and 5...

• This diagram is looking at how I will arrange the faces.
• I already have the first 2 prints, that are facing away from each other.
• I wanted to be able to present the prints in a line, so I decided to give them a symetrical format/layout.
• The end prints looking outwards, the next 2 looking inwards, and then the centre print facing forward.

Making the last 2 prints had taken me 2 days for each one, I wanted to try and save time on the next ones by cutting all the lino and then printing them in one go, rather than one after the other. Because I could roll out the same ink for each print.

Design number 3: roughs

• From the monos I took the idea of having his hair made from shape, but waned his face to be rounded and smaller.
• I needed to represent the same facial features in totally different ways to give each design a totally unique appearance, but still tie them together as a set.

Final sketch:

• Im pleased with the design, I like the form, how the outline of the face swoops round and creates the nose. Also how he only has half his glasses. The face has a very circular and pointy appearance.
• I wanted too included areas of overlap on the layers, so made one of ears and top of head overlap the green. And try overlapping some line pattern.

add photo of tracing paper

Final Print:

• I really like how it translated into print. I like the right eye, I like the 3D perspective on the glasses it stands out against the rest of the image that looks very flat.
• The left eye is not quite how I wanted it, I didn't leave enough black surrounding it.
• Looking at it now I feel like I cut away to much black in the whole thing, the lines are thinner and delicate and the way the pattern overlaps makes it seem more complex. 
• This makes the structure of the face less obvious. But I suppose this mixes up nicely from the previous two that are more shaped and angular.
• The hair shape is very offset, I did intend it too be much more in line. But it makes it look more complex and crazy. 

Design number 4: roughs

• I decided to make up the face around a square shape, to mix it up from the last that had more circular shapes.
• I would make the square the coloured section, and then cut shapes out of the square, so all the lines overlap apart from the eyes. And maybe cut a small bit of pattern out of the square.
• The square idea could have emerged from some of my mono designs, and the process had just got me thinking about composing faces around different shapes.
• I also thought it could reflect the first lino design (that it will be facing the same direction as), by having a brain shape.
• The face is sort of similar to the first lino, but its more broken up and deconstructed. The proportions are also different, they are much less realistic.

• When the face had the glasses on I though it still looked a bit too much like the first design. So I decided to have him without glasses.
• Which sort of figured because in the editorials I removed his glasses, because I had researched that when he was having a psychedelic experience he no longer needed them and could see better without them.
• So its only works that as my faces get weirder and more psychedelic he glasses come off.
• Plus I really liked how his eyes warped (small designs to the right), when they went right up to the edge of the square.   

Final Print:

• I really like how this print came out! I really like how it works in this colour way and how it has lined up in this particular print.
• It translated better than I expected into print, the lines are nice and bold. The face has a good angular structure I like how all the pieces fit together, and how the ear is floating on its own.
• I like how the shape has worked, it has good balance in the face.
• I like how the overlay has worked, its not overcomplicated.
• I doesn't have quite as much of a brain shape as some of the roughs but I think thats better, its a more subtle reflection of the shapes.
• Its clear in this one how my personal work is combining with the project. Its nice to see how some of my personal designs and ideas can be applied to briefs and used to communicate certain themes.
• And also how i can let thing from a brief influence personal ways of working (drawing faces), and make them relevant to the briefs.

Design number 5: roughs

• I though this could reflect the shape in the second lino design, and have the shape as a semi circle.
• But have it contained inside the head, similar to the first one.
• I then started to build up a face around the semi circle shape, but used similar features to the other designs.
• I really like the twisted nose, it has weird 3D structure but a flat appearance.

• I decided to put an eye into the shape in his head. This fits perfectly with the theme, it would communicate ideas about psychedelia and things Huxley experienced/researched with his mind. 
• I really like how the extra eye works with the face, it messes with the way you see it (could mistake the brain eye for his normal eye, or is that his normal eye? who knows), people could interpret it differently.

• Repeating the faces quickly is something I do often when roughing. It helps me to learn the shapes and understand how they work/fit together. 
• The face works as the last design, its abstracted nicely and based around different shapes to the others, but still reflects them all tying the set together.

Final Print

• I like how the lines have come out, they are bold and angular like the previous design (no.4). Which is good to make them work more like a progressive set.
• I recut the lino piece for inside his head. The first one I had was too small and I got carried away cutting pattern and cut too much of the shape away not leaving enough solid green to be printed.
• I wish I had included more overlay of the black onto the green. 
• All the others have more sections of overlay, this design has much more white in it which makes it stand out from the set a little bit, it doesnt tie in quite as well.
• In some roughs I had though about putting a green shape behind the lips, looking at it now I wish I had included it, I think that could have balanced out the colours nicely, and involved some overlay.
• The face translated from the sketch really well, i like how graphic and pronounce it makes the facial features. 
• It looks abstract and vibrant and warped/un-human in relative to the first design, and involves sort of symbols about the mind/psychedelia, so it makes a nice finish to the set.

Colour Variations:

• Above is all the different colour variations of the shape sections (combined with black).
• I printed all the small sections at once, one after the other in each colour. I had to do multiple prints of each colour and each shape, incase any messed up (out of line, not dense enough) and so I could print some different coloured faces onto some. So I had a big pile of shapes ready to print the second layer onto.
• I spent a whole day in the print room just printing the shapes, and I didnt even get to see how any of the faces came out at first.
• I then spent another day printing all the black layers, it was starting to become a very long process to complete 5 prints of this size. But I was pleased with the results I was getting and liked the impact a lino of this size.

Finished lino cuts...

Orange variations:

This was my favourite orange print, I really liked how it works with the blue. The white eye in the blue shape really stands out, I also like the subtle overlay of orange onto blue, the orange doesn't sit on top completely. The orange came out solid and clean which is was really pleased about because I had some problems with printing the orange layers:

• Although the linocuts looked clean before I printed them, they had bits of watery black ink in some of the grooved which made areas of the orange mirky.
• Something about the consistency of the orange ink applied slightly differently to the lino. It was more oily and watery and produced a weird build up in details on some prints.

• I decided then print layers of orange, it was the best colour I could think of that could work with all of the coloured shapes. Overall I had spent three days printing the last three (the last two designs took 2 days each), so I did manage to speed up the process by cutting them all at once.
• The problem here is that there is not a totally different colour way for each design now.
• I had thought about 2 possibilities for my final set, either: Black and green(or other colour) Or full colour prints (no black) each with totally different colour ways.
• Having all the last three with orange would make an inconsistent set. So a set of full colour prints is off the cards. It was too difficult to have that many colour variation of lino this size. 
• But its still nice to have loads of different colour ways, just for the single standing prints, not looking at them as a set.

What I would do differently:

• Creating the colour variations and having to roll out new inks is what makes the process so time consuming, combined with the fact I was working multiple layers.
• I really love the aesthetic it creates but I think a more effective way to get designs like this would be to print the lino cuts a few times in black only, and then make them into positives to then screen print.
• You could even expose them straight onto a screen if the size was okay.
• This would make colour variations much easier, and make lining them up easier. I think screen printing is an easier process in general, and this would be a way to achieve the same aesthetic as lino but through a better process.
• I had these thoughts after screen printing my lino design onto a T shirt.
• But I have really enjoyed working with lino in the lino press, and there is something nice about linos of this scale, it could make them more impressive than if they where screen printed. But when making this many prints screen printing would be more efficient.