Reduction Printmaking

Reduction Printing: Sun-Moon Print

Reduction prints are multicolour relief prints.  They are printed from only one block.  The block is is carved away, “reduced”, throughout the printing process. The introduction of the reduction method is attributed to Pablo Picasso. He referred to reduction prints as “suicide prints”because the matrix is destroyed, little by little, as the print progresses. It’s critical to plan each reduction print carefully before starting to carve and this can be a bit of  a

challenge. 

There’s no going back to reprint colour two, for example, once the next colours have been printed.

HINTS

Think about your idea. 

Make sure that your drawing is accurate ( a circle is a circle, a straight line is a straight line, think about symmetry)

Think about creating it in three layers. 

Think about it as three colours. 

The final layer will have each of the other three colours under it.  

Colours should be arranged from lightest value to darkest if possible.

The raised area of the printing plate is going to become smaller with each layer.

Read the steps below for creating Sun/Moon Reduction Print

Step 1 THE FIRST CUT:  CUTTING THE SOFTOLEUM and ADDING YELLOW

Yellow Sun and the White of the Paper.

Draw your basic design on tracing paper number #1 in pencil.

Use x’s to indicate what you are going to cut.  Remember that the areas that you cut away cannot come come back.  Nothing can be printed in that area after it is cut away.

Use a coloured pencil to colour in the part that will stay raised and catch the ink when printed. In this case, it is the yellow moon and the border that will remain raised they rest will be cut away and show as the white of the paper.

( In this case, the other colours that you are going to use MUST be inside the yellow area - they cannot be on the white area as you will have carved it away)

Step #2  THE SECOND CUT:  CUTTING AWAY SOME OF THE FIRST YELLOW LAYER AND ADDING BLUE    Sun with Blue Face, Blue Moon , Border

Use a second coloured pencil on another piece of tracing paper #2.  Colour the part that will be the second colour.  Remember that it can only be where the first colour is. Use x’s to indicate where you are going to cut away.

In this case, the blue moon, the face of the sun,  the dots on the sun , and the border will remain raised and will be blue; the rest of the yellow will be cut away.  Indicate with x’s the parts that you will cut away

Step #3 THE THIRD CUT: CUTTING AWAY SOME OF THE BLUE AND ADDING BLACK

Black on face of sun, dots on the sun, and border

Use a third coloured pencil on another piece of tracing paper #3.  Colour the part that will be the third colour. Remember it can only be where the second colour is.

Use x’s to indicate where you are going to cut away. 

In this case, it is the face of the sun, dots on the sun, and border that will remain raised and catch the ink.  The rest of the blue will be cut away.


WATCH THE VIDEO :Watch video link to see the printing process

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcHNBn7n5U0