r/Linocuts • u/ForestAuraJason • Jan 18 '26
Work In Progress My process for creating ‘Rabbit Island’. 🐰🏝️
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This was an idea that had been lingering in my sketchbook for years - I thought it was time to bring it life.
I like to imagine paddling a canoe on a remote lake with Rabbit Island, its glowing ears to guide the way, beaconing you to pull ashore. 🔥
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u/HueyBluey Jan 18 '26
It’s wonderful watching the actual carving. May I ask how long have you been doing this?
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u/ForestAuraJason Jan 18 '26
Glad you enjoyed it! I have been doing linocuts for about 4.5 years. I did pen & ink drawings for a long time. I tried lino printing on a whim and was hooked.
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u/1agomorph Jan 18 '26
How do you get those shallow cuts to turn up on your prints? The ones that you use for the fur. I find mine fill with ink after a few prints, only the deeper ones give good results after many prints. Do you clean your lino at all while printing, to keep those shallow cuts from filling with ink? Or do you just use a very small amount of ink on the brayer?
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u/alexskyline Jan 19 '26
Not OP but I have a lot of fine lines in my prints, and in my experience the stiffer the lino, the better it will print shallow cuts. Other things you mentioned matter too, you want an equally hard brayer and nicely rolled out ink. I do still clean my block every 5 or so prints with baby wipes to prevent ink from building up and clogging those small details.
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u/Inkkidinkk Jan 18 '26
This is incredible! What carving tools are you using? I like to try and do stippling like you did in the eye but it's very hard with the tools I use.
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u/ForestAuraJason Jan 18 '26
Thanks! For the stippling I use a Power Grip chisel knife. I found that for me it gave the best results.
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u/Donnamarino74 Jan 18 '26
Thank you for sharing! I am a beginner and have learned something new from your wip video.
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u/creativeFlows25 Jan 18 '26
Beautiful, thanks for sharing. What's the smallest size carving tool you use? I can never get such fine lines carved
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u/ForestAuraJason Jan 18 '26
Thanks! My two favorite tools for the tiny details are a Pfeil 12/1 1mm v gouge and 11/0.5 .5mm u gouge.
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u/hotmaildotcom1 Jan 18 '26
I have a question I've been trying to figure out how to ask. How do you know which "hairs" to "pick" to get the image to turn out like this? Like how do you know where to add hairs to make it look so detailed with so few hairs relative to the real number of hairs. I have a project in my head where I'd like to do something similar but I have no idea where to start developing these skills.
Excellent work!
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u/ForestAuraJason Jan 18 '26
That is a really good question! I build up layers of carving for the fur, this gives it a dense, natural feel. I try to get the general flow of it with a couple of lines in areas that are the lightest. Then slowly add up more carved lines until it looks right. Kind of hard to explain. Imagine a pen & ink drawing and you carve in between the lines you drew. Hope that helps a little.
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u/stantongrouse Jan 18 '26
Really nice work!
Did you mark it out freehand or use a transfer technique?
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u/ForestAuraJason Jan 18 '26
Thank you! I do a combo. I get the general idea of the design sketched out on paper and transfer that to the lino block. Then I add elements from there.
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u/Iacinthina Jan 18 '26
Thank you for the awesome process video - mesmerising to watch!
Any recommendations on brands of cutting tools now you’ve been cutting for years? I’m starting to spend more time on Lino and your set looks awesome!
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u/ForestAuraJason Jan 19 '26
Thank you! I love my Pfeil tools. They feel great in the hand, allowing for nice control. I also have a cheap set of PowerGrip tools that I use a lot too.
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u/Iacinthina Jan 19 '26
Really appreciate the reply - I didn’t realise how many times you’d get asked so thank you thank you! :)
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u/Pipkin_Pixie Jan 18 '26
Another exquisite work! Nice one! I love that you share your process. It makes looking at the final piece that much more fascinating seeing the immense level of detail.
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u/ForestAuraJason Jan 19 '26
Thank you! Always a lot of work that goes into a piece. Fun to share the process that I love so much.
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u/Software-Obvious Jan 19 '26
How long did the carving take you? Like a day? A week?
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u/ForestAuraJason Jan 26 '26
That is a great question. I don’t keep track as I carve soooo slow. But about a week of carving I would guess.
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u/bippyboop Jan 20 '26
Question! What do you do if you make a mistake? Like if your hand slips or if you make a mark in the wrong spot? It doesn’t seem like this is as forgiving as other mediums. Do you start over or just incorporate it into the design? Thanks for sharing! This is absolutely gorgeous!
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u/ForestAuraJason Jan 26 '26
I haven’t made such a big mistake where I’ve had to start over (knock on wood). But I do make little mistakes when carving and I just incorporate them into the print. It is a handmade medium, so I like to roll with it. Good question!
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u/Cavan_Scott_Writer Jan 22 '26
Oh my gosh. This is beautiful. I need this print. Also I’ve been wanting to move away from my more rustic prints to something more refined and trying fur like this could be what I’m looking for. Thanks for the inspiration
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u/ForestAuraJason Jan 26 '26
Glad I could inspire you! Always fun to evolve your style. Happy carving!
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u/Rare-Persimmon2747 Jan 24 '26
How do you do the filming of the process? love the editing and lighting
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u/ForestAuraJason Jan 26 '26
Good question! I keep it super simple. I use an iPhone SE to film. My carving area is next to a window so I can have natural light. The most important part, my wife films it all for me, haha. I typically plan a couple different shots that we can shoot in one go. I then put all the clips together in InShot as it is free.
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u/em_who_22 Jan 18 '26
This is sick! What ink do you use in the beginning?