The Komainu, or in English Lion-Dogs, are known as protectors and are found in pairs, facing each other, found at the front of shrines and temples in Japan. They are said to ward off evil spirits. So they're protecting the entrances to shrines and temples. Komainu originated from China and resembled lions. Then, migrated through Korea and into Japan. During this time, it slowly morphed from a lion to something resembling a dog, but still with lion features.
I find myself drawn toward these types of mythical and imaginary creatures, like komainu, because, in a way, they represent who I am - hybridized and made up of multiple cultures.
Anyway, I started this komainu print, as I always do, with a photograph I took on one of my hikes in which I came across a little, old shrine. From there, I made a simple line drawing using ink and brush. I used ink and brush because I wanted an uneven, irregular line that a brush would produce and not a perfectly straight, even line that I would get from a pen or software such as Pro-Create or Photoshop. Also, using brush and ink serves as a homage to how the old ukiyo-e prints were made back in the day. Artists such as Hokusai and Hiroshige didn't have computers or use pens, they could only draw with brushes and inks.
The line drawing will end up being the basis of the rest of my image. The next step is to transfer it onto a woodblock, using tracing paper and carbon paper (actually, I just used a photocopy and carbon paper). After the tracing is finished, it's time to carve!
Keep in mind, before transferring the image onto wood to reverse the image. Otherwise, when you print the block, it'll appear backwards.
Above left: Reversed photocopy of the original drawing I did being traced onto the woodblock. Right: finished tracing on the block and starting to carve out the lines.
Below: You can see how the komainu has been carved progressively through each pic.
Once this carving is finished, the block becomes the "key block" - which is the main woodblock containing the outlines and information of the image. From this, I can figure out what colours I need, in which areas and how many blocks and layers I'll eventually need for the final print.
To help plan for the rest of the print, I'll do some test prints of the key block. This serves two main reasons: firstly, I can see what areas have been printed and if I need to re-carve or adjust anything.
Secondly, I can use a test print (including the registration marks printed in the corners) to create the colour separation which helps everything line up better, without any misregistration.
Below right, you can see how I've planned the colour separation. I've got one of the test prints I did earlier of the key block in black taped down to my table and over the top of that, I have tracing paper where I've planned out each colour. I didn't use the colours that I'm gonna use in the final print, I used bright colours just so it's easier for me to tell each area apart. When all of the colours have been planned, I'll use the tracing paper and carbon paper to transfer the colours onto separate woodblocks. When I do this, I'll flip over the tracing paper so that all the layers will print the correct way.
In total, there are three woodblocks. Each woodblock has two sides, which lets me get six impressions (you can see the different blocks above in the middle and right picture). However, I'm going to print eight colours. I can do this by layering different colours over the top of each other, creating different colours. For example, if I have a yellow layer and then print a blue layer over the same area, I get green. Each layer that I need will be a single colour - red will have a block, black is another block etc.
At this point in time, I'm still carving the rest of the colour blocks. So I'll write another blog post about the proofing and final printing of this woodblock later. Stay tuned!
Part 2 coming soon...
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