"Tilly" in Relief - Continued #2

Once the image had been transferred to the Speedball softcut material, I began removing all of the pieces of the block that would not be inked for the final image print.

"Tilly" in Relief - the carving stage.   This block has been inked once to pull a proof and look for areas still needing removal. 

Upon close inspection, you will notice several areas that have changed from the initial sketch.   Some of the texture lines have not been included on the carving, particularly along the lower jaw.  At one point these were carved into the block, but the proof print was too busy; the lines were distracting.  Did you notice that even more of the body, arms and tail have been omitted?  This image has become even more focused on the powerful jaw and eyes.  Because the eyes seemed to be the connection to the outside world in the aquarium, I really wanted to have this feature dominate the print, as well.

Did you also notice that the upper left hand corner of the block has been removed.  As with many carved blocks, a large area like this, that does not contain essential character or image features, is very prone to picking up streaks of ink that transfer to the print.  While these lines are sometimes desirable, the proof print did not appear clean and alligator focused with the distracting scratches and portions of lines.  Removing this part of the block removes the opportunity for the highest points in the cut-aways to grab ink.

"Tilly" in Relief - Proof #2 printed on Strathmore 300 series printmaker paper, India ink sketch (prior to transfer) on Strathmore 400 series tan paper, and and the final block, inked and ready to print.