Comic Styles

Linocut / Woodcut

Relief printmaking: the image is cut into linoleum or wood with gouges and the uncut surface is inked and pressed to paper, so flat printed areas define every mark. Bold confident gouge-cut linework with a hand-carved, slightly jagged edge; dense parallel hatching and cross-hatching plus white-line carving build all mid-tones and shading, because there is no smooth gradient. Strictly limited palette of one or two flat inks (typically dense black) on off-white, cream or kraft paper; pure-black spot masses used as graphic weight. No tonal blending or airbrush; texture comes from tool marks and the wood or lino grain. Strong figure-ground separation, high contrast between carved whites and inked blacks, graphic poster-like composition.