Introduction

What is relief printing?

Relief printing is a technique where areas of a printing surface are cut away so that the desired image is created on the raised surface. Basically, any area that the artist pushes down or cuts away appears white on the printed surface.

Relief printing can be done with relatively simple tools. To make a linocut, an artist uses chisels to scrape off layers of a linoleum tile. Then, they add a thin layer of ink before placing the tile upside down on a piece of paper and pressing. The image is then transferred. In this lesson, you will do something similar using a Styrofoam plate and a ballpoint pen!