What You’ll Need – Japanese Printing
Materials & Equipment
- Pencils
- Fineliner pen
- Water-based watercolour paints
- Gouache paint
- Have a selection of paint/ink in a range of colours of your choice
- Sheets of paper. Any paper such as medium weight cartridge paper (140gsm) is fine
- Variety of paint brushes
- Paint pots
- Water pots
- Tea towel / tissue
- Masking tape
- Tracing paper
- Carbon paper
- A Ruler
Specialist Printing Equipment
- Japanese paper is best suited for printing paper, if possible, around 60gsm – 90gsm of any of the following Japanese papers – Awagami kitakata , Awagami Okawara, Hosa or Masa – are good types to try.
- A Baren to burnish the back of the paper (a wooden spoon can be used)
- Set of wood carving gouges – you will definitely need a U gauge, a V tool (about £10 for a basic kit)
- Japanese Nori rice paste
- Block printing ink (optional), or Poster paints are fine
- A thin block of wood for printing. A4 size would be ideal as the carving process can be labour intensive but any size you feel comfortable working (Shin plywood is preferred, or birch ply, or magnolia but any wood that is soft to carve).
- Sosaku Japanese Block Printing Brush If you’re unable to source this, a clean show brush would be an alternative.
We can put together a pack for you and post this to you if you are based in the UK for £60 + P&P. Enquire at the School office for details.
This pack includes: 2 x square of plywood, 3 pack of stencil brushes, Baren, Carving tools, Masa paper, Hoso paper, Japanese Inking brush, Japanese Nori Rice paste. It does not include the general materials.
Setting Up
Cover any tables or work surfaces you are using with scrap cardboard to protect them from paint/solvents.
Make sure you are in a comfortable space to paint and see the digital screen you are working from simultaneously.
