Imitating Wood Cut Art

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A useful illustration technique to create a traditional feel to artwork is to replicate Wood/Lino cut printing. Using black fine-liners in varying point sizes a wood cut design can be achieved by focusing on light and shadow to create depth and detail. Using 0.05, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.8 fine-liners, I created an orchard design for my project client Somerset Cider Brandy Company. Using my own photograph as an image reference, I drew a pencil design adding in the details of where the heavier and lighter black lines will be added.



Once the design was completed in ink, it was scanned into Photoshop, with the contrast and brightness adjusted to give a bold black stroke to the line art. From here, the design was turned into an old packing sticker or logo for the brand. For the first design, using the Duotone mode, I changed the black line art to a deep green to reflect the Somerset landscape and green of the orchard. This also gives a more traditional feel. Next, I added typography a mixture of Script and Sans serif to honour the script of their current logo. I then added a distressed paper as a background to give age to the design and a surface the print was most likely to be printed on in the past. To finish the design, I contained it in an oval sticker to allow it to be applied to a variety of documents and objects.



The second design is similar, only I have inverted the colours swapping the elements that would have been carved in the wood block to be left. I also added a mask over the green oval of a wood grain to give an imperfect finish where the ink may not have covered the entire wood. This element reduces the clarity of the design but adds age and interest to a design that would have appeared too clean and modern.


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