Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 1 - Welcome to #woodblockwithlaura - Welcome to my new series on multiblock Japanese watercolour woodblock printing. There'll be loads of hints and tips along the way as I develop my project from design drawings to finished print.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 2 - Developing the Design Drawing - It's often a winding road from sketch to finished 'design drawing' ready to turn into a print. Here's how I get there (spolier - the image will still keep changing!) for my latest multiblock Japanese woodblock print.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 3 - Raising Woodgrain with Fire! - Grab a blowtorch and raise some grain! Getting my Yew plank print ready for my Japanese woodblock multiblock print.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura: Episode 4 - Making a Master Tracing - Time for precision and focus: the master tracing for my multiblock print. Everything else is flexible, but the whole registration system for my print hangs on getting this right!

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 5 - Assorted Woods for Japanese Woodblock Printing - A look through some of the surprisingly wide assortment of woods I use for Japanese woodblock printing including cherry ply and shina plywood.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 6 - Registration Japanese Style - An explanation of just how I’m going to line up this multiblock print using the Japanese method of registration (Kento). In this technique, each block has its own set of registration points cut into the wood alongside the block.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 7 - Mapping out the tracing onto the wood - Keeping those woodblocks lined up right! Transferring the drawing onto the shina plywood ready to cut along with it’s registration marks (Kento).

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 8 - Cutting Kentos - Making sure my blocks line up - cutting the all important registration slots (kento) to hold the paper when I come to print my blocks for mokuhanga printing.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 9 - Cutting the Outline Block - Cutting the outline of a Japanese woodblock correctly is very important: the process that relies entirely on clean cutting for clean printing. This video introduces the hangito knife and how to use it.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode10 - Clearing Out Around a Japanese Wood Block - A well cut block is essential for clean printing. This episode explains how to clear around the block: how deep, how wide and how to avoid embossing or dirty printing when printing Japanese woodblock (mokuhanga)

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 11 - Cutting a Japanese Woodblock Print: The Line Block - Inspiration for my line block - how themes develop in my work and How to cut an outline block, working with the hangito knife and a 'v' gouge to cut expressive and accurate line detail.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 12 - Developing the Background Blocks - How to add a brush effect woodblock into the design with accurate registration for a multiblock mokuhanga print.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 13 - Cutting a Brush Painted Wood Block - Today another film about cutting, this time to suggest brush marks using my Japanese woodblock cutting tools and washi paper stuck onto the woodblock with nori paste

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 14 - Introducing a Rogue Lino Block - You’ll know by now that I like to improvise. I thought it would be fun to throw a lino block into the mix and this episode explains how I’ve managed to get it accurately registered to match the other blocks for my Japanese woodblock.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 15 - Japanese washi papers for Woodblock Printing - A chat about the bamboo ans shiramine washi printing paper from Awagami Paper Factory that I am using for this project and a look at the qualities of washi paper.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 16 - Preparing a Damp Pack for Japanese Woodblock Printing - How to make up a damp pack for printing paper for mokuhanga printing. I’m demonstrating with newspaper and blotting paper.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 17 - Damping Printing Paper for Japanese Woodblock Printing - Damping the printing paper properly takes a bit of know how- here I demonstrate with Washi, Western paper and my favourite wallpapering brush.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 18 - Managing a Damp Pack for Japanese Woodblock Printing - Bit of a geeky episode about preparing and managing a pack to damp your printing paper for Japanese woodblock. How long you can leave a damp pack, how to manage your prints in the pack, how to stop mould and a warning about ice cream...

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 19 - Making Nori Rice Paste for Japanese Woodblock - How to make your own rice paste, nori, for Japanese woodblock printing.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 20 - A Chat with Japanese Woodblock expert Will Francis - Will Francis is an expert in historically accurate carving and printing of Japanese woodblock and he works with artist Jed Henry to make contemporary Japanese woodblock prints using Edo period methods. In this video we chat about the differences in our technique.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 21 - Sharpening Woodblock Tools with Will Francis - Will Francis shares his expertise in sharpening Japanese woodblock tools using whetstones

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 22 - Will Francis Cutting a Cherry Block - Expert Will Francis cutting a cherry wood ply block while we talk about his methods and materials for Japanese Woodblock printing.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 23 - A Yew plank for Wood Grain - Time to get to grips with my yew plank for my Japanese woodblock print. I can’t bear to cut it so here’s some improvising with Mylar and a lovely registration device / jig made by Mr B (of course).

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 24 - Preparing Paints to print Japanese Woodblock - A look through my watercolour paints and a bit of colour mixing before we get printing.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 25 - Printing Japanese woodblock - Probably the trickiest bit of printing in the whole process, large flat sheets of colour take patience and practice with mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock). Here I use a large horsehair brush.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 26 - Printing a Bokashi Shading, Japanese woodblock - Bokashi - that bleed of colour from dark to light - is probably the most recognisable and evocative techniques in Japanese woodblock printing. Here I am printing a wide bokashi on my large background block.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 27 - Combining Blocks for Japanese woodblock - Working with Mylar plastic as a mask for printing my yew log, combining it with the brush printed block for a subdued background in my Japanese woodblock multiblock print.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 28 - Building up the Foreground Rocks - Some classic printing to create the rocky parts of this print. Plenty of layering for a three dimensional effect.

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 29 - Creating Textured Grasses - Adding texture to the printing by restricting the amount of rice paste used in printing today. This produces an effect called goma-zuri (sesame printing - a speckled texture like lots of little sesame seeds).

Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 30 - Printing The Lino Block - Adding the linocut for a very subtle shadow effect so you can see how lino can combine with Japanese woodblock techniques 🙂

Japanese Woodblock Technique: The Finished Proof & Drying Flat - In this last but one film my Japanese woodblock print is revealed along with advice on drying prints flat. My book 'Making Japanese Woodblock Prints' (Crowood Press) is available from booksellers if you'd like a back up guide to this film series. Please support our filming by subscribing to my YouTube channel and telling all your print loving friends about it!