Shed was created in 2024 as an experiment to see if I could create a comic using my knowledge of reduction block printing.
For those who may not know- reduction printing is a method of printmaking that involves printing multiple colors with a single block.
I started sketching my concept based off of a poem I wrote about a meat-man who lures you into his shed where he strips you for parts. Just some fun silly stuff.
After I finish cleaning up my concept, I transfer it to my block, making sure to distinguish between the red and black layers in corresponding sharpies.
The planning phase is an important part in the reduction printing process- if you carve something away you can't put it back!!
I designed the print to work with 4 separate blocks, each containing 2 pages each. This made it easier to line up my prints, as well as a margin to make mistakes as I would only need to replace 2 pages instead of the entire comic.
Once the whole design is blocked out, I start carving away anything not marked with sharpie, this will be where the white of the paper gets to show through!
I print a bunch of copies in my lightest color (in this case RED)
Once I've printed all of my red copies, I clean off my block and carve everything but the black line art. Due to the nature of reduction cuts, you end up with a finite number of prints- I can never print these comics again!
Finally, after printing the black layer, I end up with a hand-printed foldable zine!
When printed these back in 2024 I ended up with only 20 copies. Most of them I sold at the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE) and at my local comic shops. I only have 1 one the originals left in my possession.
