Chinese Woodblock

Further research into traditional Chinese Woodblock Prints very much reminded me of a a few of my initial sketches. 

One of my initial sketches

Chinese Woodblock Prints have been around for thousands of years. In woodblock printing, an image is carved in reverse on a piece of wood (areas that will not be printed are removed) leaving the image's outline on the wood. The block is then inked and printed on a substance like paper or fabric. It's a time-consuming process, especially if you want to add more than one colour during the printing process.



The invention of the woodblock printing was very helpful for the Chinese culture as it helped with their religion. The blocks were used to print textiles and reproduce some Buddhist texts. Short religious texts that were printed in this fashion were commonly carried around as charms by the Chinese to spread the religion. 

Chinese Woodblocks tend to be based more around flowers. Another common theme seen throughout is Chinese Architecture, examples include aspects like the temples: