Computer-aided woodcut
Under CAW (of English. Computer-aided woodcut to German computer aided woodcut ) refers to the production of the printing block of wood for woodcuts .
The cutting work is mainly carried out by a CNC machine . The manual work required by the artist is limited to the editing of corrections. He can also make creative changes during the work process. Sometimes the construction of the draft drawing for certain parts of the picture is very complex. In this case, the artist uses his classic hand tools goat foot , cutting knife or burin .
This CAW process is comparable with the division of labor previously practiced in Reisser and Formschneider . The Reisser were responsible for the draft, i.e. the actual preliminary drawing. The shape cutters transferred the design to the wooden board and carried out the cutting work, which often took weeks. The final execution of the woodcut to the finished, labeled print is still an original handicraft by the artist.
Work steps
sketch
The artist prepares his task with a simple reverse design sketch. This is a preliminary drawing that has not been worked out down to the last detail, which essentially illustrates the idea of his later work. Here the artist already determines how many printing blocks he needs for his woodcut. Then the planning of the individual colors for the different wooden panels takes place.
Draft as a 2D drawing
The artist has to construct his own 2D drawing on the computer for each printing block. A 2D drawing is created with a CAD program and is vector-oriented. Every point in a 2D drawing has an X and a Y coordinate. Digital photographs are pixel-oriented and cannot be used directly. The artist can work with given basic elements: line, straight line, circle, ellipse, polyline, polygon or spline. Some CAD programs also provide the freehand line function. When constructing the drawing, it is crucial that all objects to be cut out later are drawn as a closed contour.
Lost disk
In the lost panel method, the woodcut is made from a single printing block by cutting away the last color printed. The order of printing must be carefully planned. Usually the light colors are printed first, followed by the darker colors. When printing with transparent colors, the colors that are printed first show through and give a multi-colored image effect. In the first state, only the brightest lights are cut out and the entire edition is printed with light colors. Then the artist cuts out the next level of lightness on the same plate and prints this second state with darker colors on the entire edition. These processes are repeated until at the end only the dark shadows remain. For working with a CNC machine, this means that a separate 2D drawing must be constructed for each state of the printing block. Ideally, only what is to be cut out is drawn.
Planning with several printing blocks
The artist uses a separate printing block for each printing color. If the technical drawing is constructed with a CAD program, the artist can use so-called color layers or macros. When using many colors, however, the 2D drawing can quickly become confusing.
Combination of one and more panels
First state yellow plate
Second state yellow plate
Third state yellow plate
Fourth state yellow plate
Brown plate
Dark blue plate
Light blue plate
Magenta plate
Red plate
Black contours plate
This is where things get really complicated. But there are no limits to creativity. For example, the artist designed four yellow plates as lost plates, plus five pure color plates and one contour plate in black. The result is a 10-color woodcut.
The associated 2D drawings
2D drawing first state yellow plate
2D drawing, second state, yellow plate
2D drawing of Third State Yellow Plate
2D drawing fourth state yellow plate
2D drawing of Braun plate
2D drawing dark blue plate
2D drawing light blue plate
2D drawing magenta plate
2D drawing of Rot-Platte
2D drawing black contours plate
CNC machine
Creation of the CNC data
Important parameters for milling are cutting speed, feed rate, cutting width, cutting depth and material properties, in this case wood. The artist has to determine the technology data for milling. Speed and feed can be calculated using a formula.
CNC milling machine
The production of printing blocks for the woodcut is done with a milling tool (e.g. face milling cutter, spherical milling cutter) on CNC-controlled milling machines. When milling, flat surfaces are cut away with their contours. The required cutting speed is generated by rotating the cutting tool. The required feed movement is achieved by moving the machine table or by moving the tool in the X or Y direction. Milling is a machining production process for the production of printing blocks from wood. There are differences in processing depending on the materials to be processed. When milling in wood, a medium cutting speed is used. Printing blocks can be produced quickly and precisely with a CNC milling machine. Since this technology has also become affordable for the private sector, its range of applications has expanded to include many new possibilities. However, beginners often find it difficult because the knowledge you need is complex. The artist must master a drawing or CAD program as well as the respective control software of the machine.
CNC water jet cutting machine
With water jet cutting, there are no hardened cut surfaces and distortion due to thermal stress. Maximum material utilization is guaranteed. Filigree contours are possible. Minimal burr formation requires minimal post-processing. Printing blocks made of wood can be produced without any problems.
history
Creative people have always made use of scientific and technical innovations. The artist Joachim Feldmeier "invented" the CAW process and as early as 1997 there were publications in the "Augsburger Allgemeine". The term "Computer-Aided-Woodcut" was created in 1999 in the course of the creation of the truly huge painterly woodcut "Forces of Nature - Forces of Nature". Joachim Feldmeier had the 56 printing blocks in the format of 138 × 110 cm each processed for the most part on a CNC-controlled milling machine. There were 8 “lost plate” states of each printing block. The CNC machine was used for over 2000 operating hours. Originally one also spoke of "progressive woodcut". However, the term CAW soon caught on. This was preceded by Feldmeier's early attempts, which were carried out by the Ferdinand Schneider company in Roßhaupten (since April 1, 2009, the name has been changed to SFT Spannsysteme GmbH). The first woodcuts in CAW technique are probably 4 sheets from 1996: “The branches clear out”, “Heaven fills the bare wood”, “On the threshold of the light” and “Out of the dark”. This was followed in 1997 by the series “Symphonies” consisting of 12 woodcuts and 4 other sheets: “Lonely Man”, “In Thoughts”, “Dance of Shadows” and “Elf Magic”. Feldmeier then bought his own small CNC machine and perfected the computer-aided woodcut for his own typical painterly style. In 2007 the artist Hansjörg Stübler from Reutlingen became interested in CAW technology and was instructed by Feldmeier. Stübler then created many woodblock prints using this technique.
First woodcuts in CAW technique (1996)
The branches are clearing
Heaven fills the bare wood
On the threshold of the light
Out of the dark
Triptych "You belong to us all" in CAW technique (1996)
From the 12 woodcuts of the series “Symphonies”, which was finally printed in 1997, Feldmeier designed the triptych “You belong to us all” in 1996 by printing 4 blocks together in an edition of 5 copies, 4 copies on offset cardboard, 1 copy on plastic. All different colors as unique.
Awe of the greatness of life
I love the silence within you
Nature is harmony
