Ukiyo-e Woodblock Printing - Kabuki Samurai by bramtan.com

With this 3D printed woodblock Ukiyo-e technique you can print as many pictures as you like. Printing is super relaxing and a great way to spend the day. You just need to know someone with a 3D printer and have some basic art supplies.

These 3D files were created by a manually tracing lines and colour separating instead of using automatic software, this method produces warmer reproductions of the original artwork, like listening to a vinyl record rather than digital. The result is a more beautiful and true-er version of famous Japanese works. You can now print your own pictures using with acrylic, water colour or even ink, on paper or cloth.

This design is a landscape print for a paper size of approximately A4 but I recommend slightly larger in order to have a border, it consists of 6 'woodblocks' where one is an optional background printer, they are named with my suggested order of printing, try to follow the order for best results.

Instructions on how to use print pictures with acrylic paint is in the video and the downloadable PDF called 'The Kit'.

3D Print settings: I personally use 0.6mm nozzle and a 0.3mm layer for speed, but the regular 0.4mm nozzle with a 0.2mm layer will give you even better detail but take a bit longer. The prints generally require a 300mm x 300mm print size, if your 3D printer is smaller then just scale the plates down. But only scale in the X and Y directions, not the Z, you must maintain the same thickness. This is important for the ukiyo-e printing technique to work properly.

Use printer settings that create 100% solids rather than honeycomb inside, the results will be better.

Note: Don't just set it to 100% infill setting to achieve a solid print. Avoid long stretches of print head zigzagging while it tries to do a very fine honeycomb structure, this causes lots of vibrations and noise. Instead, by specifying a number top/bottom infill layers that are higher than the number of actual layers,  the printer is forced to do a more efficient back and forth movement pattern for every single layer, resulting in a better version of 100% infill, smoother movement and less vibes.

After printing each plate, use a sanding block and 120 grit sandpaper to make the top surface really flat so it holds paint evenly. This does not take long if you have used PLA plastic. The solid strip of plastic at the side/top does not need sanding, it is there for you to attach your paper using masking tape - see my instruction PDF.

More info at https://bramtan.weebly.com/dev...

More designs to come soon.

Enjoy!