What I call the "blockprint-style" illustration process makes use of a hybrid technique, which evolved directly from my work in printmaking.

For those who know about scratchboard, let me add that this is the same general idea. The materials used are quite different, however, and to some extent, so is the look of the finished product.

This process is a hybrid of drawing by hand, then colouring digitally.

A drawing is made on an inked surface by scraping away some of the black ink with sharp tools. The effect, at least in my hands, approximates a traditional wood engraving.

I think my process benefits from a somewhat freer approach to mark making than either wood engraving or scratchboard.

With the drawing scanned, the application of colour takes place. I use Adobe Photoshop^® to do that, and find the available tools work quite well.

Images produced by the blockprint-style illustration process are perhaps best suited for print publishing.

The monitor screen is not always kind to the method's fine detail work. And the overall esthetic effect suggests a view toward the past, not the brave new world of the Internet.