AI Linocut Generator — photo or prompt to block print

A linocut is a relief print. The artist carves away the parts of a linoleum block that should stay paper-coloured, rolls ink over the raised surface that's left and presses paper onto it. Linoleum has no grain, so it cuts easily in any direction, and it became popular with artists in the twentieth century — Picasso made linocuts in the 1950s and 60s.

Upload the photo in Kenerate's linocut tool and press Create. The editor opens with an instruction already written — bold black ink shapes, carved gouge marks for shading, no grey, cream paper, keep the subject recognisable — and the model redraws your photo in that look. Change the words to get a colour or white-line print instead.

Yes, if you make it carvable. Ask for black and white only with no grey, simplify the background, then print it at the size of your block. Flip it horizontally before you transfer it — a relief print comes out mirrored, so the design on the block has to be reversed, especially any lettering. Expect to tidy small specks and very thin lines with a marker before you cut.

Free to start. A new Kenerate account gets starter credits, and Qwen Image 3.0 — the default model here — is on the free plan. Seedream 5.0 Pro, GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst and Recraft V4.1 use credits from one-time packs that never expire; there's no subscription. Downloads carry no watermark.

Yes. Skip the upload and describe the design: subject, number of colours, paper and mood — for example “linocut print of a fox in a winter forest, two colours, black and deep blue, carved line texture, cream paper”. Linocut ideas that work well: animals, plants, landscapes, city skylines, portraits with strong side light.

Name the number of colours and the colours themselves, and say they're flat: “three-colour linocut in black, rust red and ochre, flat colours, slight misregistration”. For the layered look of a reduction print — one block carved again for each colour, lightest first — ask for “reduction linocut, layered colours from light to dark”.

Both are relief prints: you carve away what should stay blank and print from the raised surface. A woodcut is cut into a plank of wood and follows its grain; linoleum has no grain and is softer, so cuts can go in any direction and curves come easier. In a prompt, “woodcut” tends to bring wood-grain texture and more angular cuts.

Yes — the same black-and-white design works for a rubber or lino stamp, a screen print or a printed card. Ask for “bold shapes, no fine lines” for fabric and stamps, where thin lines fill in. Only upload photos you own or have permission to use.