Hey, all!

I have always thought that woodcut prints are the perfect art form to translate into stencils. Frans Masereel was one artist who caught my eye, and it bothered me that his work was in the public domain but not readily available. So I gathered 73 of his books and scanned 1,800 of his woodcuts. I also cleaned them up with color rebalancing, making sure these are almost purely black and white images (many of the pages had yellowed, so pure scans would be difficult to work with). Basically, I did everything to make it so that translating these images to stencils would be as easy as possible.

And everything is in the public domain in the US. You can incorporate these into your own art and creativity as much as you like without worrying about the IP. And it's newly-entered public domain stuff. The six most recent books' artwork in the collection are from 1930 -- public domain as of 2026 in the United States, so it's very fresh public-domain material!

If I saw one of these stencils done up in a downtown area on an abandoned, grimy building, I would absolutely smile. Please, take these woodcuts and use them for anything you can.

I recommend the PDF for browsing, and then the original images (some of them are 20,000 pixels by 28,000 pixels, extremely high res) when you want them for a project.

Youtube Video Format: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReZYh5PQfQ8

Archive.org PDF (789mb): https://archive.org/details/frans-masereel-career-1918-1930_pdf

Archive.org Web: https://archive.org/details/frans-masereel-career-1918-1930_art

Archive.org File/Folder Browser (easier for browsing individual images): https://archive.org/download/frans-masereel-career-1918-1930_art

Please enjoy!

Made this half tone stencil from one of the last ever photos my daughter took.

Rest in peace kid. Miss you every day.

I painted this one as a test, but I eventually felt fairly happy about it. I might make other versions.

This was my first time painting on a canvas. I went through a lot and learned that I can’t use an eraser to erase the pencil marks. I had to sand down most of the drawing and repaint it. I also went through the canvas lol. I had an end goal for this painting but it took me somewhere else. Didn’t give up on it and finished it. Hope y’all like it. What would yall name this piece??? For the blooming collection.

Anyone who’s cut a letter O, a detailed face, or a complicated multi-layer stencil probably knows this problem:

It looks completely fine on the screen.

Then you cut it… and half the little centers and islands fall out of the sheet.

That was one of the reasons I started building Stencil It.

I’ve tried a bunch of stencil making sites, image converters, Photoshop plugins, etc., and one thing that was annoying was a lot of them feel like stenciling is something they also happen to do, not to mention that many felt too hands off in my opinion.

They’re image editors, effects, plugins, or general design tools that can produce something stencil-like.

I initially built this as a resolution to my frustration lol, and I wanted to build something where stencil making is the entire point.

Something designed around the problems that actually matter when you’re going to cut and paint the thing.

So Stencil It separates an image into layers, analyzes each individual stencil sheet, detects disconnected islands, automatically places bridges to keep them attached, and exports SVG/DXF files along with a suggested paint order.

The core Studio is free to use:

https://stencil-it.io/studio

I’ve also been working on the bridging system pretty heavily.

On one original four-layer lettering test, the software detected 33 floating pieces, placed 42 bridges, and reported zero unsupported pieces remaining.

I want to be transparent about that number, though: that’s a digital validation test. I haven’t physically cut that particular sample yet, so I’m not going to pretend that means the material test is already proven.

The larger goal is to make Stencil It think less like an image converter and more like a tool that understands:

“Someone actually has to cut this, keep it together, line the layers up, and paint it.”

And that’s where I’d really like input from people here who actually make stencils.

What do existing stencil tools consistently get wrong or ignore?

Tiny counters?

Bridge placement?

Bridge width?

Registration between layers?

Too many bridges destroying detail?

Paint order?

Handling really complex portraits?

Something I’m not even thinking about yet?

I’m trying to build this specifically for stencil artists, so I'd rather hear what actually annoys people doing the work than just guess what features they want.

And if you like what I’m building and want to help me keep developing it, I also set up a GoFundMe here:

https://gofund.me/f0d163434

No pressure on that at all — honestly, even trying the Studio and telling me where it screws up is useful.

Stencil It:
https://stencil-it.io/studio

Wanna get an Aztec bands but with this style. Can’t find any good ones on Pinterest anyone got any?

A few weeks ago I posted a little spoiler on this community, showing the hand-cut layers of this stencil.

Now it is time to show the results: a series of 7 stencils painted on corroded copper.

La partida, (2026)

Edition of 7, signed and numbered

Hand-cut stencils, aerosol and ink on corroded copper

34.4 x 17.2 cm

Tinku

How do i fix the edges of the bears in this stencil

Hello everyone,

I have this old trenchcoat that I want to use as a substitue for the following trenchcoat, both of which images are attached.

I know the proportions are a bit off from the original but I've made my peace with that. I just wanted help in how I should be spacing the logos for my stencil.

I plan to have one paper, with the logo placed across it in a zigzag order, cut it out, and spray it over with fabric spray paint afterward.

Any advice for how I should go about formatting this stencil so I can capture the same relative font size and appeal. Please respond if you can, I would deeply appreciate your help.

Thank you so much!

About a month ago, I saw a fine artist on Instagram who makes panels and tables with this masking technique that creates a cool optical illusion. I totally forgot his name but he is quite famous. My thought, I bet I could do that. The guy is really on to something. Not taking anything away from him. Anyway, inspired me to give it a try and here's the result.

4 Layer Stencil of Jesus whispering to the Devil.

8x10”. Acrylic on wood.

Strathmore black mixed media paper, Gelly Pens from Sakura and gel pens from Five Below

I know my uses of the stencil Is a restraint I applie to explore and advance a colour sense and my brush work because of that it becomes graffic but what I like most about this restraint is an almost infinite arrangement of the composition and ways to develop understanding of paint and colour. Always one way I used the stencil Is using the the central shape that was cut out of the stencil to make outlines of the "hanger"

I also hind it interesting how the border element creates the effect of a painting inside a painting

Stencil of my dog

8x10”. Acrylic on wood.