Most realist artists use this drawing technique to have a perfect and clean outline drawing. There are several old-fashioned ways of image transfer like the oil transfer, charcoal powder transfer, etc. I find that using graphite transfer paper is the most efficient way of transferring your designs on paper and canvas. The image looks clean and clear.
You must have perfect outlines to begin drawing realistically. When your drawing is complex, it requires sketching, erasing, and sketching again. It ruins the paper’s surface that must stay nice and clean for even shading in graphite or colored pencil. That’s why I often sketch my idea on a separate piece of paper that matches my canvas (or drawing) size to transfer these outlines onto my drawing paper. This image transfer technique was called “cartoon drawings” by the old masters. Classical painters spent weeks doing studies and drawings before transferring them onto panels and canvases.
How to use transfer paper to trace your outline drawing
You need the graphite transfer paper for precise tracing of your lineart or cartoon drawing. If your art is very complex and you wish to keep the working surface clean, use this technique for your advantage.
Graphite Transfer paper brands and features
Saral Graphite Transfer Paper
- Comes in 5 colors! Blue, yellow, graphite, white red
- Saral transfer rolls are wax-less, non-toxic, and do not contain acid. The paper allows you to transfer your design from a sketch, pattern, template or by hand to almost any surface. May be used with acetate overlays, plastics and enamel, metal, cloth, wood, fabric, ceramic, canvas, stained glass, tole paintings, architectural work, scrapbooking, watercolor, fine art, and more.
- Shows up equally well on light or dark surfaces.
- 12 inch x 12 foot roll; comes in a roll (similar to a wax paper roll).
Loew-Cornell Black and White Graphite Transfer Papers
- Waxless, greaseless, smudge proof, erasable
- Doesn’t bleed through paint, and it doesn’t smear.
- Works for drawing and painting but not recommended for fabric and porous surfaces
- Ideal for large projects due to its size. You can also cut it for smaller projects.
- Reusable! I’ve been using my two sheets of graphite paper for years, and it still works fine!
- Comes in as a single, large folded sheet of paper in one package. You need to buy two packages to have different colors. Package of 4 Sheets— Each sheet measures 9″ × 13″ | Single Sheet Package — One 18″ × 36″ sheet
Royal & Langnickel® White Graphite Transfer Paper
- It doesn’t smear, having no wax or grease
- Comes in one 18 x 36 inch sheet of white graphite paper per package.
- Erases similar to a pencil and is very similar to the Loew-Cornell transfer papers.
How to use transfer paper in your art projects
I sketch out my drawing on a sketch paper and then transfer these outlines onto drawing paper using an HB graphite pencil or a ballpoint pen. You can replace the pen or pencil with a stylus if you want to preserve your original reference sketch/photo for future projects. Check out the Soft-Grip Embossing & Stylus Set Complete by Royal & Langnickel (3 Pack) for that.
Is it cheating?
A lot of artists, especially beginners skip the sketching step, transferring the image direct from a photo onto the drawing paper. While it’s totally possible, beware that many pictures have lens distortion that’s especially noticeable in anatomy and photos with linear perspective like cityscapes. So you end up transferring the distortion into your art.
Also, you don’t learn basic drawing skills by simply transferring the image and not learning how to sketch it freehand. However, if your drawing skills are good, this drawing technique is very helpful speeding up the entire process.
Pick the right color of the transfer paper for your project
For transferring designs to both white and dark paper white transfer paper is ideal. Also, use the white or yellow transfer paper for your watercolor painting. Black transfer paper’s line doesn’t erase completely and is not suitable for watercolor painting!
Use black transfer paper with caution in your colored pencil drawing as well. I mostly use this black transfer paper for tracing my designs onto canvas/panels, and I often use white transfer paper for my colored pencil drawing, especially when I draw on colored paper because these white outlines show up well and blend with my subsequent shading. White graphite line will show up even on white paper, but you’ll have to observe your lines at a specific angle. I also love to use white graphite transfer paper to transfer my designs working on scratchboard art because the surface must be very clean!
To buy the graphite paper
- Amazon
- JerrysArtarama
- DickBlick
- Michael’s & other craft stores
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If you draw in colored pencil, I invite you to watch FREE previews of some of my lessons in my course titled “Veronica Winters complete colored pencil techniques in 90 days.”
