How to Trace an Image to a Blank Sheet of Paper
If you can trace over lines, you can make your own artwork, decorations and embellishments. It's not necessary to be an artist or skilled at drawing to make crafts, you just need to know the right technique to transfer a design you like onto a blank sheet of paper. There are a few options for approaching this task, all of them easily managed with inexpensive supplies. Try it today to see what projects you can create.
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Instructions
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Carbon Paper
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Put a piece of blank paper on a flat, sturdy surface.
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Place a piece of carbon paper, shiny side down, on top of the blank paper.
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Place your image, face-up, on top the the carbon paper. Tape the edges or corners of the paper to the table to secure it so it won't move.
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Trace over the lines of your image with a sharp pencil. Use pressure enough to leave marks in the paper, but be careful not to press so hard you tear through the paper.
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Lift the tape on one corner. Pull back the corner of the image and transfer paper to peek underneath to see if your design is fully traced. If not, replace the transfer paper and image and try again. Once the design is fully transferred you can remove the tape and pull up the papers.
Make Transfer Paper
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Place a blank sheet on the table.
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Take a second sheet of paper and color one side entirely by rubbing your pencil over it. Lay the pencil almost flat so the side of the graphite, not the point, rubs across the paper.
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Place the transfer paper, pencil side-down, on top of your blank paper. Cover it with your image and tape the image to the table.
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Trace over all the lines of the image with a sharpened pencil.
Light Box
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Place a light box on your table and turn it on. A light box is a box with a translucent, hard top through which a light shines.
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Place your image on top of the light box. Place a blank piece of paper on top of your image. The light should shine through the papers so the image is visible through your blank paper.
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Tape your paper down to the top of the light box, if desired, to avoid it moving or wiggling as you work. Trace over the lines of the image on the top sheet of paper with a pencil.
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Remove the tape and the tracing once you're finished with all the lines. Turn off the light box.
Sunny Window
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Tape an image to your window on a sunny day. You can use your window just like a light box.
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Tape a blank piece of paper over the image. Trace the image until you have finished going over all the lines.
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Remove the papers and the tape from your windows.
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Tips & Warnings
After you initially trace or transfer an image, go over the lines with a marker, pen or other implement to darken them. Make a small tab at one end of tape pieces so you can pull them up with ease. Use removable tape to avoid damaging your paper when you remove the tape.
