How to Build a Drawing Board
No artist's collection is complete without a drawing board or two. A drawing board provides a smooth, flat surface you can use to hold papers, support your sketch pad or stabilize your tracing paper so it doesn’t move while in use. Create a portable drawing board or a larger board to place on an easel as a surface for your drawing or drafting projects. Build several portable drawing boards to keep multiple projects on hand and come back to them as your mood strikes.
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Things You'll Need
- Foam core board
- Drawing surface
- Sandpaper
- Tin snips
- Heavy duty scissors
- Adhesive
- Duct tape
Instructions
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Measure and cut the foam core board and drawing surface. The finished product can be any size you choose but the foam core board should be 1 inch longer and 1 inch wider than the drawing board surface. For example, if you're making a portable drawing board, cut the drawing surface to 10 by 13 inches and the foam core board to 11 by 14 inches.
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Check the drawing board surface for any flaws, irregularities or rough areas that could affect your drawing. Smooth out the area and remove the rough spots with sandpaper as needed.
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Trim around the outside edges of the surface to remove any splinters or jagged edges, or use the sandpaper to remove any rough spots. To trim steel or sheet metal, use tin snips. For plastic boards, use heavy duty scissors or sandpaper to remove the blemishes.
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Apply adhesive to the back of the drawing board. Tacky glue will adhere most surfaces to the foam core board; however; you may need to purchase another kind of glue if you choose metal for your drawing surface.
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Place the drawing board surface on top of the foam core board. Center it on the board and leave to sit until the glue has cured; this typically takes a full 24 hours. Check the instructions on the adhesive for an accurate curing time.
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Wrap duct tape over the edges of the foam board, overlapping the drawing surface slightly. This covers all the edges and minimizes the chances of rough spots scratching your arms. Use decorative duct tape, in colors or a camouflage pattern, to personalize your drawing board.
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Tips & Warnings
You can make the drawing surface from stainless steel, chalk board, shellacked wood, plastic sheeting, polycarbonate, galvanized flashing or other smooth material.
You can place a layer of cork board under the drawing surface to provide some shock resistance and flexible support for specialty types of drawing.
Use a thumbtack to attach a string to the back of the foam core board. You can then tie a pencil or ruler to the string so you don't lose it while traveling with a portable board.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Comstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
