Thanks Jamie! Very informative and I appreciate your style that focuses on the process without a lot of unnecessary fluff. Will check out a few more of your tutorials.
In Architecture school I would go to Kinkos Copies and have them photocopy building elevations I drew with ink on vellum on to watercolor paper so I could render it. Turned out really nice, and the texture of cold press breaks up the hard lines of the photocopies so it looks more sketchy.
There is one more method - using a light box or your tablet screen on its brightest setting, underneath the image you want to transfer. shine the light through your drawing so that you can trace it onto your watercolor paper. This way you don’t have to trace all the lines only the ones you need, and you can add a light touch or a dark touch on any line you wish
Thank you!!! I did not know using printer paper in that way worked that easily. I wont have to worry about having a very 'sketchy' first draft and ruining the fancy paper :). i want a very very light outline for my transfer so that's perfect!! (And cheaper!)
Hello , just found your video , I know it was done a while ago but what is the make and type of printer is yours? I am longing for a printer to use in conjunction with my art and you have hit the nail on the head with this one . So many thanks. Regards Marilyn Handley U.K.
I like the transfer image using a printer on watercolor paper the best. 2nd: Using a light pad. Transfer paper can get quite messy, so I don't use it anymore.
My mind is fucking blown 😂😂. Im so glad I watched this. Transferring with a damn pencil.... Like THAT?! It makes sense as soon as I saw it... But man! That's amazing! Thank you so so much for this video. There are some rather complicated subjects I'd love to watercolor; Im just not great at freehand sketching from a reference yet. Thank you again!!!
I have tried all those methods and all have their place. Thanks for the demo. I have always wanted to print my pre painting drawings through the computer but not all printers will take 140lb watercolour paper. I see you have used a Brother. Are you still using this one or have you updated since 2017
Great video, thank you! Just one question regarding the printing option: Doesn´t the ink of the printer move when you apply water? That´s what happens to me all the time and my image get´s a light grey tint all over it. Do you have any idea why this happens? And maybe one more thing: Is your printer still intact? Yours (and also mine) are only made for paper with max. 163gsm and I am afraid to ruin it if I put heavier paper through it... Thank you so much in advance, Mia
Give a 'light' mist coat of fixative you will not get any ink smudge,use the same method with graphite copying paper,do not use hair spray it is lacquer based and paint will not flow or stick to your paper.
My inkjet printer makes the ink bleed when I add water, but my laser printer works great. I don't print a lot of heavy lines, more like guidelines for my paintings. I hope that helps!
This is such a helpful video thank you! I have a quick question though, do you stretch the watercolour paper before you transfer your sketch/design? Thank you in advance!
I didn't stretch my paper (before or after) but I'm working small and left the background white. If you are working larger you might want to stretch first and then transfer (not using the printer method) :) so your image doesn't get rubbed off. But depending on how you stretch if might not make a difference. Hope that helps!
Thank you for your tutorial. It was helpful and will work for some of my projects but I was looking for a way to transfer a portrait image ( golden retriever) on watercolor paper. I will however be working with color pencil for this portrait and I'm concerned about being able to erase any evidence of tracing. I've thought about yellow sorrell paper but would all the detail come through with that? I thought about blacking out the back with pencil but as you indicated, this might take a great deal of time when there is a lot of detail. Anything you could suggest would be helpful as I am new to pencil portraits. Thank you so much!
Hi! I hope you were able to figure it out! I use these transfer methods for the main lines and then fill in the details. It does take some time, but is worth it in the end!
wow the amount of time i have spent searching high and low all over google, youtube every art forum just to find SOMEONE using an affordable laser printer to print onto watercolour paper ive finally found you haha, this is exactly what info i wanted to find! im searching for a laser print just to do just this, print out line work onto either thicker cardstock (for alcohol markers) and watercolour paper for my paints! not sure if your exact model is available anymore, atleast i cant find it in canada but Brother has many other models that look VERY similar, for that model you have specifically i saw on their website they say the manual feed slot maxium paper it can handle is 43lb lol what type of paper did you use if you remember? im assuming its way thicker that what they recommend, but do you think if a model i am actually looking it now, it says the manual feed slot can handle a maximum of 61lb, i can manage to get watercolour paper through it?
This is a great video. I saw some people using pastels to do the same as method 1, though unsure what is then more compatible or suitable for other media? For example, is a graphite outline better for watercolor than a pastel one?
I think it just depends on what you prefer! Oil pastel would resist the watercolor, but chalk pastel might be a great option if you want to rub the lines away later. Although I haven't tried this method yet so I don't know for sure :)
I don’t know why, but sometimes a lot of times when I use transfer paper, the graphite comes out on the rest of the page that I don’t want to and makes the watercolour paper smudgy how can I avoid this? I am trying to be very careful. Obviously, I only trace the drawing, but somehow putting any kind of pressure when I’m drawing the other part seems to transfer any tips please
It's just a regular Brother laser printer. It's old so they don't make it anymore. Here's a link: amzn.to/3vh2Qcb The updated version should work the same
Hello Jamie, I like your video, I hope you still read the comments, this is over 2 years old. I wanted to ask you are you still happy with your little laser printer? I did not intend to buy a printer, I have a nice color inkjet,but I really like to watercolor, and this would be the easiest way to print images(I don’t draw) and not have the ink smudge. So, I would invest the money ,not really more than a $100 if the printer is decent enough, I would mostly use it to print images that I color. So, that’s why I wanted to ask you the Brother still works well, or do you recommend something else? Can you make copies on that? Thank you, I would appreciate your opinion.
I'm still using the same printer and it has been great! It's an older model so the updated version may be cheaper. It doesn't copy like a scanner (not sure if that's what you mean) but I do use it to print other text and documents. Hope that helps!
My paper is 140 lb. It's tricky finding the right printer and paper. I've had to do some experimenting. Also, make sure the paper is staying flat as it passes through the printer and not bending. Hope that helps!
You can trace the main shapes on a separate paper using a light box or use a computer program. I use Sketchbook Pro and a Wacom tablet. Or there is Procreate on an iPad.
I went to amazon and the printer is not under 100. It is 186 and other 197. Please can I send me a close picture on your printer so I can search for it other site. Thank you so muchn
Just found your channel. Your art is beautiful! I originally watched your watercolor house videos, then I watched them all! :) Do you print and transfer for all your work (house, portraits)??
Thanks! I have an Instagram account @jamieclarkart where I post more regularly if you are interested. I usually print and transfer all my smaller works. It's so much more accurate and saves a lot of time. :)
