Image Transfer Using Acrylic Paint

I have been working on different techniques for transferring images and finally got this one perfected to the way I wanted it....so now, it's time to share with you friends.

Materials Needed:

Image printed on a laser printer {or a magazine clipping}

Plexiglas {fabric, stretched canvas boards, pieces of wood}

Acrylic Paint {non-water based}

Sponge brush 

Scissors

Water Spray Bottle

Acrylic Coating Spray

To prepare the image I added some text "I love you because..." then flipped it to print. I use Photo Shop but this can also be done in Picasa and most photo editing programs available. If your image doesn't have a right/wrong way skip this step and just print your image.

To make sure I got the image centered right where I want it. I placed the Plexiglas over the image, traced around it then cut the image.

I used a piece of Plexiglas to transfer my image onto for this specific project. These are pieces left over from another project but a small stretched canvas panel would work just as well. To get the Plexiglas prepped, simply take the plastic off of one side or clean the surface with a cloth and glass cleaner if the plastic was removed previous.

Put some acrylic on surface, use the brush to spread the acrylic. While paint is still wet place the image face down and smooth out making sure to get out any air bubbles so the entire image is pressed into the paint.

*Make sure you get a non-water based acrylic paint or gel medium.

LET IT SET OVER NIGHT!!

Make sure the paint has had plenty of time to dry.

Now grab your water bottle {or bowl with water and sponge to apply water to image}, towel and photo.

1 ~ Get the paper wet. {I let it sit for about 30 seconds or so, this will help the paper soften up}
2 ~ Start rubbing the paper with your finger tips. It will ball up and rub off. {You will have to keep the paper wet as you go}
3 ~ Everyone once in a while I would dab the image with the towel to get the paper residue off and see how well the image is coming along. {Using an image with so much white takes a little bit more care since it will blend with the acrylic paint, so...be careful not to rub too much}
*Repeat until all the paper has been rubbed off the image.

Once the image is dry take it out and spray with Acrylic Coating Spray. {Mod Podge will work great as a top coat as well}
*The clear coat will help protect the image since it is not going to be placed behind a piece of glass in a frame. It also helped the image pop out a bit and made it nice and crisp.

photo courtesy of Manda Jane Photography

Check out the steps to the Antique Frame that will be going with this image.

*I tried using this same image transfer technique with an Ink Jet image and it didn't work as well. Most of the image came up when rubbing the paper off and my fingers were blue for about a day and a half. Using an ink jet image might work well for an abstract project, where it doesn't need to be crisp.