How to Transfer a Drawing to Watercolor Paper

Materials Needed

The first method only requires supplies from the Watercolor Jumpstart Suggested Supply list. It’s the method I use most often for small drawings, and the method we use when I teach this class in person.

If you wind up doing a lot of transferring, you may want to investigate the other two methods demonstrated in this video.

for Graphite Self-Transfer Method (used in this course):

• the drawing you want to transfer
• a graphite pencil (2B or softer works best, and a woodless pencil makes the process faster)
• a ballpoint or rollerball pen (you can use a pencil, but a pen works better)

for Graphite Transfer Paper Method:

• the drawing you want to transfer
• a sheet of graphite transfer paper (sold in art supply stores), NOT carbon paper, which is wax-based
• a ballpoint or rollerball pen (again, you can use a pencil, but a pen works better)

for the Acetate Method:

• the drawing you want to transfer
• a piece of clear acetate (sold in art supply stores)
• a Sharpie marker (or other marker that will write on the acetate without beading up)
• a sunny window and some masking tape OR a lightbox
• a pencil

NOTE: It is possible to make your own graphite transfer paper. There are a variety of methods, which you can easily find with a quick search online. No need to reinvent the wheel here. 🙂