February Week Four: Lettering Transfer Technique

Hi Everyone!

I'm getting this out early as we are expecting a cyclone to blow in overnight and we might be without power for a few days if the flooding that is being predicted comes to fruition or power lines go down. If anyone on the Journey lives in or has loved ones living in an affected area, I hope that you have weathered the storm OK! Don't worry about me, we are well prepared for this type of thing, and have a generator to keep our fridges and freezers going, plenty of food and cold beer water to see us through.

This week is just a quick video showing how I finished off the spread I started in Week 2. I also show how I transfer my computer-printed quote onto the page using homemade graphite paper. If you are struggling with lettering, this is a really good shortcut to know. 

Here is a recap of the steps.
You will need: 

• soft graphite pencil or crayon (I use a 12B, that's really soft)
• hard pencil or ball point pen
•  your chosen wording printed onto plain printer paper

1. Trim the excess paper away from the words. This makes placement  easier to judge.
2. Cover the back of the printed paper completely with a heavy layer of graphite.
3. Place your wording carefully on your page and use a small piece of washi tape or painter's masking tape to hold the paper in place.
4. Carefully trace over the wording with your hard pencil or ballpoint pen. Lift the paper regularly to check that you are using enough pressure.
5. Go over the transferred lettering with a paint pen.
6. Use an eraser to remove the graphite from the page, and then touch up any areas of the lettering that need it. 
   

You can also buy graphite transfer paper which is much less messy than making it yourself. I have also tried carbon paper but I haven't had much success getting a clean transfer over acrylic paint. Let me know if you try and get a good result!

See you all in Driver Reviver!