Transferring with Acrylics
Transferring an image from what it is printed on to another surface is a common technique, especially in multimedia artwork. Well, you can transfer using acrylics, too! A great acrylic medium to use for this is a clear acrylic gel medium - you can get clear, detailed transfers using it alone, or you can tint it, mix in texturizing elements, or smooth it out with retarder. It is a wonderful medium that capitalizes on acrylic's flexibility.
Here's what you'll need:
- acrylic gel medium
- a brush
- an image to transfer (photocopies and uncoated newspaper and magazines work well)
- tray of water
1. Apply a thin coat of gel medium to the image with smooth, even strokes. Allow to dry, and wash your brush while the first coat dries. They should both by dry at the same time.
2. Apply a second coat in the opposite direction to make sure the of even application. Allow to dry, turning from milky to clear, before adding more layers. You should have at least 5 coats, and no more than 10, depending on the thickness of each layer, and how thick you want the final transfer to be.
3. Let the image dry and set completely. This could be anywhere from 2 to 3 days. The more set, the better.
4. Once set, soak the image to dissolve away the paper. Trim it down to the areas you want so you don't have to deal with excess paper. Then use lukewarm water and soak the paper for 10 - 15 minutes.
5. Carefully remove the soaked paper, and rub the paper side until the paper starts to pull away from the gel medium. The more paper you remove from the transfer, the clearer it will look.
6. Rinse the transfer one you've removed the paper fibers, and allow it to dry on a hard plastic or glass surface.
Once dry, you can use your transfer for almost anything you want. Let the creativity start.
