Image Transfers in Art Journaling
Image transfer can be very interesting in your art journal. I love the translucency and the ability to see something underneath the image, like words.
Here are a few hints that I have learned along the way to help make my image transfers more successful:
Higher contrast images (click here for a good example)- black and white images with not a lot of grey shades (or kept to a minimum)- the image above has a fair amount of grey, but the black and white of the child’s shirt helps to pull the focus back to the shirt and then the face.
Use more than one coat of matte medium on the image you are wishing to transfer; in fact, I find that using 2-3 coats on the image is best. Remember to also have a 1-2 coats on the paper you are transferring to as well. It is best to use thin, even coats than a thick coat. The thin coats will dry quicker and allow for additional coats to be easily be added. when your coats are on and you are ready to glue the papers together, put one more thin coat on both the transfer image and the paper you are copying to. Be careful not to get matte medium onto the back of the image transfer.
it is best to let the papers dry overnight before rubbing the paper to reveal the image. If you are in a hurry, you can use a heat tool or hair dryer to dry the papers, but, if the papers feel cool- those are not dry and your results will be less than what you want.
Once dry, wet the back of the image to be transferred with water. I typically use a 1” flat paintbrush to wet the back. Allow this to “soak” into the paper a bit before beginning to gently rub the paper off. You can rub a bit harder on the edges of the image transfer, but once you are moving into the middle, be gentle when rubbing. Pushing too hard can result in you removing the image all together. (Click to see example- I didn’t rub all the paper off- so there are “edges” and you can see, I rubbed through part of the image)
If your image has a milky look to it- there is still paper pulp on the image. Wet again and keep rubbing gently. You can try using a Magic Eraser to remove that fine, little paper left.
You can also coat the image while lightly damp and after removing those last little paper bits, with a thin coat of matte medium to “save” the best looking image.
If you are new to image transfer and able to make several copies of your image, I would practice. I have botched many!
You may be wondering about what type of images and/ or what paper work best…..
I have had good luck with magazine images, as long as the paper isn’t too thick or heavy or super glossy. If the paper is thick or super glossy, it is difficult to get the water to soak in to begin the paper removal process. But magazine images can actually be a great way to practice transfers! Be creative and try using images as well as words, from a magazine. Here is a blog post example of a magazine image transfer. and one more sample.
Copied images from an ink jet or home copier. I have used copies from my home printer; BUT- be aware that these can be more difficult and fickle to transfer and very easy to rub through. FYI.
Laser jet copies- these would come from your local print shop. When I am teaching, I will have copies made at my local print shop if we are doing image transfers. These will be the easiest and most often successful, even if you are new to image transfers.
*the amazon products are affiliate links in which I receive a small compensation if purchased.
I have included a tutorial video to help walk you through the steps. Let me know if you have any questions!
And just in case you want to keep these tips and video to refer back to, I created a Pinterest pin for you to save to your own boards.
Thank you for reading! Let me know if you have any questions!
xo. Kristin