DIY - TRACING ON GLASS -TUTORIAL

Using only a sharpie!!...

yes that's right, just a sharpie and a steady pulse. I saw something like this on the Internet and I thought I gave it a try, I was really surprised to find out how easy and neat this whole project was.

I made a collage of 6 pictures that took me about a week to finish.

I've always wanted to own  some Vintage advertising prints but this is even better, not only I get the print I want, I basically made it myself!!...well, kinda :0)

This is how I made it...

The very first thing you need to do is find your image to print and for that I will let you know one of my fav places on the internet where you can chose from dozens of images that are free of copyrights and ready for high resolution printing...
  "The Graphics  Fairy"
Check it out!

Ok, now that you found your image you have to print it but stop it right there!!
For this project is very, very important to know that if your image contains any text, you MUST print it "mirror image" otherwise when you trace it on the back of the glass it would read backwards when you hang it, clear?... good, lets move on then! <- bossy="" font="" much="" nbsp="">

I printed my beautiful image on "mirror image"

 and I placed some tape on the edges to make sure the sheet didn't move.

The I placed the clean  glass on top and started tracing...I painted directly on the glass using a black, ultra fine point for a more define edge.

 I know, I know it feels weird to write words backwards but if you ignore that you are tracing words and pretend they're just images, it'll be ok.
A little trick to stay on the lines is..  position yourself right on top of the design, not from an angle, that way you'll make sure to trace the right way and you'll also avoid shadows and obstructions.

As you can see in my close-ups, I didn't do a very good job at tracing on the lines but believe me when I tell you, it won't show  so bad after you're done.

If you're unsure on how you are doing just lift the sheet of the glass and peak, like I did, but make sure you don't move it or you could potentially ruin your work of art.

Here I'm showing you another image, this one didn't need to be printed on mirror image because it contained no text.

This beautiful mermaid design was very different from the first ad style design and required more attention because of it's lines and dots details...it was harder to trace properly and it took me about an hour to finish.
wow, that was actually tedious work!!

For this particular design I added a top and bottom scroll to give the image a more interesting feel.



I took that scroll design from another printout design, you can do that no problem, simply cut the piece of the design you want and  tape it to the one you're tracing.

You can see how I did that with this design as well, see?...

At the end of your tracing, all you have to do is place your  glass artwork on its respective frame making sure the painted side  is inwards (facing the wall) NOT facing you. That way it will last longer because lets face it, sharpies are permanent until they meet with stuff like, windex, nail polish remover or other acidic abrasives.

I added a drop of hot glue on each corner of the frame making sure it would not show through the front of the glass but it would hold the glass firmly on the frame.



let it dry before you hang it on the wall!!
MAKE SURE IT IS DONE RIGHT OR YOU MAY LOSE YOUR ARTWORK BY ACCIDENT IF IT FALLS OFF THE WALL... that would be awful, :0(

This amazing project wasn't too easy but definitely wasn't too difficult either and it was worth the time and effort, don't you think??
This is my collection of Glass Tracing Art for this project.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, leave me a comment if you have any questions or suggestions.
Thanks you!