Oil Painting Lesson 5: Transferring a Drawing & Underdrawing
Essential Oil Painting Techniques
If you need to know more about a technique or want to expand your skills, the detailed explanations in this lesson will help you feel confident with some of the essential building blocks of oil painting.
We will begin with two closely connected techniques: transferring a preparatory drawing onto your painting surface and creating an underdrawing before you begin applying color.
Transferring a Drawing
Prior to starting a painting, I will often make an underdrawing directly onto my linen or wooden board after it has been primed, using either a pastel or graphite pencil.
Occasionally, however, I transfer drawings from my sketchbook instead. This saves me from having to redraw the subject from scratch and can therefore save a considerable amount of time.
This technique is particularly useful when embarking on a more complicated still life containing more than one object in the composition.
There are other ways to transfer drawings, including the grid method, sometimes called “squaring up,” which can be particularly useful when you want to enlarge a drawing. For the exercises in this series, however, the tracing-paper method provides a straightforward approach.
Secure the Tracing Paper
Place a piece of tracing paper over the drawing that you wish to transfer.
Use masking tape to secure it in place so that the tracing paper cannot move while you work.
Trace the Important Outlines
Use a pencil to trace the outline of the drawing.
Make sure you include the key information you will need when painting—for example, the main contour, the outline of the highlight, the cast shadow, and important edges that separate areas of different tone.
Follow the major shapes rather than trying to reproduce every small detail.
Shade the Reverse Side
Remove the tape and turn the traced drawing over so that the traced lines are facing downward.
Using a soft pencil, shade the reverse side of the tracing paper. Make sure the graphite covers the back of all the lines you intend to transfer.
Position the Drawing on Your Painting Surface
Turn the tracing paper back the correct way around and position it on your primed linen board.
Make sure you are completely happy with its placement before securing it with masking tape.
The graphite-shaded side should now be touching your painting surface, with the original traced lines facing upward.
Transfer the Drawing
Using a pen or pencil, begin going over your traced drawing and carefully follow the main outlines.
The pressure transfers the graphite from the reverse of the tracing paper onto the linen board beneath it.
The resulting impression gives you a useful starting point for your painting.
Work carefully and avoid pressing harder than necessary. You only need enough pressure to leave a clear, usable line on the painting surface.
Alternative: Charcoal or Pastel Transfer
You can also employ the same basic technique to transfer a drawing using charcoal or pastel.
Whichever material you choose, keep the transferred lines controlled and relatively light. Their purpose is to guide the painting rather than dominate it.
Underdrawing
Underdrawings can be incredibly useful, especially when you are embarking on a complicated still-life composition.
There is no rule that says you must always make an underdrawing before painting. Even the simplest outline on your canvas, however, can really pay off.
I find that I can begin painting with much more confidence when I know that I have already worked out the most important elements of my subject. There is also much less chance of the painting going wrong from the very beginning.
What Can You Use for an Underdrawing?
An underdrawing can be approached in several ways and created with different materials, including charcoal, graphite pencil, pastel, or diluted oil paint.
There is no single method that is right for everyone. Your choice will depend on your painting surface, technique, and personal preference.
Check Your Composition First
Each project in this series focuses on a single everyday object, which automatically makes the composition more straightforward.
Even so, I always begin by looking at my subject through a viewfinder to check that I am happy with its placement and that the composition works aesthetically.
Doing this before committing to the final underdrawing allows you to adjust the size and position of your subject while changes are still easy to make.
Why Practice Drawing Transfer?
Learning to transfer a preparatory drawing can be especially useful as your paintings become more complex. It allows you to solve many drawing and composition problems on paper before you begin working on the final painting surface.
Once the basic structure is established, you can concentrate more confidently on values, edges, color, brushwork, and paint handling.
With practice, you will also discover when a careful underdrawing is useful and when a simple freehand outline is all that your painting needs.
