Making a Gel Transfer - A Crafty Gift Idea

This is a fun and enjoyable craft; especially if you like making gifts for others but feel a little insecure in your drawing skills. It is easy and the result is a personalized gift that anyone would be proud to own. Imagine the smiles on their faces when for a birthday or Christmas gift your friends and family receive their very own art work of themselves!

The materials you will need for this project are:

  • A canvas or piece of Masonite board. If you use Masonite you will need to use artists gesso to seal it and prepare it for paint.
  • Acrylic paints. Student grade paints will do just fine for this project.
  • An acrylic gel medium. These can be a bit costly but you don't need a lot. You are just after an ordinary gel medium, but look for one that has some viscosity to it. You don't want it runny.
  • Access to a scanner and printer, and/or a photo copy machine.
  • A photo of the subject or subjects you are making the gift for.

Use your artistic eye. Unless you want a full sized portrait, which is fine, think about where you are going to place the subject on your canvas. Most pictures look better to one side or another, rather than dead center.

Scan the photo if necessary, do any cropping you like, and take a black and white print on plain computer paper. If you don't have access to a photo copy machine an ink jet printer will work fine for this project, but you may need to think about the size of your canvas and where your picture will fit. The most effective results though come from using a photocopier. The toner in photocopiers makes a slightly easier and cleaner image than the ink from a printer. Enlarge or reduce your image until it is the size you want.

An important note here! Please don't forget that your image is going to be reversed. Either flip the image on the computer before printing out, or on the photo copier. This is especially important if you are using anything with lettering in it.

Paint your canvas. You can do this either before or after transferring the image. In many ways it is easier to do it first. The advantages of waiting are that you can move the paint into and over areas of the transfer itself, giving it a less 'stuck on' look. A compromise is to put on a layer of paint both before and after the transfer. Think about what colors to use. Do you want something that reflects the person you are making the gel transfer for, or something that will suit their decor? The choice is entirely yours. Add some texture if you like. This can be done by gluing tissue paper under the paint, or by using acrylic mediums. If you are adding texture though, try to avoid the area on which the photo is going to go, as this could make it harder to transfer.

Smear a layer of gel medium over the area the picture will go in and leave to dry thoroughly. Be patient here. Next smear gel medium evenly over the photocopy on the inked side and press and smooth it onto the canvas as neatly as possible. Again, leave it to dry very thoroughly. If you can resist, wait about 12 -24 hours. Once dry, start removing the paper. This is done by very gently rubbing over the paper with a moistened finger-tip, or the back of a spoon. Don't rub too hard or you may lose your transfer! Patience again is the key here.

Add a little more paint if desired to make the transfer look part of the whole painting and you are done! You have now created a beautiful and personalized piece of art that will last a lifetime.