How to draw on a wooden surface. We transfer the photo to the tree. We make a wonderful gift with our own hands. Preparing wood for carving

Elements in the interior made of wood make it more elegant and attractive. This decor can be done by hand. by the most simple option there will be a wooden board with a pattern that is applied to the surface in accordance with a certain technique. To make the product correctly and beautifully, you need to know exactly how to transfer the pattern to the tree in several ways.

How to decorate a tree with a drawing

There are several techniques in which a pattern can be projected onto a wooden surface. In each situation, you should know exactly how to transfer the drawing to the tree:

  • Burning out with special device. The drawing is clear and embossed. The contours are noticeably limited, you can create the effect of a shadow or shadow transition.
  • Decoupage is the most popular and simple drawing technique. As a result, the image can turn out to be color or black and white, the drawing can be of any complexity.
  • Wood carving requires a sketch, which is projected onto the surface in several ways: using carbon paper, redrawing, embossing with sharp tools.

You can partially combine several techniques in one work. This is possible, provided that the person has artistic talent, which will help to abstractly present the result of the work.

Wood surface preparation

Before transferring the drawing to the tree at home, it is worth preparing the surface correctly. Both the process of work and the result depend on the quality of the wooden base. The service life is also directly determined by the quality of the preparation of the tree.

Preparation wooden surface:

  1. Choose right tree. It is best to work with pressed sheets of plywood, chipboard and other analogues, but also natural material quite suitable.
  2. Decide on the parameters and shape of the wooden base. Immediately get rid of excess parts, sand the edges.
  3. The surface itself should be smooth and even. For this you should use grinder, A hard-to-reach places process with sandpaper or a file.
  4. Only then is a sketch of the image itself prepared for transfer.

Thus, the preparation consists in three simple steps that even a child can do.

on wood

In order for the burning procedure to be carried out quickly and efficiently, it is necessary that the pattern on the surface of the wood be as accurate and of high quality as possible. To transfer the image to the surface, several methods are used. The most popular option is transfer by carbon copy.

How to transfer a drawing to a tree for burning using a carbon paper:

  1. You need to take a sheet of paper. It is advisable to use paper that has been used more than once.
  2. Lay the carbon paper with the ink side against the wooden surface. Lay out a sheet with a pattern on top and secure the structure with tape or electrical tape.
  3. Trace the lines with a graphite pencil. You need to work carefully, limiting the interaction of hands with paper as much as possible.
  4. After completing the stroke of the lines, remove the layers of paper. The drawing for burning is ready.

This method is very reliable, but requires special care in execution. During the translation process, traces of carbon paper may remain, which are almost impossible to clean from the surface of the tree.

Drawing without carbon paper

In order to learn how to transfer a drawing to a tree without carbon paper, you can use several methods. Each differs in a set of tools and materials, but is simple in terms of implementation.

Image transfer methods:

  1. Graphite print. Take a simple pencil with a soft core and trace the outlines of the drawing on paper. Rotate the image to the wooden base and quickly press without shifting. In order for the graphite to be imprinted with high quality, it is possible to draw a hard roller or a plastic strip over the paper.
  2. Thermal transfer. First you need to pick up an image taken on the right device. With the help of thermal exposure, a photocopy or printout made on a powder printer is printed. Attach the back side to the wooden base and heat the paper with an iron.
  3. Reprinted with white spirit. The picture must be printed on a laser printer or copier. Attach the sheet with a pattern to the tree and wipe it with white spirit. On a cotton pad, it is worth applying a little means so that the paper does not become limp.

There are other options, but the implementation principle is much more complicated and requires more time and money.

Preparing wood for carving

To form an image on a board or plywood, you need to know just a few basic rules. If the work is done incorrectly, the carving process can become much more complicated.

How to transfer a drawing to a tree for carving in order to comply with all the rules:

  1. Draw a grid on the surface of transparent paper. The size of the cage will depend on the required size of the pattern.
  2. If you need to create an ornament, then put part of the image on tracing paper and fold the sheet in half. Circle the image on the second half of the tracing paper with a pencil.
  3. The symmetry of the pattern can be given through the use of carbon paper.

The method of transferring an ornament or image can be used from the options presented above. The main thing is to lay the sheet with the applied ornament so that the direction of the pattern coincides with the location of the fibers.

Decoupage technique - a simple option for transferring an image

Often it is required not only to make interesting decorations for the interior with an image on a tree, but also more practical application technology. Knowing how to transfer a drawing to a tree, you can restore old furniture, make a wooden element design.

To implement such ideas, decoupage technique is used. The principle of such work is simple and does not require special skills, the presence of unusual materials or tools.

How to transfer a drawing to a tree using PVA glue using the simplest algorithm:

  1. The prepared surface must be coated with PVA glue. The layer should not be too thick. Strokes should be smooth and uniform.
  2. Lay the pattern on the surface of the tree and gently straighten paper web. It is necessary to expel the air and position the edges of the cellulose base.
  3. From above, once again smear the image with a thin layer of PVA. Wait for everything to dry and duplicate the layer again.

Further processing is chosen according to the preferences of the "creator".

Additional finishing

After transferring the pattern to the tree and performing a secondary surface treatment, it is worth considering options for further surface treatment.

There are several options:

  1. Varnish.
  2. Paint.
  3. Prime.
  4. Leave the product untreated.
  5. Laminate.

Additional decoration can include the manufacture of stands, frames, pendants for the finished product. Here you can show imagination and skills.

Have you ever thought about "printing" your photographs on wood, or has the thought never crossed your mind? Anyway, if you like the described effect, you can easily do it yourself by following the simple steps described below.

Step 1 - What it takes

Below is a list of items needed for the job. You do not have to use identical tools, except as noted below.

Photo printed on a laser printer

Wooden board the same size as the photo

Gel medium (it must be acrylic)

Brush for applying gel-medium

Knife for butter or any other flat tool to flatten a photo on wood

Wood paint (optional) and rags

Soft paraffin wax or ModPodge matte decoupage glue to even out and cover the image

Paraffin brush

Staples for hanging a picture

Step 2 - Selecting an image and its future appearance

Obviously, you first need to decide what exactly you want to transfer to the tree. Most often, bright, clear photographs with high resolution won't look too stylish on a tree. In our case, this photo of the aircraft was processed in Lightroom to give it a vintage look - converted to monochrome, the contrast was increased and film grain was added.

Step 3 - Printing a Photo and Finding a Wooden Base

Very IMPORTANT - the image must be laser printed, if it is not, you can not even try to do the rest. Then you need to find a suitable wooden base, smooth and of the appropriate size.

Step 4 - Applying the gel medium to the tree

This is extremely important point. Cover the entire surface of the wood with one layer of medium gel, not too thin, but not too greasy. If the layer is too thick and dense, it will be difficult to remove the image after the procedure. Too thin layer most likely will not allow the image to be transferred to the tree in some places. Try to create an even, high-quality layer.

After the gel medium is applied, you need to place the photo of the front part on the tree. There will definitely be bubbles in the picture, so do your best to reduce their number and smooth them out. In our situation, I used a plastic tool that came to hand, but it can be a butter knife, ruler, roller, or any other item that you think will fit for this purpose.

After the image is superimposed on the base and smoothed, leave it overnight and do not let anyone close!

Step 5 - Remove Paper

This is a very interesting stage. To remove the paper, we only need to wet it and rub it off with our hands. This is a rather messy process and there may be another way, but fingers seemed to us the most the right tool. Some parts of the image will be easier to remove than others, but keep in mind that by the end of the procedure, your hands and fingers will definitely get tired. You may have to repeat the procedure and in total it will take from up to 30 minutes. But this is an extremely exciting moment - to see how the photograph appears already on the tree. Prepare a vacuum cleaner to clean up the mess that will definitely appear after this step.

Step 6 - Finishing touches

At this stage, you can show your creativity. Since we wanted the image to have a vintage look, we covered it with one coat of wood paint. Be careful that the work does not become too dark or acquire an unwanted color. You can saturate the surface with a cloth after application to remove excess.

We then sanded the edges a bit to remove excess gel and smooth the wood surface. We also used a product called Pigment and applied it with a sponge to the edges to create a vignette-like effect.

I was translating an image printed on a conventional laser printer. In the future, I'm thinking of looking for an inkjet printer for printing color images. Don't forget to flip the image horizontally. Well, I also made a small tonal correction in the bright side.

The surface onto which the image is to be transferred must be smooth. I used 120 grit sandpaper.

Main element technological process- gel medium. When I found a needlework shop in my city and asked the seller to give me a medium gel, he asked me a question that baffled me: "What do you like?". "Well, it's just written on the Internet - gel medium. Let me translate the pictures." Then it was the seller's turn to be surprised. It turned out that the translation of pictures is only by-effect, which the seller has not heard of before, but in general the gel is used for various effects "under glass" and "with rhinestones". From the whole set of gels, I chose a transparent glossy acrylic medium. It turned out he was not mistaken. The gel itself is similar to sour cream. And consistency, and color, and the same opaque.

We glue the sheet with the image and drive out the bubbles with a roller.

The idea of ​​the method is that upper layer paper bearing the image is pasted into a medium (liquid glass). After complete solidification (we left the blanks to dry overnight), you only need to remove the layer of paper. To do this, the paper is soaked and rolled with your fingers. I used the rough side of the dishwashing sponge. Here it is necessary not to overdo it and not damage the image itself. But this is not a particular problem, the image is quite stable.

We have done many paper removal experiments. The sponge showed itself from the best side. But when the paper was rolled up with fingers, a small paper pile remained, which rose when the varnish was applied.

After removing the paper, only the printer's ink remains, glued into the liquid glass. At the same time, after drying, the gel became transparent and the structure of the tree is clearly visible.

I must say that the technology is quite effective. The whole process takes two evenings. The image is translated clearly, not blurry. One jar of gel with a volume of 125 ml and a cost of 480 rubles was enough for 9 sheets of A4. The only inconvenience is that the image may be damaged when the paper is removed.

It remains only to cut off the excess.

Now, owning the technology, you can think about its application. For example, jewelry boxes or original labeling of products.

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All photos from the article

A distinctive feature of the age of high technology is the ease with which beauty is replicated and originality is put on stream. But if not everyone can become an artist and paint great canvases, then many can create unique images using simple technologies.

Wood is one of the suitable materials on which a photograph or favorite drawing will look great. In addition to the fact that the quality of the product will remain unchanged for many years, it will be a kind of masterpiece or piece goods, depending on how you dispose of it.

The essence of technology

Don't let these scare you Clever words, like sublimation printing technology or graverton, because they are one and the same, therefore, it is already less incomprehensible. The technology is based on the principle of sublimation, when a substance under the influence high temperature"Jumps" from the gaseous state immediately to the solid, bypassing the wet stage.

Graverton technology allows you to transfer a pattern to wood, metal, glass, fabric, and the process itself takes place in a certain order:

  1. An image is printed on sublimation paper;
  2. The front side is applied to the object being processed;
  3. It is placed in a heat press for a certain time.

A huge number of things can be subjected to artistic processing - from shoes, dishes, fabrics to corporate symbols, puzzles and all sorts of other unexpected things.

The main disadvantage of the graverton technology is the need for special equipment and its high price:

  • sublimation printer(starting from 500 thousand rubles with kopecks);
  • thermal transfer press(from 9 to 30 thousand rubles).


It’s nice to turn ordinary things “like everyone else”, with a little effort, into your own, cozy, personalized. Good way- decorate them with an original pattern. And even if you consistently skipped art lessons at school, and you draw a little worse than a fifth grader, it doesn’t matter. This simple method will allow at least all the textiles and wooden surfaces in the house to be decorated with funny drawings. And please your friends with original gifts.


The authors of a resource popular among designers shutterstock offer to try a simple home printing technology. It is available to every owner. laser printer. Or someone who is not too lazy to go to the nearest copy center and print the desired drawing. This method will allow you to easily transfer the image to a fabric or wooden surface.


You will need:
Acetone (or a nail polish remover based on it);
Cotton pads;
Plastic card;
Scotch;
Ruler;
T-shirt/fabric/wooden surface on which the pattern will be transferred;
desired image.

Step 1: print the picture on laser printer in a mirror version. An inkjet printer is a bad helper in this matter, because. does not guarantee even distribution of ink, which will be displayed on the final result. The darker the original image, the better.


Step 2: put down the sheet face down on a fabric or wood surface. It is advisable to fix it on one side with tape so that the picture does not “leave”. Soak a cotton pad or brush in acetone and carefully wipe the back of the pattern so that the paper becomes wet.


Step 3: take plastic card and using it like a scraper, go through the entire reverse side drawing. It's like you're rubbing it. First from bottom to top, then from top to bottom, repeat several times. Press the "scraper" lightly so as not to tear the print. The main rule is that all this time the paper with the image should be wet with acetone. This will help the pattern to adhere to the fabric or wood.


Step 4: gently pull the edge of the sheet with the image and evaluate how the “printing” process goes. When the drawing is completely transferred, remove the paper.


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