How to make your own canvas print

May 14, 20163 min read

So, a few months back my 6-year old niece saw a picture of a teddy bear that I drew in my sketchbook, and she desperately wanted it! I was definitely not going to tear it out, so I had to come up with another plan. There was this concept that I've heard of before, where you can actually take an ordinary image printed on plain cartridge paper, and transfer it onto canvas. I found several videos online, demonstrating how to do this. There were quite a few methods, but this is the one that I tried out, although the basic principle is still the same for any of the techniques. Obviously drawing the actual piece of art will always be my first choice, but creating something crafty from my own artwork, lots of fun!!

So today I'll be showing you this step-by-step tutorial of my teddy that I transferred to a canvas. Hope you enjoy, and try it out yourself :)

This is the original drawing:

1. First make a copy of or scan your image and then print it. Ordinary cartridge paper will work, but if you can find paper that's a bit thinner, it should work even better. I used plain old cartridge paper. You will be placing your image picture side down onto the canvas, so remember to flip your picture around in a photo editing program, before printing. Especially if you're transferring letters, words etc. I flipped my teddy around, that's why he looks a bit weird in the next picture. It'll make sense in the end!

2. You will need:

*your picture

*matte gel medium (I used Heritage matte modge podge)

*a paintbrush

*a small sponge roller (optional)

3. Apply the medium directly onto the canvas, spreading it out with the paint brush. Make sure to get the gel medium well into all the little dents in the canvas.

4. Place your picture, image side down, onto the canvas and either using your fingers or a small sponge roller, smooth over the image to get rid of any little air bubbles. I flipped the canvas over and smoothed out the back side as well, just to make really sure all bubbles were out, and that the picture was properly adhered to the glue/gel medium. Once you're happy, let it dry. Preferably overnight.

5. Time for the fun stuff! Use the soft side of a kitchen sponge and start wetting the canvas. Once it is wet enough, gently rub off the top layer of paper with your fingers. You could use the sponge, but I preferred using my fingers for more control in this step. Be careful not to rub too hard, as this might lift bits of your image. Or well, you could embrace the distressed effect it gives to the image, like I did :)

6. The last step. You could leave your picture as is, just keep in mind that when it's dry it will look a bit faded. If that's what you aimed for, great! job done..

Otherwise, you could varnish it with a gloss gel medium to counter the dullness. It's your project, be creative!

Once my teddy bear was dry, I used some craft paint and went over the fur to make it look a bit darker and fuller and also to add my signature (since it is still my own original art)

And voila, done!

This was lots of fun and the possibilities are endless. Add rhinestones, glitter, ribbons, whatever.

Give it a go and feel free to share your own projects with me!