Line Drawings and Outlines

Using Tracing Tools to Create a Perfect Outline Every Time

Hello! Creating a great line drawing at the start of your drawings is the foundation for the rest of your piece and can make a really big difference in the ease and enjoyment of your process and the final outcome of your drawing.  If you don’t start with a good foundation, you will be working against it rather than with it until your drawing is complete.  (I know from experience!)   It is really important to take your time and take this part seriously:)

There are several ways that I know of that you can create a line drawing/outline for your colored pencil projects.

Tracing Tools

• Apple TV – I save my reference images on my iPhone and pull them up onto my TV screen using the Apple TV.  Tracing straight from your TV screen onto your drawing paper is really quick and easy.
• Bright Window– Before I learned how to save my images on my TV, I traced using a bright window.  This is a very easy process.  Simply print out your reference, tape it to a very bright window, tape your drawing paper on top and trace.
• Tracing Paper/Transfer Paper–  Occasionally, I might be using a type of paper that is difficult to see through using the TV or Window.  Papers like Pastelmat, Sanded Paper, Toned Paper, or Black Paper are examples.  In these cases, you can use graphite transfer paper or white transfer paper to trace the outline of the reference onto your paper.
• LightBox– This is just an underlit box that helps you see your printed image more easily.  Tracing using a lightbox would be very similar to using a bright window.
• Projector– This is a tool that will project an image onto your paper that you can then trace.  These are great if you want to draw on a large scale or for something like a mural.  Of course, they would work for a small piece as well.

Freehand (ish)– You can use the ‘Grid Method’ to create a grid over your reference image and again onto your drawing paper.  Then you draw square by square to complete your outline.  This can make it much easier to draw if you don’t want to trace but aren’t confident with your freehand skills.  It is also very time consuming and can be a bit messy (for me).

Freehand Drawing– If you love to sketch freehanded and are already really good at it or if this is a part of the process that you really love, this is a great way to go.  Unfortunately, artists who are less skilled at freehand drawing often attempt to use this method to create their outlines because they feel guilty about tracing and the results of their final piece can suffer.  Freehanding an outline can take a long time to get perfect and no one sees your initial outline in the end because you are going to go over it with your colored pencils.  I personally prefer to trace because I know I will get a perfect outline in the fraction of the time it would take me to freehand and I want to spend my time on the parts of the drawing that will show in the end.  

Tips for Tracing

• Use a really sharp pencil so that you get a nice thin line rather than a wide, soft line.
• Use colored pencils to create your outline. Other artists may disagree but I like to use a Light Grey Polychromos Pencil or one of the lightest colors from the section I am working on.  For instance, if I am drawing the Yellow Rose Bud, I can use a light yellow for the flower and a light green for the leaves.  Always use colors that you are going to use in your piece so that they will blend nicely.
• Pay attention to what you are doing!  Draw, don’t just mindlessly trace.  Refer to a clear image of your reference for areas that are hard to see through the paper.  Don’t draw a line unless you know what it ‘goes with’.  Otherwise, you can end up with a jumble of lines that don’t make sense.
• Trace entire sections and then go back and add details.  Don’t just go around the entire outer edge of the reference.  Trace each leaf, petal, stem, fruit, etc. separately.
• Next, add details.  You can add as many details as you want but I find too many details to be confusing.  I prefer to draw in ‘reference points’.  I like to trace in the main veins on leaves and a few directional veins on petals.
• Don’t forget to mark where your shadows and highlights stop and start.  You might want to do this with an even lighter line than you use for the rest of the piece or even a dotted/broken line.
• Take your time while tracing.  It will save you a lot of stress and struggle later and can make the final outcome of your drawing much better.

So, to sum it up, tracing is a tool that you can use to make sure your initial outline is perfect.  It is a tiny percentage of your overall drawing that you typically can’t even see in the final piece.  I prefer to put my time into the parts of the drawing that will be seen like the color selection, the layering, the blending, and the details.  Many professional artists trace their outlines to save time so there is no reason for you to feel guilty about it!  If you have created something that you are proud of, it shouldn’t matter what steps you took and what tools you used to get to that result.

Want to learn more? I have created a Tip Video to show you how I create my outlines. This is available now on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/posts/tip-video-line-33954706.

To see all of my available tutorials, click here: https://jennifermorrisonart.com/patreontutoriallinks/

Thanks!

Jennifer