Many artists, regardless of skill level, often have a difficult time transferring a sketch to the support they want to use. There are many tried and true methods to accomplish this goal but my favorite is to use the unlikely combination of my computer, my printer, and my front door!

 

I usually do my sketch at around an 8"x10" size. I get it the way I want it, and then scan it and save the file on my computer. I then open a page in a graphics program such as Freehand or Illustrator and play around with different sizes. I can easily try different positions and sizes on the computer screen and crop or add areas where I think they will look the best. I admit this might be cheating just a bit on the composition portion of my work, but it really helps me to see how the work will look at various sizes. Once I'm satisfied with the look, I use my printer to print the enlarged sketch at the size I want. Various programs have different ways to do this, but many will "tile" the work onto several pieces of paper which you can then tape together to the correct size. (If you don't have a scanner, you can take your sketch to an office supply or copier store and have it enlarged to the size you want, but you'll miss out on being able to experiment with position and composition on the computer.)

Then, I can either use my lightbox or the glass storm door on my house to let the light shine through behind the paper. I can easily trace over my sketch and have the size and composition just the way I want it with no loss of quality. Of course, this only works with supports that are not totally opaque when held up to light so it may or may not work for you.

 

However, this manner of enlarging  your sketch even works if you skip the lightbox or storm door and use a more traditional way of transferring your work. Once you get an enlarged drawing the way you want it, you can put a sheet of Saral paper under it and transfer it to your canvas or other opaque support in this way.

 

Since I began using this method I no longer get half way through my work and wish I had moved something a half inch to the right or made it larger, etc.  I've found that adding this step to my pre-painting preparation saves me time, helps me get down to painting a lot faster, and makes me consistently happier with the results.