How To Transfer Sketch To Canvas (Projector vs Grid method!)

How to transfer your sketch to canvas. Two popular options are the grid method and using a projector so in this video, I put them to the test. I've always used the grid method in the past or just freehanded my underdrawings (much harder without developing your drawing ability. This isn't a super in depth review, it was just more or less to see the time difference between the two methods since I'm always looking for ways to speed up my process.
Let me know our thoughts and preferences in the comments!
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#art #painting #oilpainting #artstudio #artist #contemporaryart #arttips #arttutorial #paintingtutorial #paintingforbeginners #drawing #sketching

[@jasonanthonywilper]

Projectors just make sense, nobody cares about how long you took for the underpainting that noone sees

[@DarrenNaylor]

Couldn't agree with you more!

[@WordsAndWhimsy]

Just ordered a projector. I'm all for working smarter not harder these days. Plus, I paint to PAINT. Doing the sketch is my least favourite part. I usually rush it then spend a ton of time fixing anatomical mistakes later, or I realize something is off-center, etc.

[@DarrenNaylor]

I really hate the underdrawing portion, so I'm with you!

[@PatTheRipper]

Great video. Back in my day, I used to use the overhead projector. I had to convince my art teacher that I knew what I was doing. By the end of the semester my teacher had procured 3 projectors and we were transferring images with lighting speed. Once they saw me do a huge drawing in very little time on the chalk board they were hooked. 😎

[@mrfq_abg]

Man, i just discovered your channel. Came for the projector, but really, really like your cinematography & how you present the content! Great work my dude!

[@joewheeler6634]

I have the same projector. I mounted it above my drafting table so that it aims downward and I can sit and trace normally.

[@DarrenNaylor]

Thats a great idea. I was jumping in and out of the way..lol

[@joewheeler6634]

@@DarrenNaylor It’s so much more comfortable!

[@wetterschneider]

Most paintings do end up covering all of the underlying linework, which is good with the grid method but now you don't have to worry about the grid showing if you are using a less opaque medium. And if you end up needing to reapply linework later, say while using acrylics and it's dry, you can project again - gridlines would be unusable.

[@DarrenNaylor]

I did notice that more when I was still using acrylics. I’ve also learned to draw first then ground the canvas to help hide lines. I’d tried drawing on top of the grounding in the past for clearer lines but you could end up seeing them if not careful.

[@1kennylo]

I’ve put off so many projects because of how time consuming the grid method was. Never again Thanks!

[@fredguedespereira4458]

Thank's, Darren. I would like to know if any projector is suitable for this technique. I mean, can I project on a screen measuring, say, 30x30cm with any projector at any distance? My question is whether the image could be blurry on very small canvases.

[@sherrigibson6739]

Way to go. Just saw your IG. You recommended your KZbin channel so here I am. 😊

[@DarrenNaylor]

I appreciate it, Sherri!

[@MsGnor]

Gangnam gridlines Dude!! 🥳🎉

[@artistry-lifeart9721]

What a stunning Channel! That's super amazing my friend 🙂 Great demo 👏 Big thumbs up 👍🔔

[@DarrenNaylor]

Thank you! Much appreciated!

[@speakyourmind360]

Im buying a projector for sure

[@jbn9029]

Thank you so much!

[@TheAIRspace]

HI darren! First let me say, your production and flow of your video is top notch. Second your french cleat wall is awesome. To get the most out of that pico DLP , scale the image digitally to canvas size, then drop that image in a digital image made at native resolution , which are mostly dlp. you can also digitally put in grid lines and project that image although i prefer not having the grid lines since I airbrush a lot of work and work semi transparently. using a digital copy stand on images less that 24 inches I have streamlined a projector setup to less than 10 minutes

[@DarrenNaylor]

Thanks, man! Much appreciated. And thanks for the tip, I'll give that a try next time I use it.

[@wallabybob3020]

Nicely edited video.👍🏻

[@DarrenNaylor]

Much appreciated!

[@raghadart8607]

amazing vid !

[@DarrenNaylor]

Much Appreciated!

[@iamaraindog385]

What type of pencil are you using? I'm not great at sketching, so making sure my lines cover up is important!

[@andyhuggett6549]

Great video and well demonstrated, I've been trying to find out how small you can get the image. Would it go down to A4? I was looking at the Luma 150. Thanks in advance.

[@DarrenNaylor]

Much appreciated! I wasn't able to find that info, sorry. I'm still pretty new to projectors in general.

[@andyhuggett6549]

@@DarrenNaylor No worries, Thanks for getting back to me.

[@TheAIRspace]

The pico DLP projectors can scale to any image size as small as 5x7 inches if you wanted to.

[@KauaiArtist]

I love using a projector but please tell me how you made that wall easel! I love your wall system!!

[@DarrenNaylor]

I talk about it in my studio videos but just watch Andrew Tishlers video on creating it. That's where I learned how :)

[@robertodezaldo1662]

Have you tried back projection? it seems to work also but space and alignment is a real concern . How do you avoid image distortion ? thanks

[@DarrenNaylor]

I'm not familiar with back projection, sounds interesting. Many of the projectors have it built in to be able to adjust the image to prevent distortion. I just scree this to the top of a tripod mount so I can place it level and at the correct height my canvas is to get a flat, clear imagine.

[@kmzybura]

what projector did you employ?

[@jasonanthonywilper]

Also good music choice in video

[@DarrenNaylor]

Much appreciated!

[@christinakyriacou6064]

Hey Darren ! Thanks for the video! I m looking for a projector for the same purpose and i wanted to ask you, are you satisfied with the quality of this projector?

[@DarrenNaylor]

So far for what I've done it works great but I'd hate to concretely recommend it because I don't have anything else to compare it to. So there may be better options that I just don't know about. But at face value for my use, it's great. I think if your paintings are 48 x 48 and below it's great.

[@louisememere]

Inches or centimetres please

[@morduadi6577]

You are hilarious 😂❤

[@DarrenNaylor]

😅

[@gabyo9017]

What stand are you using for your iPad?

[@DarrenNaylor]

I found it on amazon, just search goose neck ipad holder I believe.

[@kevinhardy8997]

Does your hand block the light though? That would be annoying

[@NatalieBoat111]

Someone else in the comments said they mounted the projector overhead a few comments up so that they don't have to get out of the way

[@jeffallen559]

You could just get an architectural print of your photo. These are large format gray scale and they don't cost that much. then you can use transfer paper.

[@DarrenNaylor]

Sounds interesting. Where do they do prints like that?

[@jeffallen559]

@@DarrenNaylor places like Kinkos or Office depot. these are large fomat so you can blow a photo up to a really big size. So you can have a small high quality color reference for your colors and value and a large architectural print to do you transfer.

[@Likeamorning]

More fun

[@DarrenNaylor]

Thanks for watching all the way through and taking time out of your day to say that :)

[@tinayanotitinaro7569]

I never grid unless I trace….I love my projector.

[@DarrenNaylor]

They are super convenient

[@maskdaniel]

projector used = Kodak Luma 150

[@DarrenNaylor]

Yep, it's linked in the description as well

[@holliowatercolors]

What projector? Where?

[@DarrenNaylor]

It's linked in the full vid on my channel if you want to check it out. I don't know a ton about them yet but it was rated well :)

[@HelmetVanga]

Grid sides with art and skill. Projector time and art, pop art.

[@Marwa_hachem23]

Its an expensive investment though!

[@DarrenNaylor]

There are many cheaper than this one and honestly, after using it I'm sure you can just find a used one to get the job done.

[@nic5833]

Obviously, the projector wins. 🤔Learning to draw is the best...

[@DarrenNaylor]

Easy to assume a projector would be better but I wanted to try it for myself. I've read complaints of poor image quality and ending up needing to go back and draw over the areas again anyway thus defeating the purpose of the projector. Couldn't find any comparison videos so I wanted to create one and have some fun...🤔

[@elizabethalcala2516]

Haha “I’ll get there ok” Mann I’m learning how to oil paint n my sketch on paper.. gorgeous n then I draw it on canvas n my horse looks like a pony. 😫😂.. stupid pony lol

[@DarrenNaylor]

haha ya..the transferring the sketch portion can be rough..

[@Kozette88]

I came here to be educated not entertained. 😂😂😂 Im laughing not learning. Ok both.

[@DarrenNaylor]

😂

[@HowlingMoonCinemas]

Well obviously just TRACING is going to be a whole lot faster, but that isn't art at all and is flat out cheating. The _artist_ is supposed to be the projector, not a machine.

[@DarrenNaylor]

The projector doesn't do the painting , so I've never understood this argument. Having something help you place a general outline for size and spacing just makes sense. It's how most do large paintings, murals, etc. It's like saying that using a reference photo on a tablet is cheating and that you're only a "real" artists if you create every idea out of your imagination and thin air. A quality painting is still very hard to do with or without an outline. I rarely use the projector, but having something help place proportions on a large canvas is a huge help when my alternative is risking it by doing something freehand and making a big mistake. So I disagree, respectfully.

[@HowlingMoonCinemas]

@@DarrenNaylor Dude. But you literally TRACED the picture. It wasn't simply just getting the "size and spacing right," which is _also_ part of what an artist is supposed to do by eye and their level of skill. Part of the skill involves judging angles and getting proportions right by eye and simple tools to measure, not having something else do all the hardest work for you. That's what makes it so difficult and what makes the true artist such a skilled and knowledgeable craftsman. Taking things from reference is NOT the same thing. You still have to do the very hard work of judging all the angles, proportions, spaces, perspective and so many other things. And when someone takes something from reference, the artwork comes out VERY different from the original source, showing the style, expression and creativity of the artist. This whole tracing thing has become a great problem, especially in the comics world. Tons of amateurs unworthy of calling themselves comic book illustrators are now just tracing easily posable, digital mannequins. They can draw their silly characters in any perspective, angle they want with perfect accuracy. They don't even need to really learn anatomy either, because the mannequins can be very detailed and show where the muscles go for them. All those "artists" need to do is just add their made up clothing, generic faces, hair and so on and all the truly difficult tasks are done with. So, I firmly disagree and call all this cheating.

[@DarrenNaylor]

You're right, I'm a hack. @@HowlingMoonCinemas

[@HowlingMoonCinemas]

@@DarrenNaylor I'm not doubting your ability. I only want artists to not be cheaters.

[@branchecoverdale]

@gMoonCinemas I'm a muralist and I disagree with the whole cheating argument I don't believe in "cheating" unless your completely copying someone work for profit. I do believe artist should learn basic fundamentals before tracing something. Howvever as a working professional I work large scale and sometimes its more efficient to work in this manner when your under time restraints especially when its going to be painted over. That was the point of this video. A lot of the old masters used a version of projection obscura to trace and create underdrawings. Shaming artist for using a method that make production more effiecient is pretentious. Just because something takes longer and more effort doesnt make it better. If it look good in the end most people don't really care anyway.