For the longest time, I’ve wanted silhouettes made of my children, but I never took the time to try to make them myself. But with Mother’s Day fast approaching—I decided to try my hand at it. And they are surprisingly easy to do! So I thought I’d share how I created them in case any of you would like to give it a try. Or if you prefer, I can always make one for you. The charge is $15.00 plus tax. ;-)
Materials:
iPad
Tracing Paper
Soft Lead Pencil
Eraser (just in case)
Black Ink Artist Pen (I use a 2.0 mm brush)
5”x7” Acid and Lignin Free Paper
And a Steady Hand ;-)
Instructions:
- Take a photo of your subject’s profile with your iPad or camera of choice. (Preferably photograph them against a solid, light colored background.)
- Put a sheet of tracing paper on top of your iPad and carefully trace your subject’s profile with a soft lead pencil.
- Remove the tracing paper and place the image you just drew on it face down. Take your soft lead pencil and shade the back of the image with the side of your lead. (This will allow you to make a carbon copy of your image onto your 5”x7” paper.)
- Position the tracing paper on top of your 5”x7” paper (with your pencil lines on the front and the pencil shading on the back), hold it steady, and begin tracing back over the lines you just drew. Remove the tracing paper and you’ll see the carbon copy image left behind.
- Using your black ink artist pen, outline over your pencil lines, and then continue to fill in the inside of your drawing with ink. I generally use two coats of ink.
- Step back and enjoy your finished work of art. Frame it for yourself or give it as a gift.
Have a wonderful Mother’s Day! Hope you all have as much fun with this project as I did.
