Using Transfer Paper to Design a Rock

There are many methods that you can use to transfer a design onto a rock that you would like to paint.

One of the ways you can transfer a design onto a rock is by using transfer paper.  Transfer paper is simply a carbon based paper that you can use to trace the design onto your painted background.

If you paint your background a dark color, such as black, you would use a light-colored transfer paper to trace your design.

Transfer paper comes in graphite (looks like black) and white, and these are the ones that I have used in my rock designs.  It also comes in yellow, blue and red.

I don't really know what the purpose of the latter three colors is, however, I'm sure yellow transfer paper, being a light color, would work on a black background, just as easily as white.

Once the design is painted on your rock, you are not going to see the tracing lines anyway, so it doesn't really matter what color transfer paper you will use.  The main purpose of the transfer paper is to give you a good outline.

I like to be specific with my instructions, so just to reiterate...

If you paint your background white for instance, then you would use the black transfer paper (graphite) to trace your base design onto your piece.

The opposite is true if you paint your background black, then you would obviously use a light color (white, yellow) transfer paper to get your outline transferred.

I used transfer paper to design quite a few of my rocks.  My dragonfly rock was designed this way, here is a picture below.

Stained Glass Themed Dragonfly Rock

I use the transfer paper method most of the time when I want to paint a stained glass theme.  It works well because the outlines are wide and it's very easy to do.

I am going to paint a stained glass turtle theme onto the rock pictured below.