I got an email the other day asking me how I made this image. So, rather than emailing every person who asks, I thought I would share the knowledge on my blog. Yay blog!

I learned this technique and a couple of others at a digital image transfer workshop in February. If anyone is interested in the other techniques, let me know and I’ll post those instructions too.

To make gel medium transfers, you will need:
1. Epson Glossy Photo Paper, NOT “Premium” glossy, you want the cheap stuff
2. Liquitex gel medium — make sure it’s Liquitex, NOT Golden
3. Any regular inkjet printer should work. The one we used at the workshop was a cheap older model and it worked great. I don’t think dye-based inks will work.
4. A small brush to spread gel medium on the photo.
5. Watercolor or other paper for transfer.

Instructions:
1. Print out a photograph on Epson Glossy Photo Paper. (The image will reverse when transferred, so flip it horizontally in Photoshop before you print it.)
2. Coat the image with Liquitex gel medium. Speed is essential for this step –make sure there is enough gel medium to cover the image, and don’t let it dry out or your transfer won’t work. The irregularities you see in my image came from not coating the photo completely with the gel medium. I think it makes it look interesting, but you may not want that effect.
3. Once the photo is coated with gel medium, turn it over and press the sticky side down onto your watercolor (or other) paper.
4. Using a wooden spoon (or something similar), rub the back of the photo as hard as you can. Work in circles, rubbing hard for 1-2 minutes.
5. Set the photo paper/other paper sandwich aside for a couple of minutes.
6. Carefully peel off the photo paper to reveal your transferred image.

That’s all there is to it.

For a slightly different take on digital image transfers, check out chocolata37 over on Flickr.

Happy transferring!