Gel Medium Transfers–Easier with Videos

Gel transfers are not only fun, they add a lot to the pages of your art (or raw-art) journal. Joyce Bank, president of the Calligraphic Society of Arizona,  sent out an interesting summary of YouTube tutorials in various gel medium transfer methods. In each section, the link is followed by a list of interesting points covered in the video.

Golden makes a zillion varieties of gel mediums.

Instead of gel medium, this artist uses a sculptural gel to make transfers.

he uses a sculpture gel—a very thick acrylic medium instead of gel medium

replaces brush (which can leave marks) with a  plastic palette knife applicator to spread the gel

Instead of a laser-print image, he uses a National Geographic magazine image

He wets the image so that it will dry together with the acrylic medium

He burnishes the image when he applies it

This artist used a soft gel gloss medium

a brayer to burnish the image

a magazine image rather than a laser printer or photocopied image

emphasizes that the darker areas of the photo would show up better

lets the transfer dry thoroughly before applying it

uses a piece of sandpaper to get the rubbing process started

uses a spray water bottle to moisten the back of the paper while she’s rubbing it off

This artist transferred a laser photo image to a piece of tempered glass. Once dry, the image is lifted from the glass and stored on a piece of wax paper until it is used. The glass method allowed him to observe the drying process and yields a smooth surface image.

• First video presentation
• Second video presentation