We’ve had a lot of readers ask for detailed instructions on how we paint graphics on furniture, so we decided to dedicate a whole post to just that.
First, I think we should say that we are not experts. We have no artistic training and we’ve only been painting graphics on furniture for less than 2 years. Seriously you guys, I can barely draw a stick figure. We tell you this simply to encourage you to give it a shot, even if you feel like you might not be good at it. I have a feeling you might surprise yourself.
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EQUIPMENT LIST
Overhead Projector We have an old school overhead projector similar to this one. We were fortunate that our sweet friend Karen found one at a yard sale and snagged it for us. They no longer sell the exact overhead projector we have, so the link above is just to one that’s similar to ours and not the one we actually use. A good place to look for them is ebay or sometimes you can find them used through sellers on Amazon. (If you absolutely can’t find an overhead projector, we have a secondary method for painting graphics that required no special equipment. You can read about that here.)
Transparency Paper Make sure you purchase the correct transparency paper for your specific printer. So if you have an inkjet printer, you’ll need something like this. If you have a laser printer, you’ll need something like this. It’ll tell you right on the package (usually the top right corner) which type of printer it’ll work with. Transparency paper has a smooth and a rough side. You’ll want to print your image onto the rough side.
Watercolor Pencils We use watercolor pencils to sketch out our graphics instead of a regular lead pencil for a couple reasons. First, they’re easier to wipe off with a damp cloth if you make changes to your design. Plus, when you paint over them you can’t see it through the paint as easily. If you use a lead pencil and paint your graphic with a white or light colored paint, you can sometimes see some of the pencil lines through the paint. Also, if you’re painting a graphic on a dark surface, a white watercolor pencil is so much easier to see. I have this set.
Paint Brushes We have dozens of different paint brushes in all sizes and shapes. I really love this set, and you’ll also want a set with a nice variety of shapes and sizes like this one.
Sanding Blocks You can also use regular sand paper, but I think the sanding blocks are so much easier to use. I use both a fine grit sanding block, and a very fine grit sanding block.
FINDING AN IMAGE
You can see all of our favorite places to find free graphics in this post here.
We also have a “free graphics” Pinterest board where we pin all our latest finds. If you’d like to follow us on Pinterest you can find us here.
LET’S GET STARTED
Okay, now that you have your equipment ready and you’ve printed your graphic onto transparency paper, let’s get started transferring your image. Lay your transparency paper on top of your projector, turn on the light and project the image onto your furniture piece. At this point you’re probably going to have to do a lot of adjusting. Move the furniture and/or your projector until the image is lined up. It’s a good idea to cut a few pieces of painters tape and stick it to the side of your projector before you start lining it up so it’ll be ready. Once you have everything perfectly lined up you’re going to want to tape it in place. There’s nothing worse than having everything lined up then bumping the paper and having to start over.
Take your time and use a measuring tape or ruler to make sure your graphic is centered and straight on your furniture. Once the graphic is exactly where you want it, tape the transparency paper to the projector.
Here’s what the image looks like projected onto the furniture piece.
Using your watercolor pencil, trace the entire image. Take your time and trace out every detail you’d like to have on your finished piece. When you’re done, it will look like this.
Now you’re ready to start painting. This part can be tedious and takes the longest amount of time. Since you’re done with the projector now, you can move your piece to a place where you can work on it comfortably over several hours or even days, depending on the size of your graphic.
We have tons and tons of paint brushes, but this is a great starter set for painting graphics.
Take your time and carefully paint over all the details you sketched out. If you’re nervous about this part, sketch something out on a piece of scrap wood and practice painting it in.
Don’t worry if your graphic doesn’t look perfect. Because once your paint is fully dry you can distress it with a sanding block. And trust me when I say this is where the magic happens. I use both a fine and extra fine sanding sponge.
Let me give you a couple examples of the magic I was talking about. Here’s a number graphic I painted onto a table. I was scraping the bottom of the paint can and the paint was thick and I was too lazy to go back inside for water to thin it out. It looks really chunky and uneven, and it’s basically a hot mess.
Going over it with a fine grit sanding block knocks down the high areas and smooths the rough edges. You can do more or less distressing as it suits you, but even just a little bit helps even out your imperfections.
To give you some more examples, here’s our French Graphic dresser before distressing.
You can see in this closeup that my lettering isn’t perfect.
Here it is after distressing with sanding block. A little sanding helped erase all those messy spots around the letters and it helps make any minor mistakes look intentional.
Here’s one more example. This is our Ship Silhouette Chest.
Here’s what it looked like up close before distressing. Not very pretty.
And after distressing. See how it cleans everything up? The sanding sponge is your best friend when painting graphics.
I hope you found this post helpful! If you have any questions we didn’t cover in this post feel free to leave a comment below and we’ll be sure to answer.
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Looking for more? You may also enjoy our Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Tips.
Your tutorial is fantastic! We will now be on the hunt for an overhead projector! We’ve Pinned this to our “Painted Furniture” board and can’t wait to try this technique ourselves! Your painted pieces are wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
The overhead projector makes it so much easier! Hopefully you guys will come across one for cheap soon! And thanks so much for pinning!
Check for public auctions for local school districts, they will usually have plenty overhead projectors.
Beautiful! I already have a projecto, now what type of paint should I use to draw my graphic? And I can do this after my dresser is already been chalk painted?
I’ve used both chalk paint and regular acrylic craft paint for graphics. And yes, I paint the graphics on after painting the pieces with chalk paint. Hope that helps!
Great tutorial! Another source for overheads is surplus auctions. Many schools used to have many projectors but with the advent of smart boards they are getting rid of them now. Thanks for sharing how it “really” looks before the sanding too. That is encouraging to me since I can’t draw a stick man either!!
I never thought about that, Laura! That would be the perfect place to find one of these old school projectors. Thanks for sharing that!
I just got mine for free from my kids school! They were upgrading..LOVE this tutorial and the Work Order form..I created mine from yours..so helpful! Mel’s Re~Creations!
What a great, and detailed tutorial! I was curious if you used an overhead for these projects. Years ago, I used them when I was teaching. They made doing bulletin boards for the classroom so much easier.
You two are doing some wonderful work!
Thank you so much, Beverly!
Love this post! I’ve wanted to attempt this look too. Just haven’t found the perfect piece to try it on yet. All of yours are gorgeous! Pinning for sure!
Thanks so much, Lauren!!
Hello, thank you so much for this amazing lesson! Please can you advise how you get the print onto the overhead sheets, can it go through a normal inl jet printer?
Hi Ursula! Yes, you just run the transparency paper through your printer at home. Just make sure you get transparency paper made for the type of printer you have. So if you have an inkjet printer (that’s what we have also), choose transparency paper specifically made for inkjet printers. It’ll tell you right on the package (usually the top right corner) what type of printer it’s for. One side of the transparency paper is textured and the other side is smooth. Print on the textured side. That was a great question and something I should have mentioned in the post so thanks for asking it!
Thank you so much for this information! Pinning!!
Thanks for pinning, Laurie! I’m so glad you found it helpful 🙂
These are all such beautiful pieces! And these tips are so helpful! I need to get me a projector!
Thanks, Bre! Your furniture makeovers are already flawless without the use of a projector but it’s definitely a fun tool to play with :).
This is such a great post! My brother has a projector and I think I just might have to snag it and give this graphics painting a try! Thanks so much for sharing!
That’s perfect! Most people probably don’t have one of these laying around. Brothers are the best! 🙂
Very helpful! I haven’t seen an overhead projector in years, so I think the printer + transfer paper is the way to go.
Well hot dog!!! That was one of the best tutorials ever!! Thank you for all the detail in the instructions, the links to all the equipment/tools and for all the pics!! Your furniture looks amazing and I appreciate you sharing all this with us!
Thank you, Lorraine! I’m so glad you found it helpful 🙂
Such an amazing tutorial girls! I will also be on the lookout for a projector! I think you may have just driven up the cost with this wonderful post! It looks amazing and I love that you we’re afraid to show the real before and after on the paint. It gives me hope because I know my before would have been awful! You girls run an amazing blog and I love seeing your new projects each week!
Thank you so much, Cat! You always leave the sweetest comments. Thank you for taking the time to stop by!
Thank you for this detailed information. I have been wanting to try graphics but didn’t know where to start. Now I do thanks to you. I will be looking for a furniture piece that I think will work. Again thanks for the inspiration and how to.
You’re so very welcome! I’m so glad you found it helpful. I hope you find the perfect piece soon. I know you can do something amazing with it!
Love your furniture pieces and your terrific tutorial! I was fortunate enough to find an old school projector years ago at a local thrift store and while I have used it numerous times for enlarging designs for various craft/painting projects, I have not yet had the opportunity to use it on a furniture piece. Now I can’t wait to find a piece to try this on!! I have been doing decorative painting for several years now thought and can share a couple of tips. The first is to NOT try to paint detailed designs after consuming large amounts of coffee…lol… and second, when painting straight or continuous lines such as swirls, etc. try looking just ahead of where your paintbrush is. I know it sounds strange and may take a little practice, but it will really help to obtain smoother and consistent lines. Also thinning your paint with just a bit of water helps tremendously.
Thank you so much, Lynn! And thank you for taking the time to leave some tips. I’m definitely going to try the looking ahead thing when painting a line! Hope you have a great weekend!!
Lynn M.,
Thanks for your tips!!
I’m saving this post to refer to.
Blessings,
Cindy Davis, creator of diybohemian.com
This is an amazing post, Amy! I’d love to try a graphic and with these directions and list of everything you need, it might just give me the courage to do it! I absolutely love the bicycle graphic!! Hope you ladies have a great day tomorrow! xo
Thank you, Kendra! You could absolutely do a graphic!! Hope you have a great day too!!
Great tips and I LOVE all of the furniture you’ve done lately!! Gorgeous!
Thanks, Nicole!!
Great post and tips! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Cynthia!
This is very helpful. Thank you so much!
Hi Cheryl! I’m so glad you found it helpful! Thanks for stopping by :).
These are all such great tips! I love all your painted graphics and need to just take the plunge and try it for myself. Thanks for sharing what you’ve learned 🙂
Thanks so much, Sydney!!
Love this dresser! You did a beautiful job on it. Thanks for sharing at my link up. I hope you link up again! The new link up will go live on Friday at 9 am MST.
Lory xo
Thanks so much, Lory! I added your party to my link party page :).
Thanks so much for the great info Amy and Vicki~as an artist I’m familiar with a lot of your methods, but I must say the watercolor pencil tip is BRILLIANT and I will be using that from now on, thank you so so much!
Thanks, Jenna! The watercolor pencil works perfectly!
Just stopping by to let you know I’ll be featuring this post on tonight’s Merry Monday Link Party at 6 PST! Have a great week!
I just added another click to your ‘Most Clicked’ honor at Something to Talk About. Congrats! And you’ve inspired me to finally check out The Graphics Fairy and start adding embellishments to my projects
Thanks so much, Donna! The Graphics Fairy has so many fantastic images. It’s always hard to narrow it down to one. Can’t wait to see what you come up with :).
Very nice tutorial. Indeed like a pro.
Holy COW! I would never have the patience for this but I love this look. How much do you charge to come fix up an old changing table 😉 Thanks for sharing at the Talented Tuesday link party. I hope you’ll come link up with us again this week!
Thanks Meaghan! It was definitely a labor or love but I enjoyed the process! I wish you lived closer, I would help you fix up the changing table for free :).
SO cool! Man, projectors are super useful. I love how you can get a professional end result without having to be a great artist! Your pieces always come out looking so lovely – great work! 🙂
Thank you so much for the great info! I have several projects in the works waiting for graphics that I can’t wait to share! I have the overhead projector…..thanks to craigslist. Your detailed information about the transparency paper was key. I bought transfer paper- I knew that had to be wrong! Because of that I have been procrastinating my projects. Also liking the idea of water color pencils-brilliant!
Hi Lenore! I’m so glad you found it helpful! If you try the watercolor pencils you’ll love them. Just get the cheapest ones you can find. I decided to change part of the graphic on the project I’m currently working on and the watercolor pencils came right off with a wet rag. The base color on the dresser is white and if I had used a lead pencil I probably would have had to repaint that area to completely erase the marks. Thanks for stopping by and I can’t wait to see some of your projects!!
I just found your blog on my Pinterest feed and loved reading how you transfer images and paint them on furniture. I am wondering what kind of black paint you used on the French typography. Is it acrylic craft paint or some other kind of paint? I am looking forward to trying this technique soon on some pieces I am preparing for an open air market. Thanks for your great tutorial!
Thank you, Ruth Anne! The black paint is Annie Sloan chalk paint in color “Graphite”. It’s not a true black, more of a really, really dark charcoal, and I think it has more depth than a true black paint. Can’t wait to see some of the pieces you create for your market! Thanks so much for stopping by!
I love your graphic furniture! It’s so cool and Transfer paper!! What a great idea, I’ve been cutting out stencils whenever I have a graphic – very tedious. Thanks for the tip on the graphics fairy too!
Great post!! The detail you provided is super helpful. Can’t wait to get started on this old chest of drawers. My secret weapon for long lines and lettering: Woodcraft paint pens!
Do you have any posts for using the wax you used here? Not much intimidates me (big spiders and definitely snakes – but things like chain saws and acetylene torches, no problem!) but I just chicken out when it comes to that wax in a can!
Thanks!
Thank you, Jean! We haven’t put together a tutorial for using wax yet. I use a wax brush to apply it and a lint-free cloth to wipe off. The trick is to only use just a little wax and keep wiping it off until your rag doesn’t drag and it doesn’t feel tacky at all.
On a side note, I’m starting to experiment with different top coats because I don’t feel like the wax is a strong enough finish for medium to high traffic pieces (at least not in my own house). I just got a couple cans of general finishes polyacrylic and a couple others to try. I’ll let you guys know what I think once I try them all. Good luck with your projects!
would love to learn how to start a blog yours is the best I have seen help…………
Hey Gidgett! Thank you for saying that! If you’re interested in starting a blog there’s a fantastic ebook called Building A Framework by Abby Lawson. I used it myself when I first started blogging and it’s great. Here’s a link for more info: http://justagirlandherblog.com/framework/. Good luck!!
I know this is from a long time ago, but I found this so full of information. I already have the overhead, so all I needed to do was find a couple of images. I am going to try on a small scale over the weekend.
Thanks again!!
Hi Julie! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment. I still read comments on older posts and it’s nice to know people are still finding them! I’m not sure if you saw this yet, but this post has links to all our favorite places to find free graphics: http://canarystreetcrafts.com/free-vintage-graphics/. And we have a Pinterest board full of graphics here: https://www.pinterest.com/canarystcrafts/free-graphics/. Have fun with your project this weekend!! 🙂
Great tutorial! Your pieces are wonderful too! 🙂 so many great tips… I’ll be pinning this.
Thanks Liz! xo
Hey Ladies,
Brilliant tutorial! I’ve been considering a projector, rather than an OHP, purely based on storage, but I keep coming back to this method. Do you have any tips for transferring onto a table top? Would you just turn the whole table on its side, or do you have some nifty trick for projecting downwards?
I’ve had a scooch through the comments, but couldn’t find anyone else with the same question, so apologies it it’s a duplicate.
Loving your work! Sue ~ The World of Suzy Homemaker
Hey Sue! No nifty tricks for table tops. We do just like you said, turn the table on its side and prop it up however we need to in order to get the image in the right spot. It’s a bit of a pain sometimes but worth it in the end :). So glad you stopped by!
wonderful. thanks
It seems like no matter how long I let the lettering dry, when I distress it with the sanding sponge I get a black halo around the letters. Can you tell me how to keep that from happening?
These are black letters on a white (or light colored) background? Are you waxing before sanding? And if you wipe it with a damp cloth the halo remains? Trying to narrow down what the issue could be. It’s not something I’ve had a problem with but hopefully we can figure out why that’s happening to you!
I have the same issue and was scrolling through all the comments for this answer. So you wax before distressing??? And that keeps the black paint from the graphic from shadowing onto the lighter background color??? THANKS!!
Hi Janet! I do not wax before sanding. I’ve never had a halo problem when sanding lettering with any paint colors. I was asking if she waxed first because sometimes the paint dust will stick in the wax if you wax then sand. I wish I knew why this was happening to you guys. What brand of paint are you using?
What do you use to seal a chalk painted piece permanently? I’m wanting to chalk paint a bed side table for my daughter’s room, but I think wax won’t work well since it will be a “well loved” table. Thanks is advance for your advice!
My favorite sealer right now is general finishes high performance top coat. I like both the flat and satin finish. 🙂
Is this still your favorite finish or do you like Annie Sloan’s lacquer now? I am going to use this tutorial to paint a ship on my bun-in-the-oven son’s dresser before he makes his debut 🙂
I actually haven’t used the AS lacquer yet! I do still use GF High performance topcoat all the time and lately I’ve also been loving Fusion Mineral paint too. Congrats on the new baby!!! ❤️
Thank you so much for your quick reply! I also just noticed that the edges around the drawers of the dresser have some beveling and are not completely flat. Does the surface have to be completely flat for a painted graphic to look right? Thank you again 🙂
I don’t think so! I bet you can make it work. I’ve always found that a little distressing make everything come together and if something looks a bit funky the distressing makes it look intentional and “right”.
Was just wondering if you ever use regular house paint or acrylic paint to paint the pic. on your piece. Also if you you use regular house paint to paint the base coat on your funrniture piece?
I have used acrylic paint for the graphic before and it works fine. I don’t typically use latex paint for furniture but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it- it’s just a personal preference thing. Lots of people use latex paint for furniture and it looks beautiful. Just make sure you prime first if you go that route :).
That nautical ship silhouette dresser is AMAZING! I wish I needed another dresser so that I could so something similar. haha. I wanted to ask you about refinishing old furniture though … I read recently that in pieces older than 1978 there could be lead in the paint (and even in the stain and varnish! gasp!) —- is that something that you guys are concerned with? Do you check your furniture for lead content before refinishing it?
Wow! You really have a lot of comments. Good for you, Amy!
Lately, I’ve been looking at a lot of YouTube tutorials on decoupaging and photo transfer. I really like your idea of PAINTING on the design instead of trying to handle those very large print-outs, and worrying about decoupaging them correctly onto furniture. Actually, I’m sure each has its pluses and negatives.
Thanks for opening my eyes to a different technique! Sometime, I hope to do something of this sort…one or the other. It adds such individuality to a furniture piece!
I shared one of your tutorial links on my Facebook page for my DIY Bohemian. My site is about clothes and style, but I’ve become interested in crafty things lately, and thought this would lend itself nicely to my page of DIYs.
Blessings,
Cindy Davis, creator of diybohemian.com
Hi,
Still a bit confused as to how to print the transparencies. How do I know if my printer is ‘inkjet’. Will it work on other kinds of printers? So, I find the item I want to use on the web and print it on the 8 1/2 x 11 transparency sheet. Then place that sheet on the projector. I was also confused about the taping on the projector. Can you tell I am new at this!!! For us new at this I guess we need more detailed instructions….sorry.
Love your tutorials! Thank you so much. When paining your Victor piece did you use your graphite color toned down to a lighter grey color?
Hi Rose. If you’re not sure what type of printer you have and you can’t find it anywhere on the machine, you can try googling the model number. You can use any type of printer to do this, but the transparency paper is specific to each type of printer. So if you have an ink jet printer you need to buy transparency paper made for an ink jet printer. If you have a laser printer, buy paper for a laser printer (it says right on the package what type of printer it’s made for). Then you’ll just put the transparency paper in your printer tray and print it the same as you print anything else. The transparency paper has a rough side and a smooth side. Make sure you’re printing it on the rough side.
As far as taping it to the projector, when you’re using an overhead projector the transparency paper just sits on top of the screen. I just like to tape it in place once I have everything lined up so it doesn’t accidentally get bumped while I’m in the middle of sketching the image out. It’s an optional step, though. Hope that helps!
Thanks so much, I will check although my guess is that I have an ink jet printer.
Thanks Sarah! For the Victor’s bicycle table we used Annie Sloan’s French Linen as the base color and Graphite for the graphic. I didn’t do anything to tone down the Graphite. Here’s the full tutorial for that piece if you’re interested: http://canarystreetcrafts.com/vintage-bicycle-painted-side-table/.