Tracing How-To

If you liked the columbine contour drawing from the last post, fret not. It's not the only one available...I made a few more! Then I also made some variations in gold (and white!) on black:

While each piece of art is slightly different, all of my art is original because I'm crazy like that. So, how do I make so many pieces of the same design on paper that is too thick or dark for a lightboard? Guys. It's due to little miracles called tracings.

It takes a long time to illustrate something from scratch. I sketch and correct my lines, and keep sketching until I get the design in a place I like. To save on time, as soon as I have a design I like, I make a tracing of it. Then, to make the transfer process as seamless as possible, I take 5 steps.

//Step 1//
Cover the back of the tracing with graphite:

//Step 2//
Tape that sucker down to the final paper so it doesn't slide around:

//Step 3//
Begin tracing the lovely illustration:

//Step 4//
Check traced lines and double check placement by lifting occasionally (thank you, tape!):

//Step 5//
Keep tracing until piece is finished:

After that, I carefully remove the tracing, trace the final piece with my media of choice and then erase the pencil lines. Ta-dum! (There is a lot of tracing, which is why it's called what it is.) It can be tedious, but it ends up being much quicker than starting an illustration from scratch every time.

Have you tried this before? Do you have any favorite tips or tricks to make multiple originals?