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scanner, one can scan the scene, picture or photo of what they want to paint. One can then enlarge it on a program such as Adobe Photoshop and print it down to the size they want. My printer lets me print as large as a tabloid size which is 13 x 17".Then I get the paper or canvas I want to use and lay out a piece of graphite tracing paper. I put the printed image on top of it and using a stylus or a pencil I outline the areas I want to paint. I do not put in details. When I am done, I may work on the painting in any medium I want from oils to watercolors to pastels. I may put in different colors, or if I am doing something that I want to be the same as the photo I will use the printed image as a guide.

Many artists use a light box. I have yet to use one.

Good looking light boxes with an inclined working surface and special slot for holding drawing pens or pencils. Made of space age high impact plastic they are both portable and practical. Some come with a 10 x 12" viewing area and 8-watt daylight fluorescent bulb and run anywhere in price from $24.95 to $29.95. A nice one is Lightracer II with 12 x 18" viewing area illuminated by an 18", 15 watt daylight fluorescent bulb and runs about $89.00, but is often on sale in places like Jerry's Artarama for about $54.00.

We have a large one of these in our stained glass studio and use it for patterns. One of these days I am going to try it. Whichever one you buy or make you must have it so it can show though up to 300 pound art paper.

A light box can be easily made. It contains six 24-inch 20-watt fluorescent bulbs with a -inch sheet of clear Plexiglass (33 x 25) on top. The outside dimensions of the box are 34 x 26 - inches. When done with Plexiglass the lighted coupled with the clear Plexiglass is strong enough to permit you to see a drawing though 300-pound paper. The under section of the box could have horizontal storage section.

For Making Any Picture Larger or Smaller you can use a Pantograph. They come in metal or wood. Special crisscross design of bars allows you to trace any design and enlarge or reduce it. All you do is trace with the tracer pin and automatically the design is transferred in perfect proportion to paper, board or canvas. With a Pantograph at your side, you can use any picture you may come across and blow up or reduce it!
Pantographs cost between $30.00 to $45.00 and can usually be found on sale.

Another way is to grid what you want to paint by drawing equal lines horizontally and then vertically.

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