How to Trace and Transfer a Drawing on Shoes or Clothes
Want to easily create a design on your shoes or clothes even if you don't know how to draw ? With the tracing paper technique, you can transfer the outlines of any image from your phone or tablet using a tracing paper and a pencil. Follow our guide to customize your sneakers or clothes like a real artist, even without drawing skills !
The Transfer & Tracing Technique
Define the area you want to customize
If you want your design in a specific spot, first outline the area where you’ll place it :
- Apply masking tape to the area you want to customize
- Trace the contours with a 2HB pencil
- Remove the tape and place it on your table
- Trace the outlines onto your sheet of tracing paper
👉 If you want to remove any visible pencil marks, flip the tracing paper, go over the lines again, and erase the front side.
Tracing your image
To create a design using tracing paper, find an image you like online and save it to your phone or tablet.
- Open the app Tracer Lightbox (Android) or Trace Table (iOS)
- Adjust the image size to fit your traced area
- Lock the screen on the app
- Fix the tracing paper with masking tape
- Trace the main lines of your design carefully
Transfer the design onto your shoes or clothes
Now that your drawing is ready on tracing paper, it’s time to transfer it :
- Place masking tape over the tracing paper
- Rub the tape gently with a card so the pencil marks transfer onto it
- Peel off the tape with your design
- Apply the tape to your shoe
- Rub again with the card to ensure proper transfer
- Remove the tape – your drawing will now appear ✨
How to paint your drawing ?
Now you can grab one of our customization kit and start painting your design. Don't forget to prep the surface for best results.
Paint the outlines of the design
To create clean and precise outlines, use a fine liner or a precision brush with black paint. Make sure your brush isn’t overloaded with paint, this helps you get thin, smooth lines.
Once dry, erase the pencil marks with an eraser, as shown in the video.
Fill in your drawing
When the outlines are complete, paint the inside of your design with the chosen colors. Apply 2 to 3 thin layers for a uniform result.
If you go over the lines or make small mistakes, don’t worry — you can correct them using leather deglazer or by repainting the outlines with black paint. On fabric, use white paint to hide those mistakes.
Now you know how to draw on your shoes or clothes easily and transfer any design with precision. This tracing technique also works perfectly on jackets, bags, and leather or fabric accessories — so you can create endless custom designs!
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