Virtually, all wood burning patterns can be transferred into the wood. You can create your own personal wood burning designs or you can choose one of the many we have here to share with you.
Beginners may find it easier to get familiar with the art of pyrography using wood burning patterns that have mostly straight lines and simple shapes. More advanced wood burners will probably prefer intricate designs and drawings that represent a challenge. If you’re just starting, choose one of our designs and leave the complicated ones for later.
We are going to discuss different methods to transfer your wood burning pattern on a wooden support. And we will offer you woodburning ideas to create unique pieces of art you can be proud of. Finally, we will help you choose the best possible designs and help you make professional looking and beautiful wood burning crafts.
Choosing a wood burning pattern
There are a few tips to choose the best wood burn designs for your project depending on your level of expertise.
If you’re a beginner, you should look for simple designs that have mostly straight lines and thick ones, for that matter. As well, you better avoid wood burning designs that require you to do shading or complicated details. You can get into that further down the line when you are most familiar with your wood burning pen and what each tip can do.
If this is the first pattern you’re trying to do, practice for a while in the back of your piece of wood or on a discarded piece. This will help you have a feeling for how fast you have to trace with your wood burning pen. Also, you will have better control of your pen and what you can do with it.
We have a great selection of patterns that you can try whatever your level of expertise is.
Matching the wood
An important step when thinking about the wood burning patterns you want to create is considering the wood you’re going to use.
Different types of wood have their own characteristics and some may force you to work slower or faster, while others may have grains that will condition your design.
So once you have the pattern you want to wood burn, you need to look at the pieces of wood you have available or the support you want to transfer your design on. Does it work with your pattern? Will the grains look good with your design, or will they take attention away from your drawing?
Knowing the characteristics of the wood you’re using to burning your wood burning templates is imperative to be ready while working. Once your pen is hot and you’re dragging it on the wood you will not have a lot of time to think. Even if some mistakes can be corrected, it’s easier to be prepared.
Hardwood will require you to work slower, since it takes longer to burn. On the other hand, softwood burns faster and you will need to trace your lines a bit more quickly to avoid ruining your wood burning designs.
Easy wood burning patterns for beginners
There is virtually an infinite number of wood burning patterns to be found online. And the best part it’s that you can personalize them and adapt them to the object you’re burning in order to make your wood burning piece absolutely unique.
So, you can use these wood burning ideas as inspiration to create your own personalized designs.
Even if you choose wood burning patterns and decide not to change them, that’s absolutely fine. Each artist has its own style, speed, and working form. That’s why your piece, even when using a popular design that others have used before, you will be imprinting your own personal signature on your piece of art.
Each wood burner adds its own interpretation to the piece of art they are working with.
But, how do I know if a pattern is easy enough for a beginner?
First of all, you need to make sure the wood you have is appropriate for the wood burning patterns you want to create.
Next, you need to check your wood burning pen is working well and that you have the tips that are necessary for the design you want to burn on the wood.
Now all your tools are ready, look carefully at your design. Little details will be hard to achieve if your technical level is low or you haven’t done much wood burning yet.
The size of your design is also important to consider. Bigger wood burning patterns will be easy to achieve, obtaining a more natural and pleasant look, and more professional finishing.
Symmetry is another aspect that needs to be taken into consideration when preparing your wood burning designs. Make sure you have enough space on your table to move around h=your piece of wood and work comfortably.
How to transfer wood burning patterns to wood
There are different options when transferring your design on a piece of wood.
The first one we are going to discuss may be more challenging but also more appropriate for those that have a creative side and are good at drawing.
The second one is the favorite among fans of wood burning whatever their level of expertise. Using carbon paper, we can create a clean design on the wood that will be easier to follow with your wood burning pen. It’s also a great way to make sure all the details of your design are reproduced on the wood. And it’s also really easy to do!
The last method we are going to talk about is the use of stencils. This is another very popular way of transferring your wood burning patterns onto the wood.
Hand-free designs
As the name suggests, this technique means that you will draw directly on the wood with a pencil.
This method may be easier to do on hardwood, since on softer types of wood your pencil trace will leave an indentation on the wood that will later be a challenge when burning.
We don’t particularly recommend this technique for beginners. But, if you’re a good drawer or very creative, or if you want to create a unique wood burning pattern, it may be the right choice for you.
You can always use an eraser to get rid of the parts of the design you don’t need. Just make sure your pencil lines are superficial or you may end up needed to sand the wood a bit more.
Transfer your design onto the wood
- Print the wood burning design of our choice
- Use carbon paper to transfer it on the wood
- Check the pattern and get ready to burn
The first step of this process requires a computer. Find the wood burning designs you want to transfer onto the wood and print them in the correct size for your project.
There are different programs that will allow you to change the size of your design if necessary.
Next, we need to get the piece of wood we are going to use ready. Remember to sand it and clean it so it’s ready for burning.
You will also need a piece of carbon or graphite paper that you will position between the wood and the printed pattern.
With a pencil, you want to follow all the borders of your wood burning pattern. Don’t forget any details and make sure you’re not applying too much pressure (so you don’t create indentations on the wood).
That’s it! Take out the pattern and carbon paper, which you can reuse as many times as you want! The design is now drawn on the wood and you’re ready to get started with your wood burning project!
Wood burning stencils
Using stencils has been one of the most popular methods to transfer your wood burning patterns onto wood for a very long time.
Stencils can be on paper or plastic and you just have to position them on the piece of wood you want to use as support and use a pencil to trace the pattern on the wood.
It’s an easy method, but not our favorite since there is still some space for error. It may be a good option for those looking to combine different patterns on one design.
Other methods
There are other options if you don’t have carbon paper at home or the stencil you want. These home-made solutions require a bit of care and are definitely not the best.
Using an iron it’s possible to transfer a printed design on wood. Just heat up the iron (with care!) and iron the design on the wood using the whole base of the iron. With a tool take out the design and repeat until is fully transferred. Be careful not to get burned!
An easy solution, if you don’t have any carbon or graphite paper, is to use a pencil and colored all the back of your printer design. You may not be able to use these printed patterns as many times as if you were doing it like another way. Then just proceed as if you were transferring your design with carbon paper. This is an easy DIY solution that could save time and get you burning even without everything that you need!
