In the Portraits 101 thread we talked about various methods of transfering an outline from a reference to the working paper.

I'm not sure why, but pantographs (wikipedia link ) came to mind today. Has anyone here ever used one for this purpose? Is it a workable technique?

wow .. I remember those in school ...and if I rememebr right they didnt work too bad i kinda liked it .. the one I used was not that big and i am sure the new ones today are just awsome . planning on getting one ?

Nah. I was just bringing it up for discussion as another possible method of transferring an outline.

I remember having a plastic toy one as a kid. I don't recall being terribly impressed with it.
Of course that was mumble years ago, so my memories of the time are probably a bit fuzzy.

I haven't seen one of those in eons! I remember using them as a kid.

If it does the job, then sure, give a whirl. there is such controversy over gridding and tracing, but you'd be surprised how many artists use tools to achieve an accurate outline before they begin their work.

My comment to those who fuss about grids or assists such as tracing or projecting is 'yes, its the secret all art' - hand them some tracing paper or a grid form and let them produce a final image from it. They soon learn its not quite that simple....

I agree Jeanette...people do think if a person traced a picture that it is just so easy ..and called cheating but I have wondered .. they still have to fill it in so why the tracing ? you cant trace shadows and detail . or can you ?
I read a website about a guy who traces but he fills it in .. and his work is outstanding he has to have talent to fill in right ?