I get asked a lot about how I get really clean and proportionate designs onto skulls. Well, here is the trick! Transferring a design onto a skull is super easy using Gloss Gel and saves you the time of drawing everything by hand. You will need Gloss Gel, a paint brush, and a design. Here are the steps.

  1. Prep the Skull

You are going to want to be working with a skull that is clear of dust, dirt, and excessive grease. The design will transfer to most any surface so don’t worry if you have already modified the skull in some way such as a stain or paint.How to transfer a design onto a skull for skull carving

2. Prep the Design

The key here is to print out your design on a lazor printer and print out a mirror image of the design. If you don’t have a lazor printer you can just print it out at Staples or your local office supply store. You are going to want a mirror image of your design because what you see on paper will be flipped once you place it on the skull. Mirroring the image makes the final image transfer pointed in the right direction, especially if you are including words in your design.

Now, you might be wondering how this applies to hand drawn designs. If for whatever reason you have a design you drew and now you want to put it on a skull just simply copy and print it!How to transfer a design onto a skull for skull carving


  1. Apply Gloss Gel

Apply a thin layer of Gloss Gel directly onto your design. The gloss gel will fuse with the ink and harden. The links to the gloss gel are affiliate links, meaning if you choose to buy the gel and click the link to Amazon I will get a few pennies (yes, like 5 cents or something haha) for recommending the product. This just helps, but certainly doesn’t cover, the cost to make the videos and blogs you see here. So, thanks!How to transfer a design onto a skull for skull carving

  1. Place Design onto the Skull

No tricks here, just place the design printed side down and smooth out any bubbles. Spraying or dabbing on some water to the paper makes it more pliable and will help form the design to the contours of the skull.How to transfer a design onto a skull for skull carving

  1. Dry

Let the design dry over night or just however long it takes to completely dry.


  1. Remove the Paper

Apply a wet paper towel to the design and let it soak for a few minutes. Remove the towel and rub the paper lightly with your fingers to loosen the paper. Apply more water as necessary to keep the paper pliable. Remove as much of the paper as you can being careful not to rub off the layer of hardened gel.How to transfer a design onto a skull for skull carving

How to transfer a design onto a skull


And now you are ready to carve! This might seem like a lot of work but once you do it you will see how quick and easy it really is!

Feel free to ask questions! And remember, you won’t learn unless you try, practice makes perfect, and try something new! ~ Hunter