Create Easy Framed Line Art With One Viral Marker Hack
Decorating your home with beautiful artwork doesn't have to be expensive. You don't need to be a professional to recreate line art and frame it for your walls. The only skill you have to harness is how to trace. Line art is a type of minimalist drawing, so you won't have to mimic any complex pieces. Instead, the art is composed of a singular line that depicts a two-dimensional object. Then it's placed over a solid background to stand out in the frame.
TikTok user @diy_karo_moek demonstrated a hack — which has since gone viral — that can bring life to any old frame that needs a purpose. If you have any lying around that need a photo to hold, you can reuse them for line art. Then you'll end up spending almost no money on beautiful decor for your home since all you'll need to buy is a marker and something for the background.
Another option is thrifting a frame and giving it a new life on your walls. This hack is so easy and customizable. You can change the art, background, or frame to fit your personal decor style. Once you have your supplies, it'll only take a few minutes before the line art is ready to hang on your walls.
Prep your frame and choose your tracing art
Before drawing your line art, you need to prep the frame. In their TikTok video, Karo showed how to make two pieces with simple 8 ¼ inch by 11 ¾ inch white frames. That said, any style and size will work. The first thing you'll need to do is clean the glass. You can use some soapy water or glass cleaner. If you're using a commercial spray, choose the ammonia-free option in case your frame uses plexiglass instead of regular glass. Then open the frame and remove any picture or tag sitting inside, along with the glass. Now that it's free, you can clean the other side of it.
The next step in this hack is to decide what line art you want to do. You can either freehand your own design or find something online to trace. Karo printed photos of a woman and a Monstera leaf to draw over. Remember that after you draw the art, the glass will invert the image and show it mirrored when you put it in the frame. However, you only need to worry about this if you include words. Then use a piece of painter's tape to adhere the paper to the glass, and you're ready to start tracing.
Use an oil-based marker to draw your line art
The one necessity for this hack is the type of marker you use. It needs to be an oil-based marker so it sticks to the glass. Karo said they used an Edding 750 white paint marker to create the line art in their TikTok video. With your paper in place, draw right onto the glass, tracing the design underneath it. You can erase any mistakes with acetone soaked into a Q-tip or paintbrush. After you're done, the marker will only take a few minutes to dry. Then you can take off the paper and decide on your background.
There are endless options to choose from. You can leave it with simple white cardstock or black if you use a white marker. Karo chose to use some jute fabric to give theirs more of a warm, earthy feeling. Other options include textured craft paper and wrapping paper. As long as you like it, it makes the line art stand out, and it fits in your frame — it'll work.
Then use the previous picture or the glass as a template to cut the background. To reassemble everything, place the glass with the painted side inside the frame. That way, you don't accidentally wipe it away the next time you clean the frame. Then place the background in, put the back on, and your line art is ready to adorn the walls in your home.