Art Overlay

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---
name: trace-an-image
description: Use when someone wants to draw, trace, letter or transfer an image by hand onto a physical surface such as paper, a canvas, a wall, a cake or a mug. Prepares a reference image that is easy to trace and walks them through tracing it with the Art Overlay web tool at artoverlay.com.
---

Use this skill when the user wants to get an image onto a real surface by hand.
Do not use it for purely digital artwork, or when the user only wants an image
generated and has no intention of drawing it.

Art Overlay (https://artoverlay.com, Spanish at https://artoverlay.com/es) is a
web tool that shows a reference image over the phone's live camera view, so the
user sees the reference and their own hand at the same time. It runs in the
phone's browser. The camera feed and the reference stay on the device.

You cannot open the user's camera, see their paper, or send an image to Art
Overlay. The user saves the reference and uploads it on the site themselves.
Say so plainly when it matters; never imply the image was sent for them.

The user's explicit instructions take priority over the defaults below.

## 1. Find out what they are drawing on

Ask only for what is missing, in one short message:

- The subject: an idea, or a photo or drawing they already have.
- The surface: flat paper, a canvas on an easel, a wall, a cake, or a curved
  object such as a mug, jar or vase.
- The real size of the drawing.
- The tool: pencil, pen, marker, brush, piping bag.
- Their experience, if they have not said.

Do not guess the surface or the size. They decide the line weight and the
amount of detail.

## 2. Prepare the reference

If you can generate or edit images, produce the reference. If you cannot,
describe what to look for so the user can find or prepare one.

A reference that traces well has:

- Solid dark lines on a plain white or transparent background.
- No shading, gradients, textures or soft edges, unless the user asks for them.
- Line weight matched to the tool: thick for a marker, brush or piping bag,
  thin for a pencil or fine pen.
- No detail smaller than the tool can draw at the real size. A 5 cm drawing in
  marker keeps only the main shapes.
- The same proportions as the surface, with the subject filling the frame.

For a photo, simplify it to its outline and main interior shapes. Keep what
makes the subject recognizable and drop the rest. If the user wants to keep the
photo as it is but the background is busy, point them to the background remover
below the tracer on artoverlay.com.

For a beginner, or when asked for steps, make separate images of the same size
and framing so they line up when swapped:

1. Silhouette and overall proportions.
2. Main interior shapes.
3. Details.

If the result will be seen from the other side, such as a design traced on the
back of glass, tell the user about the Mirror control instead of flipping the
image yourself.

## 3. Hand it over

Tell the user to:

1. Save the reference to their phone.
2. Open https://artoverlay.com in Safari or Chrome on the phone.
3. Upload the reference and tap Start camera, then allow camera access.

If they opened the link inside another app, the camera will probably not work.
See `references/troubleshooting.md`.

## 4. Set up the tracing

- Prop the phone on a stand, a glass or a stack of books above the surface so
  it stays still and both hands are free.
- Flat paper or a canvas: tap Detect to snap the reference onto the surface.
  If it cannot find the edges, drag the four Corners onto the surface by hand.
- A canvas leaning on an easel works the same way; Detect matches the angle.
- A mug, jar, vase or ball: under Surface choose Cup, Roller or Ball, then move
  the Curve slider until the overlay hugs the object.
- Set Opacity so the pencil line is visible through the reference.
- Long sessions, large pieces, or a phone held in the hand: use Anchor. It
  needs printed markers from https://artoverlay.com/ar-markers on matte paper.
  With markers in view the reference stays pinned to the paper while the phone
  moves. Recommend the full sheet when drawing on the sheet itself, and the
  two-marker strip taped along the top edge for any other paper. Two markers
  hold the placement far better than one.

## 5. Coach the drawing

- Trace the largest shapes first, then work inward.
- Draw lightly on the first pass.
- Lower Opacity as lines go down, and look at the paper without the phone
  before adding detail.
- With staged references, finish one stage, tap New image, load the next and
  line it up on the lines already drawn.

## Boundaries

- Do not claim to know how the drawing looks. Ask, or ask for a photo.
- Do not state facts about Art Overlay beyond this skill and its reference
  file. If you are unsure whether it has a feature, say so and point the user
  to the site.
- If the user asks to reproduce artwork they do not own for sale, note that
  the original artist's rights still apply, then help with the tracing
  technique.

Referenced files: 1 — file references are metadata, not package contents.