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10 Painting Techniques To Try in Your Sketchbook
Painting with acrylics can be a fun and hugely creative process for a wide range of artists of all levels and skill sets. The medium supports textural and colour exploration, and it is also a great way to experiment and learn more as you go.
When starting with acrylics, we always recommend focusing on which paper or surface the paint will be applied to. In fact, in our previous blog post, we go into detail about this, so if you'd like to learn more, you can read that here. In short though, high quality acid free cartridge paper is a great starting point. The higher the gsm, the better - 240 gsm textured acrylic paper or 300 gsm smooth papers are brilliant for this media.
But what about when it comes to putting paint to paper? Well, in this blog, we share our top ten acrylic techniques that you can try, to build upon your acrylic skill set. So without further ado, lets get into it!
Dry Brushing
Dry brushing is a technique used to help create visually broken, textured strokes. This lets the paper's surface show through in certain areas, depending on how much you layer your paint up.
How to do this technique:
- Load a small amount of paint onto a stiff, dry brush, then wipe away most of it on a tissue.
- Drag the brush lightly across the page, just enough to catch the tooth of the paper.
But what does effect this create?
It is ideal for adding scratchy highlights on rocks, hair fibres, fur, tree bark, rough walls and much more.
TOP TIP: Use the edges of the brush for finer, sketchy lines and the flat side for broader textures.
Scumbling
Scumbling is a painting technique used to help with layer and depth. It creates thin, semi opaque layers that create texture, atmosphere and soft broken colour effects.
How to do this technique:
- Paint your first layer of paint, A.K.A your underpaint layer and let it dry.
- Take a lighter more opaque colour and load onto a stiff dry brush.
- Scrub the paint in loose circles over the dry underpainted surface.
But what effect does this create?
Scumbling helps soften edges, layer tree foliage, create mist or haze, or even blend skies and backgrounds without overworking them.
TOP TIP: Make sure to allow the original underpainted colour peek through. This helps create depth and atmosphere within your work.
Glazing
Glazing is a technique used to make paintings look glowy with lots of depth! It is a great way to build richness without losing the details that lie beneath your glazed sections.
How to do this technique:
- Thin your paint down with glazing medium until it is transparent but still maintains its colour. It can actually be thinned with water but is not as effective as glazing medium.
- Brush the thinned paint over a fully dry layer of paint, treating this as almost a coloured filter.
- Repeat the process over and over with different colours until the desired effect has been achieved.
But what does this effect create?
Glazing helps shift mood in paintings. Think light warm tones for sunsets and cool tones for shadows. It also can help create glowy effects too, with the help of lighter tones.
TOP TIP: In a sketchbook, try this technique out to test colour relationships before committing to tones on your final work.
Lifting
Just like the name suggests, lifting helps lift or remove wet paint layers. This allows you to build texture, create highlights or correct errors.
How to do this technique:
- Make sure that the area is still damp.
- Get a slightly damp clean brush, tissue or cotton bud, and press it onto the area to lift the paint away.
But what does this effect create?
This technique is great for creating clouds, highlights on water or pulling back any details that have been layered on too dark. It works particularly well with darker washes over light backgrounds.
TOP TIP: On heavier acrylic paper, you can gently scrub small areas to get back to a lighter base.
Sgraffito
Sgraffito refers to scratching into wet paint, revealing the layer beneath.
How to do this technique:
- Apply a wet layer of acrylic paint onto your paper or a dry layer of paint.
- Whilst it's still wet, use the end of a paint brush, palette knife or other pointy tool to scratch lines into the paint.
- Watch as the colour underneath appears as fine marks.
But what does this effect create?
This style of painting is excellent for twigs, grass, hair or even more spontaneous linework within abstract works.
TOP TIP: Make sure to apply a relatively thick layer of paint to make the scratched marks look deeper and more defined.
Impasto Marks
Impasto is all about building thickness and physical texture. This not only makes your paintings super impactful, but adds a physical element too.
How to do this technique:
- Load up your brush or palette knife generously with paint.
- Apply to the page in confident strokes or dabs, letting the paint stand proud of the surface.
- Use movement to build layers, combining colours on the page in thick strokes.
But what does this effect create?
This technique is ideal for building dramatic lighting effects, as once dry, the raised paint creates its own shadows.
TOP TIP: Make sure to test your paper before trying this technique. As it involves a lot of paint layering, a higher grade of paper works best for trying this out.
Wet On Wet Blending
Wet on wet blending is fairy self explanatory. It is where multiple acrylic paints are applied on already wet surfaces, creating smooth colour gradients and softer looks.
How to do this technique:
- Dampen the surface that you are working on with a clean brush or spray bottle.
- Apply two colours to the wet surface, next to each other, whilst they are still wet.
- Blend the colours together with a clean soft brush, creating a smooth transition.
But what does this effect create?
This technique is ideal for skies, sunset and soft backgrounds. It also works really well on 3D models that require colour gradient changes.
TOP TIP: Don't be afraid to mist the paint with water before blending to paint colours together.
Stippling
Stippling is a super satisfying technique, not just to do, but also to see. It involves dabbing a stiff brush onto your paper to create organic looking textures, building dots and tiny marks.
How to do this technique:
- Using a dry stiff brush, load the paint onto the brush.
- Tap the tip of the brush onto the page, as lightly or heavily as required.
- Whilst stippling, cluster the paint together to build dark areas, and less clustered lighter dots for lighter areas.
- Mix colours to create details and tones across your page.
But what does this effect create?
Stippling helps build texture for areas of foliage, textured stones or even distant crowds. This process is highly calming for slower sketchbook sessions when you want to focus on shapes and values.
TOP TIP: Dab an excess paint off your brush before applying to avoid too much texture.
Acrylic Tonal Washes
A tonal wash is a thin layer of watered down acrylic paint, used to establish a colour tone on the page. It helps define a mood or atmosphere when starting a piece.
How to do this technique:
- Dilute down your paint with water or medium to a translucent "tea like" consistency.
- Using a broad brush, spread the paint across your page, making sure to work fast to keep the colour spread consistent on the page.
- Layer the washes to build depth and subtle shifts in colour.
But what does this effect create?
This can be used as a tonal underlayer to build up, or add as a wash to adjust visual mood. Tones such as a burnt sienna is a lovely colour to warm up a scene.
TOP TIP: Acrylic is permanent when dry, so by letting each layer dry between applying washes you will lock them in. This lets you build complex layers without reactivating earlier ones.
Mixed Media Mark Making
Incorporating mixed media into your acrylic paintings is a great way to experiment to see how different media types react together. The visual possibilities are endless by utilising this technique.
How to do this technique:
- Once your acrylic layer is bone dry, draw over it with coloured pencil, pastel, paint pen, or fineliner.
- Try using acrylic as a base tone, then refine shapes and details with dry media on top.
- Combine different media types whilst the paint is in states of wet, damp, tacky and dry.
But what does this effect create?
As mentioned earlier, the possibilities with mixed media are endless. You might build bold blocks of colour with fine details layered on top, or create intricate acrylic pieces enhanced with white and silver pen highlights. Ultimately, it’s all about experimenting to discover your own unique style.
TOP TIP: Limit your palette for a more harmonious end piece. Pick 2–3 main colours plus white or black while you experiment with lots of materials. This means the page doesn’t get visually “noisy.”
Sketchbook Exercise
Turn these techniques into a focused and rewarding sketchbook session by dedicating one double-page spread to each method. Start by writing the technique name at the top, then fill the pages with small test swatches, notes, and mini sketches to explore how it behaves. As you work through each technique, pay attention to what feels most natural and enjoyable.
At the end of your sketchbook, bring everything together by selecting your three favourite techniques and combining them into one final piece. This is a great way to reinforce what you’ve learned while creating something more developed and personal.
SKETCHBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:
For this type of working, we recommend the Splashy Gecko Sketchbook range, which contains 300gsm smooth paper, which will hold your acrylic experiments really well.
We also recommend the PRO Acrylic Pad as the paper is made for acrylic painting, it has a textured surface and the pages can be easily removed for framing or easy scanning to be blown up.
Bringing It All Together
Acrylic painting is all about experimentation, and these techniques are a great way to build confidence while discovering your own style. Whether you're layering glazes, creating bold impasto textures, or keeping things subtle with tonal washes, each method offers something unique to your creative process. The key is to stay curious, keep practicing, and don’t be afraid to combine techniques to see what happens. With the right surface and a willingness to explore, acrylics can open up endless possibilities in your sketchbook work.