Acrylic blending techniques: wet blending, layering, dry brushing and glazing

TUREFF• •0

The most common complaint about acrylic paint is that it will not blend. Paint dries in minutes, leaving hard edges where you wanted a soft transition. You cannot make acrylics behave exactly like oils, but you can get smooth gradients, soft edges and rich texture once you know the four main ways to blend.

Before you start: slow things down

Use a stay-wet palette so your mixes do not skin over.
Keep a spray bottle to mist the palette and, lightly, the canvas.
A small amount of retarder or a slow-drying medium buys you more time.
Work in smaller sections so you finish blending each area before it dries.
Avoid a warm, dry room or painting in direct sunlight.

1. Wet blending (wet into wet)

Two colours are put down next to each other and blended while both are still wet.

Lay down the first colour with plenty of paint.
Immediately lay the second colour next to it, slightly overlapping.
With a clean, damp brush, stroke back and forth across the join, then lightly along it.
Wipe the brush often so you do not drag one colour too far into the other.

Tips: a soft synthetic flat or filbert works best, and a wider brush hides strokes. Skies and backgrounds suit this approach.

2. Layering (blending with intermediate mixes)

Instead of blending on the canvas, you mix steps between the two colours on the palette.

Mix three to five steps from colour A to colour B.
Paint them in bands, each slightly overlapping the next.
Once dry, go back and soften the joins with a further thin layer of the in-between mix.

This is slower but very controllable, and it works even when the paint dries fast. Several thin layers usually look smoother than one thick one.

3. Dry brushing

Dry brushing uses very little paint on a dry brush to create broken, textured strokes.

Load a stiff brush with a little paint, then wipe most of it off on a paper towel.
Drag it lightly across the surface so the paint catches only on the raised texture.

Use it for grass, wood grain, fur, rocks, weathered surfaces, and to soften a hard edge by dragging a little of one colour across it. It also works well for highlights on texture.

4. Glazing

Glazing uses thin, transparent layers over dry paint, so light passes through each layer and mixes the colours optically.

Make sure the underlayer is dry.
Mix a little transparent colour with a glazing medium or fluid medium.
Brush on thinly with a soft brush.
Build up several glazes to deepen colour, unify a painting or create a soft gradient.

Glazing is one of acrylics' strengths: because each layer dries quickly, you can build many in a single session.

Other techniques worth trying

Scumbling: thin, lighter, semi-opaque paint scrubbed over a darker dry layer, softening and hazing it.
Feathering: very light strokes with an almost dry soft brush, along a join, to break a hard line.
Stippling: dabbing with the brush tip to blend colours in dots, useful for foliage.
Sgraffito: scratching into wet paint to reveal the layer below.

Common problems and fixes

Streaks: the paint is too thin or the brush too stiff. Use a flow improver or fluid medium, and more paint.
Hard lines that will not blend: the paint dried too soon. Use the layering or glazing method instead of fighting it.
Chalky, dull blends: overworking half-dry paint lifts and roughens it. Let it dry, then go over it.
Colours look different dry: acrylics usually dry a little darker; test on a scrap.

A practice exercise

Paint four small rectangles from dark blue to white, one with each method. You will quickly see which technique suits which job. Which blending method works best for you? Share your tips or problem areas in the comments below.