If you have been anxious to try the acrylic swipe technique, then you are in the right place because I have 3 different tutorials for you to choose from. Yes, the swipe technique can be a little harder than other beginner techniques, however, if you follow these tutorials, it will become much easier to become a master at it.
As you already know, I always try to give you a complete list of tools and materials (at the bottom of this page) that you will need for these projects. However, because I am bringing you a list of 3 separate projects, I am only going to offer a general list of materials that are most often used in acrylic swipes.
Just look at the corresponding video of the project you want to do, to find out what else you might need!!!
But before we go into the tutorials, let's talk about the basics of a swipe.
How Do You Do the Swipe Technique?
The whole idea of this technique is to swipe one color over several other colors to create cells.
Some artists add a few drops of silicone oil into their paint mixes to encourage cell formation.
Other artists simply take advantage of the density of paint to create cells. They swipe a paint that has a higher density (like titanium white or black) over other paints with lower density. The higher density color will sink and the lower density colors will rise to the surface. This will create cells in their pour painting.
Here is a quick video that shows an overview of what the swipe technique is.
What To Use for Acrylic Swipe?
Now let's talk about what is a good acrylic pour swipe tool. The answer is simple...
You can use pretty much anything to do the swiping... plastic sheet, paper towel (like in the video above), piece or cardboard, a spatula, etc.
Now that you know the basics of the swipe technique, let's go into the tutorials.
Swipe Painting Tutorial #1
This black and blue acrylic pouring swipe technique with negative space by Tiktus Color is beautiful! He doesn't talk in his video, but he does include in his video description some instructions and a list of materials he used.
He doesn't mention what brands or colors of acrylic paint he used. He only mentions that you need acrylic paint, Liquitex pouring medium, a little bit of water to make the paint more fluid, and a few drops of silicone oil in the colorful paint mixes (not the black paint) for making big cells.
Here is his acrylic pouring recipe:
- 1 part color
- 1 part Pouring Medium
- 1/2 part of water
*Important, the canvas must first be primed with Acrylic Pouring Medium or paint, otherwise the edges absorb too much paint.
You might also be wondering "how much paint do I need for an acrylic swipe?" Tiktus Color recommends to use approximately 0.3 grams of paint mixture per square centimeter of painting surface.
Swipe Painting Tutorial #2
If you are looking for a tutorial of acrylic swipe for beginner, then this tutorial from Olga Soby is perfect for you!
She used pre-mixed pouring paints by Artist Loft which makes the process easy and almost fail-proof. These paints create PERFECT Cells! YAY
Olga also added 2 drops of silicone oil into each of her paints.
For the swiping tool, she used plain plastic wrap. However, she mentioned that it was a little bit hard to swipe with it because it was such a big canvas. So I recommend that you swipe with something that is more solid, like a piece of cardboard or acetate sheet, or at least something that doesn't stick to itself like a shelf liner.
Swipe Painting Tutorial #3
This amazing painting by COZ Creations Art is pretty simple. I love the colors she used and the way that she swiped her paint.
And guess what? She didn't use any silicone oil to create cells. It still turned out beautiful!
Her acrylic swipe recipe for her pouring medium consists of 75% Floetrol and 25% GAC 800 by Golden.
Her base color is Artist Loft Black mixed with Phthalo Blue.
The top colors are Golden, Iridescent Silver, and Iridescent Pearl from the Golden brand, and Peacock Pearl from Decoart Metallics.
All she did was swipe some of the base color over all her other colors with some flexible plastic cut in different sizes.
I really enjoyed her tutorial.
Summary
That is it for our 3 acrylic swipe technique painting tutorials.
Hope you are brave enough to take the plunge to try doing one of these paintings. Watching those cells magically appear is absolutely addicting and worth the fails that you might encounter while trying to become a master of swipe pours.
Don't forget to take a look at the following supplies you might need for your paint pouring project!!! Feel free to pick and choose what you need for your own project.