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Step 1
Use a wide brush, water and water-soluble paint to start. Experiment with mixing water into the paint and brushing the paint onto watercolor or canvas paper. Layer colors on top of one another by simply rinsing your brush, diluting another color of paint and painting directly on top of the other color. Avoid oversaturating the paper.
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Step 2
Invest in a stay-wet palette for acrylics. An easy way to keep your paints wet is to use a moisture retaining palette. This type of palette keeps your paints from drying out and will make washes easier by adding moisture to the paint and giving you more time to work.
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Step 3
Experiment with different acrylic mediums to create transparency effects and washes like a gel medium and gloss medium. Also, surfactants such as a flow release will reduce surface tension, thus making your paint move easier on the canvas or paper while creating a translucent effect.
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Step 4
Try acrylic retarders to slow down drying time. Washes comprised of diluted paint in water will dry much faster than paint alone because the water absorbs into the canvas or paper.
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Step 5
Go light to dark just like with watercolor. If you create a dark wash, and you follow it by applying a yellow wash, the end result will turn muddy because the moisture in the wash color will pick up and mix with the paint beneath.
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Step 6
Create area washes and background washes by applying transparent washes in stages. Using your lighter colors first, you can create gradients or unique color effects by putting washes next to each other and blending the edges on the page.
