Adding Texture to a Collage
Building a collage often incorporates a variety of media and adding three-dimensional effects through texture will enhance the emotional nuances of your piece. With an unlimited array of ideas, tools and materials, any type of texture from the subtle to the severe can be achieved to fit with your artistic vision. Build textures through paints, spackle, sand or any other unorthodox objects a clever mind can bring to the canvas.
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Mixed-Media Collage
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A mixed-media collage should be a combination of any form of expression. Gluing various papers such as tissue, newsprint, magazine, wrapping and foil will add texture to your artwork in the foreground. Experiment with colors and shapes. Crease and crumple your papers or flatten them out and paste them over one another to overlap. Use different types of stock for added effect and tear certain areas for a ripped look. Create visuals for your work by using shredded paper or scatter the collections from a hole punch. Apply any of these items in concert with pencil sketches or paintings on your canvas. Add clay to the mix to take your ideas even further.
Paints, Sealants, Gels and Spackle
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Add texture to a collage by creating splatter effects, drips and clear coat sheens with acrylic paints or sealants. For even stronger results, use stencils to apply heavy molding pastes to build a three-dimensional pattern that can be further enhanced with simple tools, even something as basic as a paper towel roll. Sponge spackle across the canvas for a stucco effect or use an everyday old brush for classic brushstroke textures.
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Assemblage
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The canvas is yours to play with, so adding textures should be as limitless as your imagination. Use everyday objects such as sand, beads, netting, buttons, coins, coarse fabric swatches, small toys and feathers to complement your collage in wild and uninhibited ways. Whether building a collage of strictly these types of items or used in addition to paints and chalks, your unique vision will craft something truly remarkable.
Background Textures
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Keep the textures in the background by covering your canvas with thick acrylic paints and then employ any manner of tools you see fit to create textures. Deep scrapes, strokes and small cuts will craft a canvas that will capture the colors you apply afterward, giving your artwork a rich grain and a backdrop for your vibrant ideas to flourish upon.
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References
- Photo Credit Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
