The Ultimate Guide to Pairing Art Mediums for Dynamic Effects

Do the words "mixed media" set your pulse racing with anxiety? Are you overwhelmed with all the choices?

Don’t worry it happens to the best of us. There are SO MANY medium options when it comes to mixed media art, it’s no wonder you feel overwhelmed. The key is to remember that you don’t have to use them all. Find three or four of your favorites and practice, practice, practice!

The best thing about mixed media is that anything goes. You can be as free or precise as you want. There’s no pressure to make it look like anything else, so relax and just have fun.

Below you’ll find easy charts to help you learn what mediums work best with what mediums.

Watercolor and Acrylic

It’s best to paint acrylic over watercolor. After mixing watercolor with acrylic they are thicker and become waterproof when dry, meaning they won’t stick.

Watercolor and Gouache

They can be used alone, layered on top of each other, or mixed together without losing any of the aspects you love about watercolor paint or gouache.

Watercolor and Pastels

Pastels cover watercolor layers especially well. Use them to add tints of color or for soft transitioning from one hue to the next.

Acrylic and Oil

It’s better to always paint oil over acrylic and not the other way around. You’ll discover that by doing this you can use tons of techniques that will give you a different look each time.

Acrylic and Pastels

Cover your surface with acrylic. Once it’s completely dry, use pastels over the top.

Craft Acrylic and Pens

Craft acrylics work great on many surfaces, and dry to a waterproof layer so you can use all sorts of pens over them, including ballpoints and fine liners.

Markers and Colored Pencils

Colored pencils are great to smooth out shades, create shadows, increase color richness and sharpen lines, or to add embellishments over marker.

Acrylic and Gel Pens

Use these in the same fashion you’d use pastels over acrylic to create bold marks and brighten up your work.

Gouache and Colored Pencils

Use these together in the same fashion you’d use pencils over markers to create shadows or add embellishments to your work.

Acrylic and Mica Powder

Mica powder is a super fine pigment powder you can mix into acrylic to make your paint look metallic.