what to use in place of a palette knife
In this post, my goal is to show you different ways you can use a painting/palette pocketknife in your art journal procedure and requite y'all a few palette pocketknife painting ideas.
But permit's get some confusing terms cleared and out of the style.
What'due south the difference betwixt a palette knife and a painting knife?
The palette knife is usually used for mixing paint on the paint palette.
The painting knife is used for applying paint.
Don't let the terms confuse you. People often interchange these terms, then don't worry well-nigh getting it right. And if you see me use both terms for the same purpose, just know that I'one thousand talking well-nigh painting knives, used for applying pigment.
In art journaling, I've heard and then many artists refer to the painting tool as a palette knife.
What's important is that you tin can paint with it. Period.
Y'all won't exist wrong if you call it the palette pocketknife. After all, they await and then damn similar that it'due south hard to notice the divergence.
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What is a painting/palette pocketknife
A painting knife is a painting tool with a flexible steel blade. Information technology has a pointed tip and the blade comes in different shapes, and some are longer than others. See in the photo below.
The blade is thin and piece of cake to work with while the wooden handle is slightly bent then it lets yous paint without touching the painting with your hand.
Once you lot endeavor painting with a painting pocketknife, yous might leave your brushes for a while because exploring with this knife discovers the ultimate fun state. You just can't get plenty of it.
At outset, I idea the painting knife was out of my league. I didn't even conquer the brush painting notwithstanding, and so I refused to effort the painting knife. Trivial did I know.
Why use a painting knife
This tool is often forgotten due to the all-time-painting-queen, the paintbrush.
In fine art journaling you can freely experiment with your fine art supplies.
And the painting pocketknife gives many opportunities for this.
Yous can create texture
The painting knife is different from the castor because the brush smudges the pigment and the paint looks soft on the newspaper.
On the other hand, when you utilise the painting knife, the strokes are completely different. It doesn't smudge the paint but creates texture with every stroke.
Although you can smudge it by pressing the knife all the fashion down on the newspaper.
Y'all can make interesting lines
The tip of the painting knife is sparse metal (or plastic) which you can utilise to make lines, shapes or even doodles in moisture paint.
Basically, you selection upwardly some paint with the knife and it creates texture.
You lot can mix paint with it
Just until recently, I tried mixing acrylic pigment with a brush. It can be done, merely the paint would always stay on the brush, so it took me longer to mix colors.
At times, it was even frustrating.
I just thought I could showtime painting and so I would notice there was still paint on the brush that wasn't mixed and it made me crazy. The colors weren't mixed well, the way I wanted.
Merely when I tried doing this with the painting knife, things got a lot easier.
Painting knives clean hands
There'due south nothing more I hate than cleaning my tools when I piece of work in my journal. This has always been so slow for me.
(My stencils are painted all over considering I'm too lazy to make clean, or I forget to do that.)
Nonetheless, the painting pocketknife is merely the thing for you lazy artists like me. When you're done using it, only wipe the pigment with a paper towel. Information technology's literally merely one motility.
I love the simplicity of this.
Where to buy a painting knife?
You tin find it in virtually every craft store or art supplies store.
They frequently come in sets and then you get dissimilar shapes and lengths all at once.
Some other good thing about them is that they're not expensive at all.
I take a set similar to this one here, and I've been happy with using it for years. I suggest you purchase a pocket-size set like this and experiment with painting knives.
What kind of paint do y'all use on a painting knife?
I've tried using acrylic pigment and I must say the effects are amazing.
Acrylic paint is thick enough so you tin can choice it upward with the painting knife and smudge it over the paper.
The paint creates great texture on its own, then using it with the painting knife adds more to the magic, and creates a unique texture.
Another matter I've tried is to use my painting knife to disperse ink on my pages. You'll come across this afterward in the case techniques for using the painting knife.
What can I use instead of the painting pocketknife?
If you don't have a painting pocketknife, y'all tin use an old credit card. It's sturdy plenty to give you similar strokes, but you lot don't accept the ease of property it like with the pocketknife, and that may result in your hand smudging the pigment on your work.
You lot can also create the same texture as with the painting pocketknife by using the corners of the credit card. The corners are very similar to the bract tops of the painting knife.
I've used my old credit cards for applying pigment and they do a dandy chore.
Palette knife painting drying time
When yous exercise palette knife painting, you lot apply thick layers of pigment and they need more than time to dry. The thicker your paint, the more fourth dimension information technology takes to dry.
If you brand a textured background with the palette knife and acrylics, having a lot of thick pigment in places, leave it to dry for hours.
I sometimes dry information technology with my oestrus gun, but it slows the drying procedure only for a little flake.
How to clean the palette knife?
This is the easiest thing ever and you can do information technology chop-chop and return to your piece of work correct abroad.
Right after you're done with the knife, only accept a paper towel or a material and remove the pigment while it'south notwithstanding wet. And that's information technology.
However, if you don't do this, acrylic pigment will dry on the pocketknife and it'll exist a nuisance to make clean information technology afterward. And you tin't use the knife properly if there'due south paint on it. It ruins your strokes.
Trust me, I used to neglect my painting knives until I threw a few of them subsequently trying to scrape off the dry paint. It just isn't worth your time and attempt.
On the other paw, this can work keen if you want wonky texture in your strokes and would similar to experiment. Then, past all ways, leave some paint on the knife and try it out.
Palette knife painting ideas and techniques
For these techniques and ideas, I'll be using the gear up as in the photo beneath.
Other supplies I used are:
Acrylic paint
Stencils
Ink (I used Jane Davenport's Ink)
Palette knife + relief paste + a stencil
Palette knives are excellent tools when you lot want to create texture with relief paste and a stencil.
Relief paste is used to create a 3D effect or some kind of texture. Information technology's thick and when dried, the effect is awesome.
When I do a mixed media folio I often starting time with using relief paste with these ii tools.
What makes the palette knife great for this technique is its handle and the blade. You tin can easily apply the relief paste over the stencil evenly and accept a smooth finish on superlative.
Palette knife + stencil + acrylic pigment
I love using stencils with palette knives. But deport in mind that for this technique to work, your paint must be thick, so don't water down your acrylics.
Also, I've found that you tin can become the best results if you use stencils that have 1 open shape, like a circumvolve, for case, without whatever details on information technology.
That's why I generally use my human effigy stencils for this. If yous want to endeavour them out, sign in below and download information technology for free.
Heave YOUR Inventiveness WITH HUMAN FIGURES STENCILS
For this technique, I love using 2 or more colors considering they mix beautifully and create a "flowing" look on the paper.
Palette knife painting with acrylic paint
This is a keen way to brand a background.
Different the paintbrush, the palette pocketknife instantly creates texture when you use the paint on the paper. And the drier the pocketknife gets, the more interesting the strokes become.
This creates a grungy feel, a messy and loose background which I love.
And there's no right or wrong way to make this. Only take the palette knife and smudge some paint all over your fine art journal folio.
You lot tin can add more than colors on top. Experiment with that but be conscientious not to smudge all the pigment at once and brand it a brownish color (which y'all go if you mix as well many colors together).
Exit the first layer to dry before adding another layer of paint.
Tip: Calculation white pigment in the end creates a lighter feel, and tones downwards the color a flake. This way, you tin go a softer and more distressed expect.
Creating strokes
Now the palette pocketknife becomes so versatile because of its shapes and lengths.
Yous can create strokes like to the ones fabricated with a brush only y'all can also experiment with the business firm/light strokes.
In the photo below, you can see different strokes I made with different palette knives.
The strokes on the left have plenty acrylic paint, and the ones on the right are drier and distressed considering my palette knife was already by and large dry.
Imagine different flowers you tin can pigment with these strokes. Recollect of petals or leaves to paint using two colors and a palette knife.
Creating lines
Once you've practical the pigment on the paper, apply the tip of the knife and try making lines. You lot should do this while the pigment is still moisture.
This manner, you lift some paint and create texture, likewise.
That'due south what I did in the prototype below.
Palette knife painting with ink
I tried using the palette knife with ink.
Try making round shapes with ink and then employ the pocketknife to make lines with information technology. It's like spreading the ink around with the pocketknife.
The details you'll get are thin lines and strokes.
You can get in any management yous want, using directly or curvy lines.
On the other mitt, if you use the whole surface of the palette knife and spread the ink like that, you'll become something like this.
Notice the distressed ink spread at the bottom of the page.
Also, if you add together another colour and spread that ink besides, yous can create interesting abstract shapes.
Mine looks similar an alien from an conflicting invasion movie, but the process of making this makes me happy and I don't care I have an conflicting on my page.
Merely play with it.
Palette knife painting tips
Hither are some final tips for using the palette/painting knife.
Don't worry about the terminology. Utilise painting knives for this purpose, but but recall that people refer to information technology as a palette knife as well.
- Clean the knife right after yous use it. This volition save y'all fourth dimension, money, and patience.
- Experiment with different amounts of pigment, stencils, and strokes.
- If you put thick paint on the paper, give it enough time to dry out.
- Experiment with the tip of the knife but too with the whole blade.
- Use the painting knife to create distressed or grungy backgrounds.
- If you don't take the knife, try using an old credit carte du jour.
Rock YOUR Art Periodical PAGES Even IF
THE BLANK PAGE TERRIFIES You
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Source: https://artfulhaven.com/palette-knife-painting-ideas/
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