If you've been wondering whether you can paint with acrylics directly on paper, the answer is yes, and it's one of my favourite ways to paint.
Painting on paper is lower stakes than canvas, more portable, and honestly a lot more fun. It's where I do most of my experimenting, and it's how I've improved faster than almost anything else I've tried.
In this tutorial, I'll walk you through everything you need to know to get started, using a misty Rocky Mountains landscape as the example. We'll cover how to prep your paper, build up layers, mix colours on a limited palette, and handle some of the most common beginner mistakes.
If you'd like my full video tutorial, you can watch it below:
Why Paint with Acrylic on Paper?
Canvas gets a lot of attention, but paper is where I think most beginners should start. Here's why.
When you paint on a canvas you plan to keep or sell, the stakes feel high. Every decision gets second-guessed. But on paper, the pressure is off. If something goes wrong, you cover it up and try again. That freedom changes how you paint, and it changes how fast you improve.
A sketchbook with 48 pages, both sides, is a lot of practice. And something I've learned after more than a decade of painting is that making more work almost always beats agonizing over fewer pieces. Paper makes that easy.
What You'll Need
Sketchbook
I use a watercolour paper sketchbook, which is stiff enough to resist warping and doesn't stick easily between pages. Look for something with heavier weight paper (140lb/300gsm is ideal). I personally use the Strathmore Watercolor Journal (cold press paper) or the Stillman & Birn Zeta Series (hot press paper). Please note that all links are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase a product.
Paint Colours
For this painting I used:
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Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)
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Ultramarine Blue (Red Shade)
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Burnt Umber
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Quinacridone Magenta
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Titanium White
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Other Supplies
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Gesso
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Liquid acrylic paint (for the primer mix)
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Foam brush (for priming)
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Frog Tape or delicate-strength painter's tape
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Artist-grade acrylic paint
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How to Paint on Paper with Acrylic: Step by Step
Step 1: Tape Off the Pages
Start by taping off the edges of your pages with Frog Tape or a delicate-strength painter's tape. This gives you clean edges and helps prevent the paper from buckling as you work.
Step 2: Prime the Pages with Gesso
Mix gesso, a small amount of liquid acrylic paint, and water in a bowl. Apply it to the pages using a foam brush. This step does three things:
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Trains the paper to lie flat
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Seals the tape edges so paint doesn't bleed underneath
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Slows the drying time slightly, giving you more working time
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I prefer a foam brush here because it doesn't leave ridges, which gives you a smooth surface to work from.
Step 3: Paint Your Drawing On
Instead of sketching with graphite, I paint my drawing directly onto the primed page. I mix burnt umber, ultramarine blue, and titanium white to create a mid-tone, then sketch the composition loosely with a brush.
Graphite can be messy and dark, and even with fixative it tends to show through. A light painted sketch is much easier to integrate into the final painting, and more forgiving if you need to make changes.
Pro tip: If your proportions are off, just mix up a fresh primer, cover the area, and try again. This is the beauty of working in a sketchbook.
Step 4: Block In the Sky
For the sky, I used phthalo blue (red shade), burnt umber, and titanium white. One thing to watch: even the red shade of phthalo can pull green when mixed with burnt umber. I ended up adding some ultramarine blue to correct the colour, which meant my palette had two blues instead of one. Sometimes that's just what the painting needs.
When blending a sky, focus on simplification. You don't need to paint every cloud. Paint only the most important forms, the ones that are really reading in the composition, and let the rest go.
Step 5: Build the Mountains with Atmospheric Perspective
Atmospheric perspective is one of the most important concepts in landscape painting. The basic rule: objects in the distance should be lighter, cooler, lower contrast, and less detailed. This tricks the eye into reading depth.
In this painting:
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The middle mountain was painted cooler, softer, with edges blending into the sky
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The closer mountains were slightly darker and more detailed, with greens added to the lower slopes
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Contrast increases the closer an object gets to the viewer
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Step 6: Build the Foreground with an Underpainting
Before adding any green to the foreground, block in a layer of burnt umber underneath. Green is a naturally transparent colour, and without a supporting layer it goes on streaky and weak. The warm burnt umber also reinforces atmospheric perspective, since warmer, higher-contrast areas read as closer to the viewer.
For the trees and bushes on the left, I added quinacridone magenta to the underpainting to create a rich purple base. Red is complementary to green, so this warm underpainting makes the greens in the second layer really pop.
Understanding opacity matters as much as colour mixing. You could mix the perfect colour and have it look see-through and weak on the page if the layer underneath isn't properly supporting it.
Step 7: Add the Mist
Mountain mist is darker and greyer than the sky, which makes sense since it's further from the light source. Start with a mid-tone and build slowly. The temptation is to go too light too fast, which pulls focus and breaks the realism.
Resist the urge to copy every detail from your reference photo. Adding too much detail into the mist, like trees breaking through, overcrowds the midground and works against the feeling of atmosphere. Keep the forms simple and let the mist read as a soft, unified mass.
Step 8: Add Final Details to the Foreground
In the second layer, add depth and detail to the trees on the left and the highway in the centre. Be selective. Details that don't serve the composition, like the road barrier markings in my reference photo, are worth leaving out. If a detail competes with your focal point instead of supporting it, skip it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to prime my sketchbook pages before painting with acrylic?
Yes. Priming with a mix of gesso, liquid acrylic, and water helps the paper lie flat, slows the drying time slightly, and gives you a better surface to work from. I apply it with a foam brush to avoid ridges.
Will the pages in my acrylic sketchbook stick together?
It depends on your materials. I use a watercolour paper sketchbook with stiff pages, and paint in thin layers with artist-grade paint, which contains more pigment and less acrylic binder. On single-page paintings, sticking is a non-issue. On double-page spreads, I sometimes get a small amount of sticking near the binding. For me, that's an acceptable trade-off.
What sketchbook do you use for acrylic painting?
I use a watercolour paper sketchbook with heavier weight paper, which handles acrylic well and resists buckling. My specific book is the Strathmore Watercolor Journal.
Can I use graphite pencil to sketch in my acrylic sketchbook?
You can, but I prefer to paint my sketch on instead. Graphite is dark and can show through paint layers. A light painted sketch in a neutral tone is easier to integrate into the final painting and more forgiving if you need to make changes.
What is atmospheric perspective and why does it matter in landscape painting?
Atmospheric perspective is the practice of making distant objects lighter, cooler, lower contrast, and less detailed to exaggerate the feeling of depth. It's one of the most important principles in landscape painting because it's what makes a scene feel like you could walk into it.
How do I stop my greens from looking streaky in acrylic?
Block in a layer of burnt umber underneath before adding any green. Green is a transparent colour and needs a supporting layer. The warm undertone of the burnt umber also enriches the greens in the second layer.
Final Thoughts
Painting on paper with acrylic is one of the best things you can do as a beginner. It's low cost, low pressure, and it builds your skills faster than almost anything else. Every page teaches you something.
If you want to follow along with this Rocky Mountains painting, the full video tutorial is on YouTube.
Happy painting!
xx Marianne
Want to master acrylic painting techniques? Take your skills to the next level with my comprehensive online courses. Learn with me in Color Mixing With Acrylic or Painting Flowers In Acrylic - or save 25% when you bundle both courses.