Splatter: three tools, three dot sizes, one rule
Splatter has a reputation as a lazy technique, and in most hands it deserves it. The version that works is a controlled three-tool routine where the dot size, the surface wetness and the count are all decided before the first flick.
Rose — Transparent cool red with a violet lean.
| Pigment | Parts | Hex |
|---|---|---|
| Quinacridone Rose | 3 : 5 (60%) | #C2537A |
| Winsor Violet | 1 : 5 (20%) | #5B3A78 |
| Titanium White Gouache | 1 : 5 (20%) | #F2EFE8 |
- Protect everything you do not want marked. Splatter travels further than you expect — a metre is normal from a stiff brush.
- For fine speckle, load a toothbrush, hold it 20 cm away and draw a palette knife across the bristles toward you.
- For medium dots, load a no. 10 round and tap the ferrule against your index finger, moving across the paper as you tap.
- For large irregular marks, flick the brush downward from 40 cm. The direction of the flick sets the shape.
- Splatter onto a damp surface for soft, blossoming dots, and onto dry paper for hard-edged specks. Both on the same panel gives depth.
- Add a few drops of titanium white gouache last, applied with a rigger, for highlights that read as light rather than texture.
- Stop one pass earlier than feels right. Splatter is the easiest technique to overdo and the hardest to reduce.
Dot size comes from the tool, not the force
Beginners try to make small dots by flicking gently and large dots by flicking hard. That inverts the actual mechanism. Dot size is set by the size of the droplet that leaves the bristles, which is set by bristle spacing and loading — not by how hard you move.
A toothbrush with closely spaced bristles releases droplets around 0.5 mm. A no. 10 round releases droplets around 2 mm. A large squirrel mop flicked from 40 cm releases irregular droplets up to 8 mm. Three tools, three textures, no force variation needed.
Wet surface versus dry surface
A dot landing on a damp surface blooms outward into a soft, irregular star and loses about a third of its value. A dot landing on dry paper stays exactly the size it left the brush and keeps full value.
Using both on the same panel is what makes splatter read as depth rather than as decoration: hard specks sit in front, soft blooms sit behind.
The rule is a count, not a feeling
Decide the number of dots before you start — for a 20 x 28 cm panel, twelve to eighteen is usually plenty — and stop at that number even if it looks sparse. Splatter looks unfinished while the paper is wet and correct when it is dry, so judging it damp always leads to over-application.
White gouache highlights, added last with a rigger, are not splatter. They are opaque marks that will sit on top of everything and cannot be removed; keep them to four or five per panel.
What matters
- Dot size comes from the tool and its loading, not from how hard you flick.
- Splatter on damp paper for soft blooms, on dry paper for hard specks — use both.
- Set a dot count before starting; splatter always looks sparse while wet and correct when dry.
- White gouache highlights are opaque and permanent — four or five per panel, no more.
Handling note — Technique notes only. Aerosol and airbrush splatter methods require respiratory protection; follow the manufacturer's safety data sheet for all pigments and media used.