Ecoline vs. Acrylic: Materials Test for White Splatters

Do you also believe that adding a touch of white enhances your illustrations or artwork? If you’re into realistic drawing or seek a neater finish, a white Posca pen or a gelliroll can be your go-to choice.

However, if you prefer expressive art or enjoy mixed media, using a pen might not be exciting enough. You’ll need a more fluid material to achieve spontaneous splatters. So, which material should you choose? Let’s explore the options.

The Products

My first thought was regular acrylic paint. It’s opaque and can be applied to almost any surface.


However, standard acrylic paint might still be too thick if you want to splatter it (e.g., for creating a galaxy sky) or get beautiful “accidental” drops on your artwork.


Luckily, there are solutions, such as thinning it with water, using pouring mediums, or opting for ready-made pouring paint or acrylic ink. For this test, I used Amsterdam Acrylic Ink, Art Creation acrylic paint diluted with water, and inexpensive ready-made pouring paint from a local store. As a wildcard, I added white Ecoline. Unlike acrylic paint, Ecoline is known for being water-based and transparent.

Acrylic Ink

Acrylic Ink from Amsterdam is highly liquid acrylic paint made from acrylic resin. It’s richly pigmented and versatile. You can use it with other acrylic paint products, in mixed media projects, with an airbrush, or for hand lettering. The ink is similar to traditional dye-based ink but offers better lightfastness, ensuring your work remains vibrant. Once dry, Amsterdam Acrylic Ink is waterproof.

Acrylic Paint

Art Creation acrylic paint is a solid choice, based on 100% acrylic resin. It dries with a slight satin sheen and can be painted over quickly. You can dilute it with water, as we did in this test, and it dries waterproof. This Art Creation acrylic paint is an entry-level acrylic by Royal Talens, suitable for both beginners and experienced artists. For a more professional option by the same brand, there’s Amsterdam Acrylic Paint, which works exceptionally well but comes at a higher price point.

Pouring Paint

I used ready-made Pouring Paint from a local store for this test, similar to products available at other stores. Pouring paint is used for creating abstract effects by pouring it onto canvases. It’s also suitable for painting when you need thinner acrylic paint. If you prefer to mix your own, you can use products like Amsterdam Pouring Medium. However, I recommend this only if you plan to use it regularly, as it can be costly. Start with a ready-made set like I did to see if it suits your style.

Ecoline

Ecoline is a liquid, ready-to-use watercolor paint. It belongs to the non-waterproof inks and is available in 60 colors. Normally transparent and perfectly blendable, white Ecoline differs because it contains pigments rather than dyes. Pigments don’t dissolve in water and provide opacity. White Ecoline, like gold, is slightly thicker than other colors.


Ecoline is versatile, suitable for various creative applications. It adheres well to watercolor paper, drawing paper, and cardboard. It’s best to store artworks in a portfolio to preserve colors over time. However, this isn’t necessary for white and gold Ecoline since they don’t change due to their pigments.


If you want other Ecoline colors to be opaque, you can mix them with a drop of white. They’ll become slightly lighter and less colorfast, but it’s a nice addition.

The built-in pipet in the cap makes it easy to dispense Ecoline paint.


The Test

Coverage


To assess coverage, splattering on white paper wouldn’t be effective, so I used black Clairefontaine PaintOn paper. Here’s what I found:


Ecoline

  • Does the job. When creating a dot, it remains thick (although it can dry unevenly when revisited a few days later).
  • Painting a line with a brush is effortless and controllable. However, uneven distribution may slightly reduce transparency when applied irregularly.


Acrylic Ink

  • Is slightly thicker than Ecoline, making it more manageable. Dries evenly and opaque. Clearly my favorite from this test.


Acrylic Paint with Water

  • Has the least controllable and dots tend to flatten immediately. Surprisingly, the coverage isn’t bad. However, be cautious with water use, as excess water can reduce manageability and coverage further.


Pouring Paint

  • Works fine. Results are similar to Ecoline, but I personally found Ecoline easier to apply. Ultimately, personal preference matters here.


Splatter potential

I mentioned the galaxy sky effect earlier, and if you want to recreate it, assessing splatter potential is crucial. Again, I used PaintOn black paper for the test. Here’s what I observed:

Ecoline

  • Looks great and opaque. Droplets are evenly distributed. While you might notice variations in size, it’s akin to the different-sized stars in the night sky, adding a charming touch. You’ll want some level of control when splattering to achieve your desired result, but a few “happy accidents” often enhance your work.


Acrylic Ink

  • Perfect control and excellent coverage. Splatters are evenly distributed and do exactly what I intended. Great results. However, “happy accidents” like those with Ecoline can add a bit of extra wow factor in some cases.


Acrylic Paint with Water

  • Less control and distribution compared to the first two, but still decent. Thinning the mix too much results in larger splatters. Using too little water may result in no splatters at all, just blobs. The ratio of paint to water depends on personal preference and the paint brand you use.


Pouring Paint

  • Honestly, it’s the least impressive of the four. Dry results are slightly better than wet (though still inferior to the other three). Dry results show that pouring paint is more suited for pouring than splattering. The splatters are somewhat undefined, but if you’re aiming for a blotchy effect, it’s usable. Just be aware that it’s less manageable and predictable.


Mixed Media Use

I love experimenting with various materials in my artwork, often combining them. Are these test products up for the challenge?


I used both watercolor and acrylic as a base.


However, I’m not always patient enough to let the base dry in mixed media (or any single product, for that matter). So, I tested splatters on both dry and wet surfaces. Here’s what I found:


Ecoline

  • On dry surfaces, it looks great. Although droplets spread more than intended, it still adds a nice touch. On wet watercolor, there are no splatters; instead, you get the beautiful watercolor bleed effect. This isn’t what we aimed for but can be fantastic if you enjoy these effects.


Acrylic Ink

  • It performs well. It looks great on dry surfaces with good coverage. On wet surfaces, it creates an interesting effect with acrylic but is less prominent with watercolor.


Acrylic Paint with Water

  • On the dry version, you can clearly see splatters, but you'll also notice that it's less opaque than the previous materials. However, if you have limited painting supplies or a small budget, you don't need to buy special products. You can work perfectly well with your own acrylics, provided you use them correctly.


Pouring Paint

  • It's definitely the least of the four. Dry is slightly better than wet (though not as good as the other three). With dry pouring paint, you'll notice it's more about pouring than splattering. The splatters have a somewhat undefined shape, but if you're going for a blotchy effect, you can use it just fine. However, be aware that it's a bit less manageable and predictable. In wet acrylic, you can't even see it, and with watercolor, it creates an organic stain. It doesn't blend as beautifully as the first two; it's more like you've made a mistake.

Conclusion

I won't give that to you...


Just kidding! Overall, I do have my favorites, which are Ecoline and Acrylic Ink.

It's all about personal preferences. You undoubtedly work differently from me, so you may have a different favorite.


They all served their intended purpose. However, I hope that by reading this blog, you've gained more insight into the possibilities when you want to work with "accidental" splatters on your artwork or illustration.


I'm curious about what you've taken away from this article and whether you're inspired to get creative yourself. Let me know!


Sharing your work on Instagram would be fantastic. Tag me or use the hashtags #annabvl #troepboek because I'm really looking forward to it.