Froissage with Acrylic Paint: Crumpled Paper Step by Step

Froissage with acrylic paint combines the oldest trick in this site’s toolbox, crumpling paper to create a web of creases, with the most practical modern paint. Acrylic dries in minutes, stays flexible and becomes water-resistant when dry, so you can glaze, wipe, dry-brush and layer over a crumpled sheet without the colours turning to mud. This guide explains which paper to use, how to make the creases stand out, and how to turn the result into a finished picture.

Why acrylic works for froissage

Traditional froissage used ink: the Czech artist Ladislav Novák crumpled sheets and brushed ink over them so it ran into the folds (see Ladislav Novák and froissage). Ink and watercolour still work beautifully, as our guide to froissage with watercolour and ink shows. Acrylic adds three advantages:

• Fast drying. You can add a second layer within minutes instead of waiting.
• Water resistance when dry. Tate’s glossary describes acrylic as a fast-drying paint made of pigment in an acrylic polymer emulsion; once dry, the layer does not lift when you paint over it.
• Flexibility. Acrylic films bend rather than crack easily, so a painted sheet can be crumpled further.

The main drawback is that acrylic dries on brushes and palettes just as quickly. Keep brushes in water while you work, and use a stay-wet palette or a damp paper towel under your paint.

Choosing paper

The paper must survive crumpling and wet paint. Good choices:

• Heavy cartridge or mixed-media paper, around 200-300 g/m2. It crumples with crisp creases and does not fall apart when wet.
• Thin card such as sugar paper or recycled card. Less crisp but very cheap for classes.
• Brown kraft paper. Strong, takes acrylic well and gives a warm base colour.

Avoid very thin printer paper for heavy acrylic work: brushing wet paint across a crease often tears it. For more on supplies, see froissage materials.

Method 1: Glaze and wipe back

This is the clearest way to reveal the crease network.

Crumple the paper firmly and open it. Mix a transparent glaze: a little acrylic in water, or better, acrylic with glazing medium so it stays strong. Brush it over the whole sheet. The liquid runs into the creases and collects there. Before it dries, wipe lightly with a damp, lint-free cloth. The ridges lose colour; the creases keep it. When dry, you have a fine dark map of every fold.

Wikipedia’s article on glazing describes a glaze as a thin, transparent layer over a dry underlayer. You can repeat the process with a second colour after re-crumpling the sheet: the new creases cross the old ones and create depth.

Method 2: Dry-brush the ridges

Opposite effect: instead of dark creases, you get light ridges. Open a crumpled sheet and leave it slightly three-dimensional. Load a flat brush with a little paint, wipe most of it off, and drag the brush lightly across the surface. Only the high points catch colour. This works especially well over a dark first layer, for example white or pale gold dry-brushed over a dark blue glaze.

Method 3: Paint first, crumple after

Paint a sheet flat with a fairly thick layer of acrylic and let it dry completely. Then crumple it. The paint layer cracks and lifts slightly along the folds, revealing the paper beneath. Open and flatten it, then brush a contrasting glaze over the top so it sinks into the cracks. The result looks like old leather, bark or rock. Combine this with ideas from how to make paper look old for props and backgrounds.

Turning texture into a picture

The texture is only half the work. In froissage, the second step is looking: turn the sheet, squint, and wait for something to appear. A cluster of creases becomes a mountain range, a face, a horse, a stormy sea. Outline it with a fine pen, a white gel pen or a small brush, and leave the rest as texture. Our step-by-step guide to how to do froissage covers this stage in detail, and crumpled paper landscape painting applies it to mountains and hills.

Common problems and fixes

• Paper tears along creases. Use heavier paper and a softer brush, and dab rather than scrub.
• Creases disappear. The paint is too thick and has filled them. Use more glaze medium or water and wipe back sooner.
• Colours look chalky. Too much water has weakened the paint. Use glazing medium instead of extra water.
• Sheet will not lie flat. Let it dry fully, then press it under books. See our guide to how to flatten crumpled paper.
• Paint dried on the palette. Mix smaller amounts and mist the palette with water.

Safety and clean-up

Most student acrylics are water-based and wash out of brushes with soap and water while wet. Dried acrylic is hard to remove from fabric, so wear an apron. Do not pour large amounts of paint water down the sink: let it settle in a jar and dispose of the sludge according to local guidance.

Project ideas

• Night sky: dark blue glaze, wipe back, then dry-brush white and pale yellow on the ridges for stars.
• Rock face: grey and ochre glazes, re-crumple between layers, add a tiny climber in pen.
• Seasonal sheet: reds and oranges for autumn leaves, then cut them out as in autumn leaves crumpled paper art.

Acrylic on foil and tissue

The wipe-back method described above also works on two other crumpled materials.

Crumpled aluminium foil. Glue a crumpled and reopened sheet of foil to card, cover it with acrylic and wipe the ridges before the paint dries. The creases hold the colour and the ridges flash silver, giving a hammered-metal look that suits water, ice and night scenes. Acrylic grips foil better than poster paint, which tends to bead. See aluminum foil art for embossed and printed variations.

Scrunched tissue paper. Tissue paper balls glued into a shape can be dry-brushed with acrylic once the glue has set: drag a nearly dry brush across the surface so colour catches only the tops of the balls. This adds highlights and unifies a mosaic made from many colours. See scrunched tissue paper art.

In both cases, keep the paint thin and work in small areas so you can wipe or dry-brush before it sets.