How do I splatter paint digitally?

To splatter paint digitally, use the toothbrush spatter or the flick tool in Easel by Zaweba. Toothbrush spatter gives a fine spray of dots, the way running your thumb across a loaded toothbrush does. Flick throws larger, looser drops, like flicking a loaded brush at the paper. Both put real-behaving paint onto a real surface, so drops mix like pigment and soak into absorbent paper or sit up on a slick one.

Splatter is a quick way to add life to a painting. Watercolourists use it for sand, gravel, spray from waves and texture on old walls. Illustrators use it for energy and grit. Abstract painters use it as a style of its own.

The splattering tools in Easel

The toothbrush spatter and flick sit in a family of tools that also includes the airbrush, drip, pipette, pour with silicone cells and a spray bottle. Each throws or drops paint in its own way, and each is worth knowing.

Toothbrush spatter is the fine one. Use it for stars in a night sky, speckled eggs, sand and the subtle texture that makes a flat wash look handmade.

Flick gives bigger, more irregular drops with more energy. It suits splashes, spray from a waterfall, autumn leaves and loose, expressive work.

Drip and pipette let paint fall in drops, and pour lays down a flood of colour. The spray bottle mists water or thin paint, which in watercolour is a lovely way to make a wash bloom.

Planning a splatter passage

Decide where the splatter should go. Random splatter everywhere rarely looks good. Splatter works best as an accent in one area.

Protect the rest of the picture. Lay masking tape or masking fluid over areas you want clean, or use a stencil. Peel it off afterwards and you'll have splatter only where you meant it.

Choose the colour and how thin the paint is. Thin, watery paint spreads into soft dots on absorbent paper. Thick paint gives crisp drops.

Splatter, then step back. Easel's step back shows the picture from a distance, which is the best way to judge whether the texture is helping or just noise.

Drops that look thrown, not stamped

Vary the size. Real splatter has a mix of tiny and larger drops. Use spatter for the fine ones and flick for a few big ones.

Think about the surface. Easel has 37 surfaces, and splatter on rough watercolour paper, kraft paper or canvas looks different from splatter on glass or tile. On slick surfaces such as glass, tile or synthetic paper, paint wipes clean, so you can take back drops you don't like while they're wet.

Use wet into wet. In watercolour, splattering into a damp wash gives soft, spreading drops. Splattering onto dry paper gives sharp ones. Using both in one painting adds depth.

Watch the tilt. If the canvas is tilted, wet drops can run. That can be a beautiful effect, but keep the canvas flat if you want neat dots.

Presets for a quick start

Easel has 28 built-in presets, including Pollock drips, which is a handy starting point if you want an action painting look. You can save your own presets once you have a splatter setup you like.

Cleaning up and finishing

Undo keeps 80 steps by default, including runs and drying, so a splatter you don't like is easy to take back. When you're done, export as PNG, JPEG or TIFF.

Splatter is one of the most fun things to try in Easel by Zaweba, and because there is no mess to clean up, you can splatter as freely as you like.