Backer Exclusive: Summer Snowball Paint Along Acrylic Project (reupload) (Patreon)

Published:

2025-07-22 05:26:17

Imported:

2026-10

Content

Follow along using the presentation! https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GoYDDtNs1FEWSz_RwZKbb829JQBkSLdJmRax1dNBhLU/edit?usp=sharing

This is the image used for the graphite transfer: https://www.patreon.com/posts/snowball-134564920?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Step by Step Instructions:

I am using Arteza acrylics because that is what my program provided, but I would recommend Blick Acrylics if you're looking for an affordable starter set of acrylics. I do not recommend the bottle style acrylics in general, they tend to be very thin.

These Arteza acrylics are particularly heinous because the seal on them is impossible to peel off by hand, so I have to use a knife for each one.

It took me 30 minutes JUST to cut open all the tubes.

Step 1:

Rinse sizing (what makes the brushes stiff during transportation) of out the bristles in your brushes in the sink

Step 2:

Sketch snowball design with pencil on your canvas

Graphite Transfer Technique:

Step 2:

ON THE REVERSE SIDE: Trace the snowball (you should be able to see it thru the paper) with graphite. Fill in the snowball.

Step 3: Position snowball on the canvas, graphite side against canvas. Tape down.

Step 4: Trace snowball with pressure to transfer to canvas.

Step 5: Remove tape

Step 6: Snowball design should have transferred.

Step 7: Go over design with a Sharpie or permanent marker to make it easier to see

Preparing to Paint:

Fluro Yellow

Lemon Yellow

Orange

Larger Brush

Plastic Palette

Cup clean water

Step 1:

Pour Paints into plastic palette or plate. You may need to refill.

Step 2:

Wet Brush, dab off excess water

Note: If you find your paint starts to get too dry or gummy, rewet brush and dab off excess

Step 3, working quickly:

Starting from top to bottom with the large brush, brush on the Fluero yellow using a variety of brushstrokes.

About halfway down, switch over to lemon yellow, working back into the Fuero yellow. Don't worry about rinsing the fluero yellow out, this will help blend.

About 2/3rd's down, switch over to the Orange, working back into the lemon yellow and all the way to the bottom of the page. Don't worry about rinsing the lemon yellow out.

Step 4:

Allow to dry

DO NOT WORRY:

If there are brushstrokes

If it looks bad right now

If the graphite transfer smears a little

If the permanent marker smears a little

This is the first layer, and it will seal all that.

While drying:

Clean out your brush- DO NOT LEAVE IT IN THE WATER- that ruins the brush!

Clean out your water in the sink.

Wet a paper towel, wring it out, place it over your paint to keep them fresh.

How do you know its dry enough?

These paints dry matte- (not glossy) so whne there is no visible gloss, it is dry enough for a second layer.

Unfortunately, this takes the time it takes- humidity levels will dictate dry times. You can help facilitate things by getting the air moving- placing in front of a fan, fanning it with paper, ect.

Second Layer:

Step 1:

Pour Paints into plastic palette or plate. You may need to refill.

Step 2:

Wet Brush, dab off excess water

Note: If you find your paint starts to get too dry or gummy, rewet brush and dab off excess

Step 3, working quickly:

Starting from top to bottom with the large brush, brush on the Fluero yellow using a variety of brushstrokes. At this point, I want brushstrokes to be more obvious, because it will look more like a person painted it, so there are some areas whree I leave the paint kinda thick and chunky.

About halfway down, switch over to lemon yellow, working back into the Fuero yellow. Don't worry about rinsing the fluero yellow out, this will help blend. These paints are thin and don't have great coverage, so you will see the layer we painted earlier through the paint, that will help give the impression of the paints being more blended.

About 2/3rd's down, switch over to the Orange, working back into the lemon yellow and all the way to the bottom of the page. Don't worry about rinsing the lemon yellow out.

Feel free to adjust the colors a bit, to add in more Lemmon yellow into your Fluero Yellow, more orange into your lemon yellow, or even a hint of orange behind the snowball to help make the colors pop.

Allow to dry.

If there are any 'errors' that you'd like to fix, we can adjust that later on.

Step 4:

Allow to dry

While drying:

Clean out your brush- DO NOT LEAVE IT IN THE WATER- that ruins the brush!

Clean out your water in the sink.

Wet a paper towel, wring it out, place it over your paint to keep them fresh.

Snowball:

Cup:

Titanium White

Artic Blue

You can choose whatever colors you like for your snowball, but I selected a rainbow

Sky Blue

Sapphire Blue

Apple Green

Forest Green

Orange

Ruby Red

Color order on the snowball:

Blue

Green

Red

Blue

Straw will be white + green

Step 1:

Using Titanium white, carefully fill in the snowball, the cup ,and the straw. This will help the colors pop off the canvas. I opted to also cover the black outlines- with this paint they are still visible, but will be easier to cover. Allow to dry fully.

While drying:

Clean out your brush- DO NOT LEAVE IT IN THE WATER- that ruins the brush!

Clean out your water in the sink.

Wet a paper towel, wring it out, place it over your paint to keep them fresh.

Step 2:

IF YOU WANT TO KEEP THE FLEUR DE LIS, you may wish to retrace it using a micron or a color pencil so that it's still visible. If not, proceed:

Paint another layer of white on the styrofoam cup. If you wish to paint the Fleur de Lis, paint around that, so that the outline is still visible. If you don't care, go ahead and paint over it.

Paint another layer of white on the straw.

DO NOT PAINT WHITE ON THE snowball itself

Allow to dry.

Snowball itself:

Starting with:

Sapphire Blue

Layer 1:

Using the round brush or whichever brush you feel comfortable using for detail work, outline the area you wish to be blue, and carefully fill it in. Allow to dry.

Forest Green:

Do the same for green. Keep in mind that the areas you just painted don't have to be fully dry, just the areas adjacent to where you're painting.

Change water

Ruby Red:

Do the same for red.

Change water:

Shading the cup:

Using a round brush that you feel comfortable with handling. Paint 'shadow' of white for straw- I'm using Sky Blue. Allow to dry.

Paint the shadow on the styrofoam cup using sky blue. You may wish to add some drips from the snowcone- add the shadow color first, allow to dry, and then paint the drip on top of it.

If you wish to adjust things, feel free to work back in with white. This white doesn't have a lot of coverage, so you can use it by layering it on top of areas you've painted with Artic Blue to create a midtone.

Stripes:

Paint the 'stripes' (optional), with the color of your choice- I'm using green.

I would recommend finishing what you have in mind for the stripes-2nd layers, shading, ect before painting the snowball as you may have to cover it up.

Snowball:

Repeat the process as each dries- these are the base colors, we will use other colors to add highlights.

White Highlight on Straw

Fleur de Lis

Royal Purple

Carefully block in the fleur de lis using a round you feel comfortable with.

Adding highlights to the snowball

Blue-

Sky Blue highlight

Green- Apple Green

Red- Orange

Added highlights to dry paint, then went back and forth to 'blend' with the original darker color. These paints don't blend particularly well (actually, blending wet paint with these often results in the paint lifting up entirely! or reactivating the orange background- I've never had this happen to me before), so I did kind of a stippling blending technique with these.

Fleur de Lis Highlights-

Using Lilac

Add in highlights as you see fit. You can still go in and add additional highlights in white later if you wish.

Allow to dry fully.

Optional:

Outline in black acrylic marker- I just like a cartoony look and this already looks pretty goofy. The black outline will also help hide like, line wobbilyness. It makes it more like a sticker and gives its ome personality, but it's totally optional!

Thinner outlines on interior of image

Thicker outlines along the outside

Adding white highlights:

Since this is a snowball and ice reflects light, I thought it'd be cute to add some white dots of different sizes on the 'peaks' of the ice, particularly at the top. I wanted this to break the outlike, that's why I outlined first, then added highlights.

Allow to fully dry, like overnight

Sealing with modpodge to add gloss.

These acrylics have a matte finish, and look pretty dry (I'm also seeing some cracking on my canvas), so sealing it will give it a shine, will help bring out color depth, and will protect it.

Pour modpodge into a small container. Wet your large brush, add a little water to the modpodge in the small container. Using brisk, large strokes in various directions, begin applying the mod podge, going back over areas to help even out the coat.

Allow to dry several hours

Note:

The mod podge causes yellow discoloration with the Arteza Titanium white. I love the gloss coat, but find the yellowing distracting. I have not had this issue with Blick Acrylics.

Materials Used:

This is the image used for the graphite transfer: https://www.patreon.com/posts/snowball-134564920?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Graphite: https://amzn.to/4lAjTez

Canvas board or canvas, I was provided with a 10x14 canvas (https://amzn.to/3GXlBHV), but I would really recommend 9x12: https://amzn.to/4lwiKVo

Pencil

Sharpie or Micron: https://amzn.to/3GUyItm

Arteza Craft Acrylics: https://amzn.to/4eYEk2l

but I recommend

Blick Acrylics: https://www.dickblick.com/products/blick-studio-acrylics/?fromSearch=%2Fsearch%2F%3Fsearchword%3Dblick%20acrylic

Liquitex Basics Acrylics: https://amzn.to/40rbpxX

Synthetic Brushes

Eg- Princeton Snap: 1" Flat: https://amzn.to/3GMdJsO