Free Mixed Media Art Supplies Compatibility Chart

March 16, 2024 9:43 AM

Free Mixed Media Art Supplies Compatibility Chart by Artist, Designer and Educator Nela Dunato: "Behold: the most detailed free art mediums compatibility reference! The chart shows how different art mediums interact together and whether they can be safely layered on top of each other."

Created by Nela Dunato in Google Sheets.

Does not require a Google account to download.

Available to download in the following formats:
• Microsoft Excel .xls
• OpenDocument .ods
• PDF .pdf
• Web Page .html
• Comma-Separated values .csv
• Tab-Separated values .tsv

Can you layer Acrylic paint over Watercolour?
Does Charcoal lay well over Graphite?
Do Alcohol Markers and India Ink play nice together?

These (and many more) combination questions are answered without you ever needing to waste your own precious art supplies!

posted by Faintdreams (15 comments total)

oooh saved and bookmarked!! this is awesome and I did not even know how much I needed something like this in my life. just in time for sunday art date!
posted by supermedusa at 9:52 AM on March 16 [2 favorites]

what supermedusa said!
posted by infini at 10:51 AM on March 16

otoh, part of the fun is figuring this out ;p
posted by infini at 10:52 AM on March 16 [3 favorites]

The grid is good but it’s the notes that really make this fantastic. Not just “it won’t work” but why it won’t work (e.g., “oil and wax binders in pastels repel water based mediums. Acrylic will start chipping off eventually so it’s not recommended for artwork intended for sale”)
posted by aubilenon at 11:04 AM on March 16 [2 favorites]

Thank you! This is great.
posted by cupcakeninja at 12:10 PM on March 16

Also, don't be afraid to make mistakes. Bend the rules. Some of my greatest paintings have come from mixing and layering things that ought not to have worked. gauche over wax...oil and sand over watercolour, resin over pastel.
posted by Czjewel at 12:11 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]

Mod note: Comment removed. Per the Guidelines, lets try and keep initial comments helpful about the post and its subject, thank you!
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 12:39 PM on March 16 [3 favorites]

“oil and wax binders in pastels repel water based mediums

See, this is how I do snow on top of tree trunks. White wax crayon before painting in the brown trunks...and backgrounds

an alternate for birch bark is rubber masking solution for watercolour scraped on unevenly and then pulled off after paint dries
posted by infini at 1:36 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]

I'm in CzJewel's camp. Just mess around with stuff and have fun.

But art supplies can be pricy, so this could be helpful in avoiding waste, I suppose.

I like art because it does not involve spreadsheets and rules, I know branding is different.
posted by rhonzo at 1:50 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]

Thanks for posting! My usual approach is to muddle around with whatever I have; infamously realizing that stamp ink would require a week to dry on top of a metallic paper I was using. This led to more muddling and, voila! I'm always late sending out my cards for the MeFi Card Swap.
posted by winesong at 2:52 PM on March 16

Very useful, thank you!
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:36 AM on March 17

Drat, was hoping for polymer clay as one of the the things in the chart.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:07 AM on March 17

Mod note: [btw, this has been added to the sidebar and Best Of blog! 🎨]
posted by taz (staff) at 4:31 AM on March 18

rhonzo: But art supplies can be pricy, so this could be helpful in avoiding waste, I suppose.

Yeah, the cost of art & craft materials always pulls me up short of my usual "Build one to throw away" mantra.

Near me, a big art school ran a storefront called 2nd Life for partially-used art supplies, all of which they sold for next to nothing. It included fabric, leather, metals, wood, foam, thread, tools, canvases, electronics, and tons of other stuff. I bought all kinds of things, which made me feel comfortable exploring drawing, sewing, coin-sawing, leather work, etc. -- for just a few bucks at a time

Sadly, when they re-opened after COVID, they're inside a controlled-access building so only students/faculty/staff can get in. *sigh* (Anyone with a RISD ID want to hook a fellow up?)

I would encourage everyone to look in their area for something similar!
posted by wenestvedt at 6:51 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]

I've just found the art of Jaq Chartier, part of whose practice revolves around displaying media mixing success using a gel electrophoresis-like process, with both colourful and wonderful outcomes.
posted by unearthed at 9:27 PM on April 2