Palette and painting knives come in small, medium, and large sizes, with curved and pointed ends. If you’re new to palette knife painting, experiment with a few different sizes and shapes to discover your favorite tool. If you’re planning to create a painting with fine details, a smaller painting knife would be a good choice. But if you want to create big blocks of color, try a larger knife.

Plastic palette knives and painting knives are also available. While they might seem like a good choice for a beginner, they are less flexible, less durable, and harder to clean. A plastic knife can be purchased for as low as 1 USD while many metal knives cost around 10 USD or less. A versatile metal tool is well worth the investment. [3] X Research source

Remember that painting knives don’t allow as much control as brushes do. Expect lots of happy accidents, and don’t be surprised if these result in the most exciting details in your painting!

Waxed palette paper and loose plastic wrap will shift around with the pressure and movement of your palette knife. Instead of using these materials on their own, try taping a single sheet securely onto a sturdy palette for easier cleanup.

Refrain from mixing in a thinning medium or diluting the paints, since knife painting techniques work best with heavy-bodied paints. [7] X Research source For even more texture, try mixing a thickening medium into your paint.

Wielding a palette knife can take some practice, and it feels very different from holding a paintbrush or drawing pencil.

It’s easiest to load up paint onto the back side of the knife, but you can also scoop it up onto the front side.

Keep the knife clean to avoid accidentally transferring colors or unintentionally mixing a murky shade.

Knead the colors together until you reach the right shade. [12] X Research source Feel free to blend the colors completely or keep them partially separate. For an interesting effect, one color can be placed on the knife on top of another. This will allow the two colors to blend in a unique way as you place the stroke on the surface.

Use a variety of directions, angles, and gestures if you’re interested in creating an organic, dynamic painting. Or, repeat the same motions if you want the final result to be uniform. [15] X Research source

This technique often results in hazy, patchy edges where you can see through to the layer of paint below. Try this anywhere you want blocks of color without much 3-dimensional texture. In a landscape painting, it might be useful for filling in the sky, for instance. [16] X Research source

This effect can be useful for painting water ripples and reflections, grasses, and trees.

You can keep the colors mostly separate, or soften the edges with feathery strokes and gestures.