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How to Paint a Galaxy Easily using Acrylic Pouring
There’s something about space that is so magical, especially galaxies. They’re so ethereal and beautiful. It may be impossible to experience this in person in our lifetime, but I’m going to take you through three methods of how you can explore space by painting the night sky, even as a beginner, specifically how to paint a galaxy easily using acrylic pouring.
If you’ve ever wondered, “How do you paint a galaxy step by step?” this is the tutorial for you! And if you’ve ever watched some of the galaxy painting tutorials out there and thought, “Yeah, but how do you paint a galaxy WITHOUT A SPONGE?” this is REALLY the right tutorial for you!
The three methods of creating a galaxy that I will be going through step by step are:
- Dutch Pour
- Open-cup Pour
- Flip-cup Pour
If you’re pouring for the first time and would like more explanation on materials, processes, and terms, you can head on over to my Beginner’s Guide to Acrylic Pouring. You can also head over to my Comprehensive Guide to Acrylic Pouring Techniques for more information on all of the different techniques.
What colors do you need to make a galaxy painting?
For each of these galaxy paintings, I used the same color pallet and applied the paints in generally the same color order. The only major difference between the paintings is the pouring technique that I used.
I think colors are very important when painting a galaxy and are generally on the cooler end of the spectrum. (If you’re curious about colors and color theory as it relates to acrylic pouring, head on over to my post about Choosing Colors for Acrylic Pouring and grab your FREE printable Color Wheel and Color Scheme Guides.)
No matter what colors you choose for your galaxy, I think it’s helpful to create a seamless piece if they range in shade from dark to light gradually. So I have a couple dark colors, the black and the navy, and then some medium shades in the blues and violet, and some lighter shades with the neons and silver, ending with a smidge of white as a highlight.
You will want black to be the main color running throughout your piece, with lacing and cells of different colors to get that galaxy effect. To achieve this we put down a generous base coat of black and also use it amongst the colors.
Materials You Will Need to Paint a Galaxy with Acrylic Pouring:
Paints:
- Master’s Touch Permanent Black
- Master’s Touch Ultramarine Blue
- Artist’s Loft Light Violet
- Liquitex Basics Quinacridone Magenta
- Artist’s Loft Neon Pink
- Artist’s Loft Neon Pink
- Artist’s Loft Silver
- Artist’s Loft Titanium White
- Navy Blue (Master’s Touch Permanent Black mixed with Master’s Touch Ultramarine Blue)
- Violet (Master’s Touch Ultramarine Blue mixed with Liquitex Basics Quinacridone Magenta)
Medium:
- Floetrol,
- Water
Canvas:
- 8in x 10in canvas
Tools:
- Cylinder: A cup with the bottom cut out or a toilet paper tube works well.
- Hairdryer with narrowing nozzle.
- Fan paint brush or old toothbrush.
- Something to spread paint with. I used a pallet knife this time, but you can use a spackle knife, an old credit card, anything that will spread the paint.
- Torch (optional)
Planets
Create a painting full of colorful planets!
For this painting, I painted the background Prussian Blue, created splatters of white paint for the stars, and then painted planets using colors I liked. Finally, I also used a white Gelly Roll pen to create some larger stars.
Also feel free to do research and paint the planets of our solar system with more accurate color representations!
Moon
The moon is one of my favorite things to draw and paint so here is a painting of the moon to try out as well.
The paint colors I used for the moon were Titanium White and Matisse’s Mineral Blue.
Feel free however to use gray, black, or whatever colors you want to use!
If you need help creating a circle, I recommend tracing a round object (bottom of a cup or washi tape roll) with a pencil, colored pencil, or pen. Then, start painting inside.
Milky Way Galaxy
For this painting of the milky way galaxy, I used acrylic paint but feel free to use watercolor or gouache as well!
First, paint your background Prussian Blue (or black).
Next, create swirls using a bit of white mixed with your background color.
Next, create a yellow oval at the center and two radiating white swirls coming from each end of the oval.
Create a white dot at the center of your yellow oval.
Then splatter some white paint for the stars by flicking your brush bristles with your finger.
