Opaque vs Transparent Paint for Gel Printing: What's the Difference?

Wondering whether to use opaque or transparent acrylic paint in your Gelli prints? If you’re just starting out, you might not know the difference yet. In this post, I’ll help you spot what sets them apart and show you how to use each on your Gelli plate.

I'll also show you how to use black paper to check paint transparency, and - using Golden paints, botanicals, and my favourite tissue paper - I’ll demonstrate how the same materials can create three very different effects, simply by changing how you build up layers with opaque and transparent paints.

Whether you’re new to Gelli printing or just want to understand your materials better, follow along for some helpful tips and inspiration!

Watch the full video tutorial here:

Materials You’ll Need:

Paper:
Wet-strength tissue paper: Carnival is my favourite brand. I love using it for layering.

Gel Plate:
For this video, I’m working with an 8 x 10 Gelli plate, which is a great all-around size for a variety of prints.

Brayer:
You’ll need a rubber roller, called a brayer, to layer the paint across the plate. I'm using a 15 cm brayer and I like having 2 on hand so that I can change paint colours.

Acrylic Paint:
I'm using Golden Acrylics in Phthalo Blue (Green Shade), Phthalo Green (Blue Shade), Yellow Medium, Manganese Blue, Teal, Titan Buff, and Titan Green Pale. I'm also using Daler-Rowney's Titanium White.

Botanicals:
I'm using an assortment of fresh, flat, leaves in a variety of sizes and shapes.

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What’s opaque and what’s transparent?

First, let's have a quick chat about understanding transparency in paints.

Think of a piece of stained glass - you can see right through it, right?
That’s transparent.

Compare that to this lovely ceramic vase.
It's solid - you can’t see through it.
That’s opaque.