“Try to paint the sky as if we could see through it, and not as if it were a flat surface, or so hard that you could crack nuts against it.” — William Merritt Chase
Before proceeding into Lesson Three, take a moment to step back into the energy of what you’ve already explored in the Graphic Design Basic Element Series that relates to this lesson.
Revisit >Basic Surfaces and Basic Surface Enrichments
After Lesson Two, this lesson experience expands the choices for tonal and opaque areas by embellishing your previous small works knowledge with a variety of engaging surface augmentations beyond basic line, plane, and tone.
The freedom to enrich these defined areas opens the door to exciting visual possibilities that can take your artwork in entirely new directions.
A simple subject set against visually rich surfaces can redefine a focal point, create a more compelling foreground or background, and give your linework new ways to interact with the surface itself.
The only caution is balance: enrichments should build interest while still supporting the focal point rather than distracting from it.
Surfaces That Communicate
You are already familiar with surface planes rendered as opaque or tonal areas.
Now it’s time to explore how to make these surfaces feel alive. Your imagination is about to dream up rich combinations that enhance areas using mediums and techniques you may never have considered combining before.
In addition to flat opaque surfaces that appear to block light, and softer tonal areas that gently receive it, we’ll now begin incorporating reflective, transparent, and translucent qualities.
It’s All About Light!
Reflective surfaces behave much like a mirror, returning light and imagery to the viewer. Foils, as layered mediums, are especially useful for creating this effect.
Transparent surfaces allow light to pass through clearly, so objects beneath or beyond them remain visible. A non-tinted transparent film demonstrates this quality beautifully.
Translucent surfaces also allow light to pass through, but not clearly. Objects beneath remain visible, though softened, diffused, or hazy. Tinted film is a wonderful example of this effect.
Opaque surfaces are solid without light. This basic surface is most commonly used for expressing black, or solid color shapes.
Water is a Perfect Example
You can render all four basic surface qualities visually without layering physical mediums or materials.
Imagine a painting were the viewer gazes into a pool of water. If the water is crystal clear, the rocks below are visible through shimmering clarity, illustrating transparency.
If the water becomes murky, the rocks may still be visible, but softened and dreamlike, demonstrating translucency. Reflective qualities appear naturally in water scenes at sunrise or sunset, when surrounding forms and light reflect across the surface.
Ten Surface Enrichments
Let the fun begin by reimagining how your chosen art mediums can express texture.
As you explore the ten surface enrichments incorporated into this lesson, notice which qualities you already tend to use naturally. Which surface enrichments appear least in your work? Which ones are quietly waiting for your creative attention?
- Coarse: A surface or material that feels rough, harsh, or uneven, often composed of large particles, thick fibers, or pronounced texture.
- Bumpy: A surface covered in raised lumps, nodules, or irregular projections that interrupt smoothness.
- Rugged: A strongly uneven or irregular surface characterized by ridges, grooves, sharp edges, or dramatic tactile contrast.
- Lumpy: A surface that is uneven and irregular, containing raised areas, depressions, or inconsistent forms.
- Pebbly: A granular or bumpy texture made up of small, rounded forms resembling pebbles or tiny stones.
- Ripply: A surface defined by gentle waves, folds, ridges, or undulating movement, whether liquid or solid in appearance.
- Fuzzy: A soft, fibrous, porous, or visually indistinct texture that evokes warmth, softness, atmosphere, or ambiguity.
- Gritty: A rough, coarse, granular texture — either actual or implied — that suggests rawness, struggle, age, erosion, or intensity.
- Chalky: A matte, powdery, dry-looking texture with a soft, hazy, weathered, or heavily pigmented appearance.
- Splattery: A spontaneous, energetic texture created by flicking, dripping, or throwing liquid medium onto a surface in expressive and often unpredictable ways.
Beyond Flat: Texture Blueprint Lesson
Now it’s time to experiment and begin creating your next grouping of small works.
Continue the small works format, which helps set a time frame to avoid overworking any single piece. The goal is spontaneity — building a reference library of visual experiences alongside your written journal notes.
From Lessons One and Lesson Two, you created an exploratory collection of twenty-four small works. Through repetition, you’ve exercised your creative memory muscles, creating a strong foundation of basic artistic structure.
Now you’ll begin expanding that foundation, experimenting with the three additional basic surfaces and ten varied embellishments.
Begin by laying out the twenty-four works you’ve created so far and choose five that especially draw your attention as inspiration and reference.
Rather than assigning a fixed number of new works, the goal is to explore all ten surface enrichments individually or in combinations, while also incorporating reflective, transparent, translucent surfaces.
Embellishing defined areas also strengthens your ability to adapt and experiment with the mediums already present in your studio.
Your Texture Reference Library
How to get started! Here’s some ideas:
To create coarse, bumpy, or gritty textures, you might squiggle or smear glue onto your canvas, sprinkle clean sand over the surface, shake off the excess, and let it dry.
Suddenly, the surface itself begins inviting your imagination into the design process.
You might paint on textured paper or sandpaper, create splatter effects with diluted modeling paste, or use painter’s caulk with a putty knife to carve ripples and rugged edges.
Pastels naturally invite chalky textures, while salt, inks, and diluted acrylic splashes create movement and visual energy.
Collage artwork is wonderful, too, as an exploratory medium. Foils, films, cellophane, fabric, tinfoil — everything is fair game in this lesson.
Time to Reflect and Appreciate
Once you’ve checked off the list of basic surfaces and all ten embellishments, take another visual pass through your work. Is there a combination still calling for exploration?
Finally, reflect on the experience in your journal:
- Which mediums did you love most?
- What surprised you?
- Which embellishments felt most natural?
- Which techniques would you like to incorporate more deeply into future artwork?
What’s Next?
Lesson Four is a recap and free-form play day — an opportunity to combine everything you’ve learned in whatever ways your inner creator wishes to express. Schedule time to celebrate your commitment to learning new ways to engage with your creative spirit.
Then, get ready! Because Lesson Five opens the door to another exciting exploration. The next few lessons transform the way the elements in your artwork fit together into an immersive, engaging visual reality that will awe your viewers and patrons.
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