Paint consistency stymies most beginners. Too thick, too thin. Ahhh, just right. So what is just right paint? Well, paint that is too thick creates a peak like a soft serve ice cream cone on the tool. Paint that is too thin runs to one side when you tip the tool, leaving an almost bare ring around any mound of paint on the tool and on the surface. Paint that is just right is thick enough to stay on the tool and thin enough to almost drip off, leaving a nice mound pulling almost off the tool (see photos). Some people compare it to yogurt.

Different brands of acrylic paint for dotting mandala rocks can be as different as night and day. And some lines of paints offer limited colors. So what to do if the paint in the color you like turns out to be too thin or too thick? Fortunately, you have solutions to this problem.

 

Too Thin

• Add a small dab of titanium white paint in a tube. There are many brands, and the tube paints are thicker than the liquid acrylics in the bottles.
• Add Gel Medium by the drop until you get the consistency you want.
• Some have suggested using household latex/silicone caulk in tiny amounts, a cost-effective solution.

 

In the end, it’s a matter of experimenting to find what you like. It is helpful to keep a record of your results. You can make notes with a light colored gel pen on small pieces of black cardstock with sample dots so you can remember what you did.