Mixed Media and Collage

What Is Mixed Media?#

Most people think of art as drawing with a pencil or painting with a brush. But artists use all kinds of materials! When an artist combines MORE than one type of material in a single artwork, it is called mixed media.

"Mixed" means putting different things together. "Media" is the art word for materials and tools. So mixed media simply means using many different materials in one artwork!

What Kinds of Materials Can You Use?#

The exciting thing about mixed media is that you can use almost ANYTHING! Here are some materials that artists combine:

• Paint (watercolor, tempera, acrylic)
• Paper (newspaper, magazine pages, wrapping paper, tissue paper)
• Fabric (scraps of cloth, ribbon, yarn, felt)
• Natural objects (leaves, twigs, seeds, pressed flowers)
• Found objects (buttons, bottle caps, foil, cardboard)
• Drawing materials (pencil, crayon, marker, chalk)

You might use paint AND magazine cutouts AND yarn all in the same picture. That is mixed media!

Why Do Artists Use Mixed Media?#

Mixed media is exciting because it gives your artwork lots of variety. Different materials create different textures, colors, and looks. Paint is smooth and glossy. Paper can be crisp or soft. Fabric can be fuzzy or silky. Combining these materials makes art that is interesting to look at AND to touch!

Famous artists like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse made amazing mixed media artworks. Picasso used pieces of newspaper, wallpaper, and other objects in his paintings. Matisse cut and arranged bright colored paper shapes in his later years.

Mixed Media in Your Life#

You might already make mixed media art without knowing it! Have you ever made a birthday card with paper, stickers, drawings, and glitter? That is mixed media! Have you made a scrapbook page? That is mixed media too!

Now that you know what mixed media is, let's learn about a specific type of mixed media art called collage.