Creating textured arches looks simple on social media, but getting a clean result can be surprisingly tricky.
In this post, I’ll show a simple method to create smooth textured art arches, the tool you need, and a beginner-friendly design you can make using this technique.
Materials Needed
- smooth texture paste
- a palette knife
- a plaster comb
- a canvas
If you are completely new to textured art, I explain the materials in my "Textured Art Material Guide for Beginners"
The tool for creating arches is called a plaster comb (sometimes also called a notched trowel). They are generally sold at hardware stores.
Plaster combs come in different sizes and shapes.
The length of the tool as well as the depth and shape of the teeth determine how your arches will look.
When buying a new comb, these are the things I would look for:
- made from plastic rather than metal
- long enough for large arches (my main one is around 20 cm)
- different type of teeth on different sides of the comb (3 or 4 patterns in a single tool)
If you have a hard time finding a comb, here are a few tips:
- You can combine 2 or 3 combs to create 1 longer tool
- You can cut down one long comb if you need a smaller one
- The comb design is fairly easy, so you could have a 3D printer create one for you
How to Create The Textured Arches
Here's a short video showing how I create the arches.
Quick tips for achieving a clean result:
- use smooth texture paste
- the thickness of the paste should match the thickness of the teeth in your comb (by minimum)
- press down evenly across the comb and use enough pressure
What Next?
Now that you know how to create smooth arches, you can use the technique to create your own textured art paintings.
A beginner-friendly version to start with is my Overlapping Arches design.
If it does not turn out like you wanted, don't worry. You can always flatten the paste and try again.
I have put together a series of helpful guides and tutorials for beginners. You can find them from here.
If you want to try the same texture paste I use for all my artwork, which also works great for arches, you can find it from here.
Ps. Want to get more textured art tips and tutorials via email? You can sign up below, I will only send out messages when I have something useful to share.