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Chalkola How-ToAcrylic Painting · Tutorial
Updated Oct 2026 · 7 min read · Beginner-friendly
Learn to Paint Silhouettes Using Acrylics with Liz Gutierrez
TL;DR
How to paint silhouette people: Paint your background first with vibrant sunset colors, let it dry completely, then sketch your subject lightly in pencil. Apply black acrylic paint in smooth, opaque layers using a flat brush for bodies and a liner brush for fine details like tusks or limbs. Two coats ensure solid coverage.
THE ACRYLIC PAINTS & BRUSHES FOR THIS SAFARI SUNSET
Chalkola 40 Acrylic Paint Set for Adults with 24 Acrylic Pai
★★★★★4.7 · 7,640 Amazon ratings
Complete set of painting supplies for artists — This is a professional acrylic paint set with 24 Acrylic paint tubes, 10 Brushes for painting, 1 Palette and 5 Canvas painting set, making it your one stop to get all your art paint
Artist quality premium paints — The acrylic paint kit in this canvas and paint set are richly pigmented and are easy to use for artists - professional artists, beginners
Art supplies — This paint and canvas set can be used as ceramic paint, clay paint, for rock painting, glass painting, plastic, paint for wooden crafts or as canvas paint for canvas painting kit.
Easy to use and store — These acrylic craft paint set are of high quality, easy to use and easy to store in the box they come in. Acrylic set has Individually labeled Aluminium tubes that allow you to easily squeeze out all the paint.
We invited LA-based artist Elizabeth "Liz" Gutierrez to be our guest blogger this month, so she can show us how she paints elephant silhouettes and an African safari sunset–two of her favorite subjects. Enjoy the helpful tutorial post she wrote for us below, along with the video she created as she shares her thought process and step-by-step painting guide!
Traveling nowadays is complicated, and for many of us, traveling to Africa and seeing a real safari sunset can only be a dream. Using our imagination, let's paint that dream! Once we’re done, you can place this painting anywhere in your home or give it to a friend.
One of my favorite scenes to paint are sunsets and my favorite safari animals are elephants–you’ll find that a bunch of my art has them! I especially love baby and mommy elephants. So in this quick tutorial, I'll show you a simple way to paint an African safari sunset with a mommy and baby elephant silhouette. For this painting, you’ll need:
A regular pencil and a white charcoal pencil or white chalk (if you don’t have it, you may just use the regular pencil)
Chalkola Acrylic Paints (in Mars Black, Orange Red, Orange Yellow, Indian Yellow, Deep Yellow, Mid Yellow, and Lemon Yellow)
Paint brushes (detail brush, small round brush, medium flat brush, and small fan brush)
Palette (or you can use a paper plate)
Paper towels/or small towel to dry excess water off brushes
Water in a container to rinse your brushes
Ready to go on an art safari? Come join me and watch the video I made below!
Steps:
Place your canvas horizontally. With your pencil, draw a line across, about three quarters down your canvas. It doesn't have to be perfect, it’s just a mark to know where to stop painting.
Start by putting paint colors on your palette or paper plate, leaving black for last (Orange Red, Orange Yellow, Indian Yellow, Deep Yellow, Mid Yellow, and Lemon Yellow).
Moisten your medium flat brush and dry off excess water with a paper towel.
Grab your Orange Red color and paint on the very top, across it, in a striped sort of manner. Don't rinse your brush, but you may if you wish. Just make sure you dry off excess water before grabbing more paint. Then, use Orange Yellow and repeat the step, overlapping a bit on the previous color. Once done, grab Indian Yellow and repeat the step; followed by Deep Yellow and Mid Yellow.
You should have reached your line. Stop there and leave the space below blank for now.
Add more paint on your palette if needed and repeat the painting steps a second time to add another layer of color and make it more vibrant. Then let that part dry. While it dries, get your Mars Black and paint on your blank space. Turn your canvas upside down to let that black dry. Now, on your dry oranges and yellow ‘stripes,’ grab some Lemon Yellow with your detail brush and paint an extra small circle in the middle of your orange and yellow skies, and fill it in with the Lemon Yellow color.
Rinse your brush, dry off the excess water, and grab Orange Yellow to paint a thin line around the circle you made. Repeat this process using Mid Yellow to paint a thin line around the last one. That will be your distant sun setting in the skies. Turn your canvas upside down again.
With your detail brush, pick up some black and paint a tree trunk on the right end of the canvas, starting at the black horizontal line going up–you may also add some branches. Keep in mind that trees aren’t a straight line, so you can draw their shapes as you please.
Rinse your brush and grab your medium round brush. Dab a little bit of black paint and tap into the canvas to paint some ‘leaves’ on those branches–you may shape it as you wish. Once done, let it dry and get your white pencil or chalk. Outline the shape of your mommy and baby elephants. Then grab some more black paint with your detail brush and paint the outline. Then, use any other brush to fill in and you’re done!
If you wish, you may add details like grass with a fan brush as shown in the video. I hope you enjoyed doing this! Follow my art on Instagram and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more tutorials! Thanks for watching! Meet Chalkola’s Featured Artist:
Elizabeth “Liz” Gutierrez is an LA-born and based artist, and a stay-at-home mom of two who considers creating art as her go-to form of relaxation, self-expression, and therapy for anxiety. Inspired by nature, she loves to paint sunsets, starry nights, flowers, elephants, and many other things she sees during her outdoor excursions.
Liz loves using acrylics and oils for her artworks, but acrylics are always her first choice because she can paint many layers and finish a piece faster. When she first tried Chalkola Acrylics, she instantly fell in love. “The variety of colors helps me get extra creative and put on the canvas what I picture in my mind. The texture of the paints is perfect to paint in layers like I do,” she shares.
To achieve realism in her pieces, she uses all kinds of brushes for detailing. But every once in a while, she enjoys doing abstract or impressionistic paintings using palette knives, sponges, and even paper towels to create a unique effect on her backgrounds.
Some of her followers on social media who have purchased her art have expressed that they feel a very personal connection to her artworks, and this inspires Liz to keep creating and connecting with people through art.
Silhouette painting removes the intimidation factor from figurative art. You don't need to master facial features, skin tones, or complex shading—just recognizable shapes and clean edges. This makes it an ideal entry point for artists learning how to paint people or animals in acrylics.
The technique relies on strong compositional contrast: vibrant, warm backgrounds against solid black foregrounds. Safari sunsets work particularly well because the color gradients (yellow to orange to purple) create natural depth, while the silhouetted figures add narrative interest. Human silhouettes work equally well—think couples holding hands at sunset, dancers mid-leap, or a parent and child walking along a beach.
Because silhouettes emphasize shape and posture over detail, they teach fundamental skills like proportion, gesture, and spatial relationships. Once you master painting silhouette people with simple poses, you can progress to more complex compositions with multiple figures, layered elements like trees or buildings, or intricate poses that capture movement and emotion through body language alone.
Choosing Subjects for Acrylic Silhouette Paintings
The best silhouette subjects have instantly recognizable shapes even without internal details. Safari animals—elephants, giraffes, lions, rhinos—work beautifully because their profiles are distinctive. The same principle applies when painting human silhouettes: choose poses with clear outlines and avoid overlapping limbs that muddy the composition.
Popular silhouette painting ideas include:
Parent and child holding hands against a sunset
Dancers, yogis, or athletes in dynamic poses
Couples embracing or sitting together
Trees, branches, or foliage against colorful skies
City skylines at dusk
Birds in flight over gradient backgrounds
When planning your composition, consider the negative space—the colored background visible between and around your silhouetted figures. Gaps between a mother's hand and child's shoulder, the space under an elephant's belly, or the arch of a dancer's arms all contribute to the visual story. Sketch several thumbnail compositions before committing paint to canvas to find arrangements with balanced positive and negative space.
Reference photos help immensely. Convert images to high-contrast black-and-white to preview how shapes will read as silhouettes. Look for photos with clear lighting where the subject is backlit or photographed against bright backgrounds—these naturally show you which details will survive the silhouette treatment.
Essential Supplies for Painting Silhouettes
Silhouette paintings require minimal supplies, making them budget-friendly for beginners. Liz's tutorial uses Chalkola 8"x10" Canvas Panels and Chalkola acrylic paints, but the technique adapts to any surface and paint quality.
Basic supply list:
Canvas or painting surface: Stretched canvas, canvas panels, or even heavy watercolor paper work well for acrylics
Acrylic paints: Liz's palette is reds, oranges, yellows and Mars Black; purple and white are optional extras
Brushes: Flat brushes (1-2 inch) for backgrounds, smaller flats or rounds for silhouettes, liner brushes for fine details
Water container and paper towels for cleaning brushes between colors
Palette for mixing colors
Pencil for sketching silhouette shapes before painting
For the background gradient, fluid acrylics blend more easily than heavy-body paints, though both work with proper technique. The silhouettes themselves benefit from heavy-body or high-pigment black acrylic that covers in one or two coats without streaking. Thin craft paints may need extra coats for opacity, so a well-pigmented black saves time and frustration.
Chalkola's acrylic paint sets include vibrant sunset colors and rich blacks suitable for silhouette work.
THE CANVAS PANEL PACK LIZ PAINTED ON: 20 PANELS INCL. 8X10
Chalkola Canvas for Painting
★★★★★4.8 · 2,316 Amazon ratings
Value pack of 20 Canvas Panels — This set of 20 painting canvas comes in a variety pack of four sizes - 5x7 small canvas, 8x10 canvas panel, 9x12 canvas, 11x14 canvas (5 of each size).
Prepped and Primed — 100% Cotton white canvas set. These paint canvases for painting are primed with 8 oz. of acid-free titanium gesso. Every canvas board for painting is ready for your art needs.
Sturdily Constructed — Our art canvas painting supplies (lienzos para pintar) offer great quality - the core is flat and is made of durable MDF to prevent your work from bending or warping.
Perfect For Multiple Media — You can use these for various media. Canvas for acrylic painting, oil paint, watercolor paint, tempera paints and gouache, in both wet and dry painting techniques.
"I got this for my wife and I to have Sip and Paint. The set is the perfect date night to have with your significant other or just friends and family. …"
Joseph C. · Verified Purchase · Amazon review, Apr 2026 Review of the Chalkola 56-Piece Acrylic Paint Set
★★★★★
"These black canvases are so fun! It’s a nice change from the usual white backgrounds and gives artwork a whole new look. My kids and I really enjoyed experimenting with them, great quality and super creative."
MeganKingMama · Verified Purchase · Amazon review, Nov 2025 Review of the Chalkola 20 Canvas Panels
★★★★★
"This is a great deal , it has everything needed to start painting as i am a beginner and this kit i am 300% pleased with."
David · Verified Purchase · Amazon review, Jan 2026 Review of the Chalkola 56-Piece Acrylic Paint Set
Ratings: Chalkola 40-Piece Acrylic Paint Set on Amazon.com, September 2026. Quotes are verified Amazon reviews, shown as written.
Paint your background first with vibrant sunset colors, let it dry completely, then sketch your subject lightly in pencil. Apply black acrylic paint in smooth, opaque layers using a flat brush for bodies and a liner brush for fine details like tusks or limbs. Two coats ensure solid coverage.
Safari animals like elephants, giraffes, or deer work beautifully for beginners because their recognizable shapes don't require facial details. Simple human profiles against sunsets also make excellent starter projects. Focus on clean edges and strong contrast between your background and the black silhouette for maximum impact.
Always paint your background first and allow it to dry completely before adding silhouettes. This lets you create smooth color gradients for skies or sunsets without worrying about preserving your subject shapes. Once dry, sketch your silhouette shapes lightly, then fill them with black acrylic for crisp, clean edges.
An opaque, well-pigmented black acrylic gives the cleanest silhouettes with fewer coats; Liz uses Mars Black in this tutorial. Apply two thin coats rather than one thick layer to prevent cracking. Keep brushes damp but not wet for smooth application over dried backgrounds.
Start with yellow at the horizon line, then blend orange above it, transitioning to red and purple toward the top third. Work quickly while paint is wet, using horizontal strokes and a clean, damp brush to blend where colors meet. This gradient technique creates the warm, glowing effect that makes silhouettes pop dramatically.
Reference photos help tremendously with accurate proportions and poses. Convert your photo to black-and-white, increase contrast, then trace or sketch the outline onto your dried background. Focus on capturing recognizable postures and distinctive features like hair shapes, held objects, or body language that tell a story even without facial details.
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