Introduction to Multi-Media Gel Sticks

Gel Sticks are acid-free pigment sticks that glide on creamy smooth for vibrant color and coverage. These versatile art tools can be used dry or blend easily with water and can be used to create art in a variety of ways.  While they’ve earned their nickname ‘adult crayons’ for their ease of use, advanced artists and aspiring enthusiasts alike love pushing their creative boundaries and employing a variety of techniques to create one-of-a-kind art using just our palette of gel sticks (72 colors are available!) or combining them with other materials for stunning mixed media projects. Often the key to success is experimenting but read on for some tips and tricks on how to use, seal, and layer these materials.  

WET or DRY APPLICATION  

While Gel Sticks can be used in their dry form right from the tube, you can blend or transform opaque colors into translucent tints or mists by manipulating with a soft, wet brush or even preloading color onto a brush and painting.   

WHAT ARE GEL STICKS MADE OF? 

Gel sticks are water-soluble, lightfast, odorless, nontoxic and acid-free.  

DRAW ON LIGHT OR DARK SURFACES  

Gel Sticks work on most porous surfaces - paper, canvas, wood, chipboard, fabric, ribbon, journal boards, or virtually any porous surfaces, in light or dark in color tones. Explore the effects created with neon, metallic, classic or glitter color Gel Sticks, all available in the series.  

LAYER IT ON 

Just like other paint, crayon, pencil or marker mediums, Gel Sticks can easily be layered and blended together to create new colors, shadows and highlights. Many artists truly consider these a multi-media product and layer Gel Sticks with water-based paints, markers, pencils, and crayons. 

SCRATCH AT IT 

Apply a thick layer of Gel Stick material onto your surface then use a tool, such as the end of a paint brush or popsicle stick to scratch designs into this material. Consider adding specific scratching patterns, like crosshatching, to create shadow and depth with Gel Sticks. Or, layer two colors of gel stick and use the tool to scratch away only the top layer to reveal the color underneath.    

DRY TIME 

Typically you can expect gel sticks to dry within 3 – 5 minutes but there are many factors involved in the dry time of our Gel Sticks, including weather and humidity! 

STORAGE 

Our Gel Sticks conveniently come in plastic cases for easy storage and travel ability. Humidity is not their friend so please keep them capped and out of high temperatures, like in hot car.  

LIGHTFAST 

All our colors meet and/or exceed a class of 4.0 which is the standard to classify something as lightfast when exposed to 20 AFUs of UV lightshow. Each color shows no excessive fading and colorfastness as well. 

SEALING GEL STICKS 

Probably one of our most popular questions asked is how to seal gel sticks. Because of the high ability to blend layers of this medium, after drying we recommend an acrylic spray sealant to lessen the chance of smudging. We’ve tested many of the major brands and all have worked but again our conditions may not be your conditions. A test is always good.  

NOTE ABOUT TESTING 

We get questions from creative artists all the time asking about different surfaces, applications and techniques for Gel Sticks as well as many other materials. Awesome! Sometimes the answer is clear, but often times it isn’t. Everyone’s use conditions, techniques and expectations are different. You are going to spend precious time creating your work and pour your heart and soul into it. We highly recommend taking the time to do a test or two on your desired surface with your tools and other materials under the same conditions you intend to work, to make sure you are going to get what you want and need in terms of execution, finished results and fitness for purpose.  

COLLECTION AVAILABILITY 

KINGART Gel Sticks are available in an assortment of set sizes, color palettes and even in open stock when you need to refill a favorite color. The wide tube is easy for hands of all sizes to hold. Shop the full collection.   

GET INSPIRED 

See our Gel Sticks in action by Artist Jenni Davidson.