Loose Landscape Painting Tutorials

Urban Cityscapes in Acrylic & Collage: From Sketch to Finished Painting

Discover how I create vibrant urban cityscapes using acrylic and collage, from the first loose sketch to the final textured painting.

Robert

10 Aug 2025 — 3 min read

Urban Cityscapes in Acrylic & Collage Painting

Urban skylines have a rhythm all their own—windows, streets, and signage become patterns that lend themselves to abstraction. In this post, I’ll take you behind the scenes of my process, from loose sketches to the final acrylic and collage layers.

Watch the Process

Here is a step-by-step video that shows you exactly how this loose, collage landscape is created, Get ready to get inspired!

Step 1 – Start with a Reject, Make a Few Decisions

Start with an inferior, reject painting. This is a great way to up-cycle art! I started with a discarded watercolor landscape painting.
Take a moment to look at the image, identify 3 quick ways you can immediately improve the art.
I started with a reject watercolor and decided to use acrylic layers and add collage border.
See if there's a point of interest, if not add one. I'll add some figures in the lower left quadrant and pop them with contrast.

If you love modern skylines and textured urban art, you can browse my Urban Cityscape paintings available in my Etsy shop.

Start with a reject, and decide how you can improve the painting

Step 2 – Adding Collage Borders

Tear paper strips from painted scraps, maps, or newsprint. Or, you can buy scrapbook paper with patters that excite you from Hobby Lobby, and such. This is usually what I use.
Glue them around the edges for a randomized, patterned border. Let them hang over some, you can always go back and trim it.
This border will frame the painting and integrate with the city textures. Wipe off any excess glue as this may become a resist later on.

Collage paper border with painted patterns framing a cityscape sketch.

Step 3 – First Acrylic Layers

Block in major color areas using a big flat brush. I added a light blue hue for contract against the burgundy collage border.
Keep edges loose—don’t outline every building. But be sure to back up from the painting once in a while to make sure the large shapes and elements are obvious.
Use acrylic glazes for transparency over collage sections. I didn't do this for the sky but will introduce it later on.

First acrylic paint layers over urban cityscape sketch with collage border.

Couldn't resist myself, I snuck in a little finger painting, too

Step 4 – Adding Texture & Detail

Introduce some figures to add a focal point, or human interest. This was a decision I made early on so I'm sticking to the plan.
To be afraid to use unconventional brushes, try new things! This leads to imperfection which also leads to more expressive artwork.
Keep most detail in one “focus zone” to guide the eye. The acrylic landscape painting approach over a watercolor works well as I can easily layer over it.

Step 5 – The Finished Piece

Final adjustments: soften some edges, add pops of color.
As you can see in the finished collage landscape below, the focal point jumps out at you. The viewer can see the building and then they have enough details, and shapes, to suggest umbrellas and a Cafe.
Why leaving some collage paper visible adds depth. The patterns keep it interesting, too.
MORE importantly, it's sooo much fun to paint like this. Hope you try it.