One of your own old drawings, traced and repainted in new colorsOne sheet, front. Tape the drawing underneath. Trace it in line, lift the sheet off, and choose every color afresh.
A word printed large and flipped, traced on the back so it reads right from the frontOne sheet, back. Print the word mirror-image and tape it face up underneath. Trace the letters and fill them solid.
A spiral galaxy wiped from the center out with a twisting swabOne sheet, front. Coat in black. Twist a swab at the center, sweep two curved arms out from it, and dot around.
A birthday cake with the candle flames painted first and the cake behind themOne sheet, back. Flames and candles, then icing lines, then the cake color, then a wall color to the edges.
A bowl of fruit in flat shapes, with the shine on each fruit dotted on before its colorOne sheet, back. White glints first. Then one flat color per fruit, the bowl behind them, and a ground coat last.
A coral reef: small bright fish first, coral behind them, deep blue lastOne sheet, back. A dozen small fish. Branching coral over and around them. Deep blue across the whole back.
A goldfish bowl with the fish and weed painted first and pale blue water brushed over themOne sheet, back. Paint two fish and the weed. When dry, cover the bowl shape in thin blue, then look from the front.
A gumball machine with a white glint on every ball before the colors go onOne sheet, back. Glints first, a color over each, then the red stand, and a pale ground coat over everything.
A hot-air balloon whose stripes go on before the skyOne sheet, back. Stripes and basket first. When dry, brush sky blue over the whole back, straight across the balloon.
A rainy window: white drops first, then a blurred gray street behind themOne sheet, back. Dot and streak the drops in white. When dry, block in soft gray buildings and yellow lights.
A slice of watermelon: black seeds first, red over them, the rind behindOne sheet, back. Seeds first. Red flesh over them, a pale band, a green rind, then a ground coat to the edges.
A speech bubble sign with one mirrored word, a white bubble and a bright fieldOne sheet, back. Letter the word backward. Paint the white bubble over it, then one bright color to the edges.
A stack of books with mirror-image titles lettered before the spine colorsOne sheet, back. Write each title backward in fine line. When dry, lay a block of color over each spine.
Leopard print: dark rings first, ocher centers next, tan over the whole backOne sheet, back. Broken dark rings scattered evenly. A dab of ocher in each. One coat of tan covers the sheet.
Three overlapping rectangles of flat color, the front one painted firstOne sheet, back. Paint the rectangle that should sit in front. Let it dry, overlap the second, then the third.
Layered panels 12
A city at night in three sheets: lit windows, dark towers, then moon and skyThree sheets, front. Yellow window dots on one. Black towers lined up behind them on two. Moon and navy on three.
A color mixer: a yellow circle on one sheet and a blue circle on another, slid togetherTwo sheets, front. One circle in thin paint on each. Overlap them against a window and watch for the green.
A forest in three sheets: near trunks in front, thinner trees behind, pale far trees lastThree sheets, front. Dark, wide trunks on sheet one. Slimmer mid-gray ones on two. Thin pale ones on three.
A garden in three sheets: flowers in front, a fence behind them, a house at the backThree sheets, front. Tall flowers along the bottom of one. A picket fence on two. The house and sky on three.
A night sky in three sheets: a rocket in front, a ringed planet behind, stars at the backThree sheets, front. Rocket low on one. Planet off-center on two. White dots of mixed size all over three.
A portrait in two sheets: the line drawing in front, flat skin and hair colors behindTwo sheets, front. Draw the face in marker on one. Lay it over the second and block in colors under the lines.
A storm in three sheets: rain streaks, a figure under an umbrella, then cloudsThree sheets, front. Slanted white streaks on one. The figure on two. Heavy gray clouds across the top of three.
A swarm of jellyfish spread over three sheets so they float at different depthsThree sheets, front. Three or four jellyfish per sheet, none in the same spot. The biggest go on the front sheet.
A tiger half hidden: tall grass on the front sheet, the tiger on the one behindTwo sheets, front. Paint grass blades the full height of one. Paint the tiger on two so only parts show through.
A toy theater: curtains on the front sheet, actors on the second, a backdrop on the thirdThree sheets, front. Red curtains down both sides of one. Two figures on two. A painted wood or castle on three.
An aquarium in three sheets: fish in front, weed in the middle, a blue wash behindThree sheets, front. Fish on one, tall weed on two, thin blue over all of three. Stand them a finger apart.
Mountain ridges that pale with distance, the darkest on the front sheetThree sheets, front. One ridge line per sheet, filled below. Mix more white into the color for each sheet back.
Window hangings 12
A black cat sitting on the bottom edge as if on the real windowsillOne sheet, front. Paint the cat solid black with its feet on the very edge. Stand the sheet on the sill.
A border of painted vines around the edge, leaving the middle clear for the viewOne sheet, front. Run a stem round all four sides. Add leaves in two greens and a few buds; paint nothing inside.
A butterfly with solid black veins and thin color between themOne sheet, front. Paint the body and wing veins in black. Fill the gaps with two thin colors, mirrored side to side.
A dragonfly with clear wings: only the veins and the body are paintedOne sheet, front. Paint the body solid. Draw the wing outlines and veins in fine line and leave the rest bare.
A flock of solid black birds on clear sheet, flying in the real sky behindOne sheet, front. Paint five or six small bird shapes at different sizes. Leave everything else clear.
A kite with a tail of bows, hung so it flies against the real skyOne sheet, front. Paint the diamond in four colors near the top. Trail the tail down in one curved line of bows.
A rose window: twelve petals around a center ring, black lines first, a color in eachOne sheet, front. Draw the lines in black paint marker. When dry, fill each petal with thin color; alternate two.
A string of bunting flags along the top edge, each in a different thin colorOne sheet, front. Draw a sagging line from corner to corner. Hang seven triangles from it; outline each in black.
A suncatcher of overlapping circles in thin paint that mix new colors where they crossOne sheet, front. Paint red, yellow and blue circles that overlap in pairs. Let each one dry before the next.
A sunrise in bands of thin red, orange and yellow that color the light on the sillOne sheet, front. Brush three wide bands in thin paint, yellow at the bottom. Hang it where morning sun comes in.
A white snowflake with six arms from one center, for a winter windowOne sheet, front. Cross three lines at one point in white paint marker. Add two short side branches to each arm.
Fall leaves in thin yellow, orange and red that overlap at the edgesOne sheet, front. Trace real leaves. Fill each with one thin color and let neighbors cross by a finger width.
Trace and fill 12
A comic panel of your own, inked onto the sheet and colored from behindOne sheet, both sides. Trace your pencil drawing on the front in marker. Flip the sheet and fill colors on the back.
A friend's face traced through the sheet while they sit still on the other sideOne sheet, front. Prop the sheet upright between you. Close one eye and trace, then swap seats and add yours.
A map of a place you love, traced, with only the water painted inOne sheet, front. Trace the coast, rivers or lakes from a printed map. Fill the water blue and leave the land clear.
A mug and two pieces of fruit behind the upright sheet, traced with one eye closedOne sheet, front. Stand the sheet between you and the objects. Trace their outlines and shadows; fill them flat.
A photo of a pet in three tones: dark, middle and light shapes, each filled flatOne sheet, front. Tape the photo underneath. Outline the darkest shapes, then the lightest; the rest is the middle.
A pressed leaf under the sheet, traced vein by vein in fine lineOne sheet, both sides. Tape the leaf underneath. Trace the edge and every vein, then fill thin green on the back.
A word printed large and flipped, traced on the back so it reads right from the frontOne sheet, back. Print the word mirror-image and tape it face up underneath. Trace the letters and fill them solid.
The corner of a room traced through the sheet to show how the floor lines slantOne sheet, front. Prop the sheet upright and close one eye. Trace the ceiling, wall and floor lines as they appear.
One of your own old drawings, traced and repainted in new colorsOne sheet, front. Tape the drawing underneath. Trace it in line, lift the sheet off, and choose every color afresh.
The view from a window, traced with the sheet taped to the glassOne sheet, front. Stand still and close one eye. Trace rooftops, trees and wires exactly where they sit.
Your hand flat under the sheet, traced and filled with a different pattern in each fingerOne sheet, front. Trace round the hand in marker. Stripes, dots, zigzags, checks and waves, one to a finger.
Your own portrait traced from a printed photo taped under the sheetOne sheet, front. Tape the photo face up underneath. Trace the big shapes in marker, then fill each with flat color.
Wipe-out drawings 12
A bare winter tree wiped upward, the swab lifting off at each twig tipOne sheet, front. Coat in dusk purple. Wipe the trunk wide, split it into branches, and flick off at the ends.
A fern frond wiped from wet green, one leaflet at a timeOne sheet, front. Coat in dark green. Wipe the midrib first, then pairs of leaflets that shrink toward the tip.
A fish skeleton wiped clean in pale lines on deep blue-greenOne sheet, front. Coat in teal. Wipe a spine, then ribs angled back from it, a tail fan and a round eye socket.
A full moon and a scatter of stars wiped out of blackOne sheet, front. Coat in black. Wipe a disc clean with a cloth over a fingertip and dot the stars with a swab.
A row of lit windows wiped out of a dark street of housesOne sheet, front. Coat in charcoal gray. Wipe small squares in rows; drag a wide swab once for a lit doorway.
A spiral galaxy wiped from the center out with a twisting swabOne sheet, front. Coat in black. Twist a swab at the center, sweep two curved arms out from it, and dot around.
Car headlights on a night road: two cones of light wiped toward you from a dark hillOne sheet, front. Coat in navy. Wipe two dots, then drag a folded cloth down and outward from each one.
Fireworks: bursts of lines wiped outward from three centersOne sheet, front. Coat in navy. Pull short swab strokes out from each center, longer ones on the biggest burst.
Lightning over hills, wiped out of a wet coat of dark blueOne sheet, front. Brush dark blue over the sheet. While wet, drag a cotton swab in one forked line, then a ridge.
Ocean waves: rows of curling crests wiped with a fingertip wrapped in clothOne sheet, front. Coat in deep blue. Wipe a row of curls along the top, then flatter rows of ripples below.
Rain on a pond: rings inside rings wiped at four placesOne sheet, front. Coat in gray-blue. Wipe three rings round each of four points, the biggest rings nearest you.
Your signature wiped large across a wet coat of your favorite colorOne sheet, front. Coat the sheet. Sign your name with a swab in one go, as large as the sheet allows.
How it works
Plexiglass, the everyday name for clear acrylic sheet, shows a painting from both sides and lets light through it. These 60 ideas use that: pictures painted on the back, scenes split over stacked sheets, hangings for a window, tracings and wipe-outs.
Read the full guide
Front or back
On the back the order runs in reverse: whatever should sit in front goes on first. The hot-air balloon gets its stripes before its sky, the gumballs their glints before their colors, and any lettering is written mirror-image so that it reads right from the front.
Layers need a gap
A layered scene comes alive when its sheets stand a finger apart, so that near things slide across far ones as you move your head. The forest in three sheets is the plainest to begin with: dark, wide trunks in front, thin pale ones at the back.
Acrylic sheet is softer than glass and scratches more easily, so the wipe-out drawings use a cotton swab or a cloth.
No idea here needs a sheet cut or drilled: a hanging can stand on the sill.
Wipe-out drawings have to be finished while the coat of paint is still wet, so start with a small sheet.
Questions and answers
What kind of paint do you use on plexiglass?
One whose label says it holds on plastic or acrylic sheet. We test no paint. Thin, see-through color suits the window hangings and the color mixer; solid color suits anything painted on the back.
What are easy plexiglass art ideas?
The Easy group has 15: solid black birds against the real sky, three overlapping rectangles painted on the back, a traced hand, a moon and stars wiped out of black. Each is built from flat shapes, with no fine brushwork.
Is plexiglass the same as acrylic?
In everyday use, yes. Plexiglass is a common name for clear acrylic sheet, a plastic often used as a lightweight, shatter-resistant alternative to glass. Chemists call it poly(methyl methacrylate).