Controlled Chaos – How to Make Chaotic Art

If you look at many art tutorials in nearly any medium, you’ll notice a lot of the same tips. They’re often geared toward people who want to draw or paint more realistically. While there’s certainly value in understanding how to capture realistic proportions, these kinds of tips often frame a specific style as “wrong.” You know the ones—those side-by-side comparisons on mainstream art Instagram accounts where one picture is framed as inherently “correct” and the other “incorrect.” Sure, many of these accounts tend to be lower-effort, but even more professional and stylized artists sometimes frame certain things as “incorrect”—like overcrowding a paper or canvas, or using the wrong colors.

I find this a little suffocating. I don’t see these “problems” as real problems. Instead, I believe there’s a place for these kinds of styles. There are many ways to incorporate chaotic elements and loud colors into your art, and not enough artists are covering that side of things. That’s what we’ll be discussing here: the power of chaos, and how you can use it to enrich your own work.

There’s No One Way to Do It

There has never been and never will be a uniform way of doing art. While there are certain aspects that make specific styles distinguishable, there are infinite ways of achieving your artistic vision. I’m not here to knock on styles like realism that do require lots of steps. In fact, I have a great deal of respect for those disciplines. However, genres of art can still evolve within their respective genres, and you don’t even have to fit neatly into one genre. The purpose of this blog is to show you that chaotic, intricate art has just as much validity as any other form of expression. If your art is crowded, loud, or complex, don’t let anyone tell you it’s wrong.

You see, chaos in art isn’t about making a mess—it’s about creating something dynamic, full of energy, and unique. While some art forms demand precision, chaotic art allows you to throw the rules out the window, embrace unpredictability, and experiment with every mark you make. The freedom to break the mold is part of what makes this style so exciting.

While we’re on the subject, color theory can still be useful when creating chaotic art—but it’s not about rigidly sticking to it. Knowing how different colors interact with one another can help you create contrast and draw attention to certain areas, even in a chaotic composition. But feel free to mix clashing colors, use unexpected hues, or throw symmetry out the door. The real beauty lies in your willingness to push boundaries.

Art is About Feeling, Not Just Rules

Ultimately, art is about conveying emotion. It’s about creating a connection, evoking a feeling, and communicating something deeper than just visual aesthetics. When you lean into the messiness of your art, you’re often tapping into something raw and visceral—a sense of urgency, passion, or even frustration. And sometimes, that’s exactly what you want your audience to feel.

When you let go of the constraints of perfection and embrace the chaos, you’re giving yourself permission to reflect that intensity, energy, and emotion onto the canvas. It’s a reflection of the world around us, which is anything but neat and tidy. Emotions aren’t always clean and orderly, and neither should your art be. The feeling is often what makes your work powerful—whether it’s the anxiety of a fast-paced city or the joy of a wild, carefree summer. By using chaotic techniques, you’re bringing that feeling to life.

Art doesn’t always have to be perfect. In fact, imperfections can sometimes hold more power than perfect lines and symmetrical forms. When we look at some of the world’s most beloved pieces, they often express something messy and raw—whether it’s Van Gogh’s swirling brushstrokes or Pollock’s energetic splatters. These works express a deeper sense of emotion and movement that draws us in. Chaotic art can do the same, offering a visceral reaction that a more controlled composition might not evoke.

Examples of Chaotic Art Techniques

Now that we’ve set the stage for chaotic art, let’s dive into some practical ways you can embrace and develop your own chaotic style, regardless of the medium you’re working in. Whether you’re painting, drawing, or even sculpting, these tips will show you how to add more detail and energy to your artwork while celebrating its chaotic beauty.

1. Layering and Overlapping

One of the best ways to add complexity and chaos to your work is by layering elements. This technique works wonderfully in almost every medium, whether you’re painting or drawing, or even working digitally. Try layering different images or textures on top of one another. Objects can overlap, collide, or blend together, creating a sense of depth and movement.

For example, in a portrait, instead of focusing on a clean, detailed depiction of a face, you might layer smaller details like patterns or other objects in the background, allowing them to interact with the primary subject. By overlapping these elements, you’ll create a sense of visual noise that adds energy without losing clarity in the primary focal points. If you look at artists who use collage or mixed media, you’ll notice how the overlapping images create chaos while still maintaining a clear narrative within the piece.

For another example, in landscape painting, you might have a large, detailed foreground that overlaps with a chaotic backdrop of colors and brushstrokes. The combination of detailed texture in the foreground and the chaos of a more abstract background creates a striking contrast that grabs attention.

2. Patterns, Textures, and Detail

Textures are your best friend when it comes to chaotic art. Instead of aiming for smooth, perfect surfaces, experiment with rough, jagged, or layered textures that feel wild and uncontrolled. If you’re working with drawing or mixed media, fill your canvas with small, repetitive patterns like spirals, dots, or scribbles—each layer adding to the chaos and complexity of the piece.

This technique doesn’t have to be entirely random. You can introduce order in the way you build your textures, such as varying their density or size across the canvas. This gives the viewer something to engage with as they explore your work, seeking out the tiny details hidden in the chaos. For example, in abstract art, you might use these patterns to simulate movement or mimic natural forces, such as wind or water, making the chaos feel intentional rather than disorganized.

If you’re painting, try building up layers of thick paint to create textured surfaces that invite the viewer’s eye to travel across the canvas. The texture itself can become a piece of the puzzle—rough areas will contrast with smoother parts, adding dynamic energy to the piece. Artists like Jean Dubuffet or the texture-heavy works of the German expressionists have mastered this method, and you can experiment with it yourself to add more depth and excitement to your work.

Another cool way to do this is with stickers. We already have a whole blog post about all the different ways to use stickers in art, and a lot of those ways apply perfectly here.

3. Embrace Contrast and Conflict

Chaos thrives on contrast. When creating detailed, loud art, you want to introduce elements that clash, creating a sense of tension and movement. You don’t have to shy away from sharp contrasts between light and dark, smooth and jagged, soft and hard.

For example, imagine a drawing where one part of the image is softly rendered, with gentle gradients and delicate lines, but the other half features a harsh, geometric pattern filled with jagged edges and vibrant colors. The contrast between these elements will inject a sense of unease, which is exactly what gives chaotic art its power.

This concept can also apply to color. Use complementary colors that might “fight” each other, like purple and yellow, or red and green. These color relationships can add excitement and chaos to your piece without overwhelming it. The key is to embrace the tension that contrast can create, making your work more dynamic. A great example of this is the bold and contrasting works of artists like Wassily Kandinsky, where sharp lines and jarring colors provoke a strong emotional response from the viewer.

For an additional layer, consider using different textures in contrast to each other—perhaps smooth, shiny elements that reflect light against rough, matte textures that absorb it. This mix of tactile contrast can add another dimension to your chaotic artwork, making it even more engaging for the viewer.

4. Density Through Detail

Another method to intensify the chaos is by adding more detail. The more you pack into your piece, the more alive it will feel. You don’t need to give each tiny element a clear, realistic shape—let things get messy. Hundreds of tiny marks, lines, or textures can be layered on top of each other, creating a dense, intricate artwork that overwhelms the viewer with its complexity.

In a chaotic piece, every detail doesn’t need to “make sense” or be immediately identifiable. They can be abstract or even nonsensical, but together, they form a rich, vibrant tapestry that pulls the viewer in. This doesn’t mean everything should be “busy” in a negative way, but the density of detail can create a sense of full, overwhelming energy, giving the piece a sense of motion.

You can also experiment with visual “noise.” These can be chaotic marks and scribbles that don’t always represent anything specific, but when layered together, they form an impression of frantic movement. These kinds of details—though seemingly random—are a key feature in adding chaos to your work. Think of how an explosion of tiny lines can represent an intense, emotional moment.

5. Unconventional Color Choices

Color choices don’t have to follow traditional rules to be effective. The goal in chaotic art isn’t always harmony—it’s about creating visual noise, excitement, and unexpected moments. Don’t be afraid to use color combinations that seem odd or clash. Bright reds, neon greens, and electric blues can all play together in a way that feels jarring yet compelling.

Take inspiration from street art or modern abstract artists who use color in unconventional ways to amplify the chaos in their work. Instead of worrying about complementary or analogous schemes, think of color as a tool for creating contrast and tension, making the artwork feel loud, unrefined, and full of life. The color clashes in works by artists like Keith Haring or Jean-Michel Basquiat are perfect examples of how unconventional color choices can add energy to a piece, creating a chaotic but captivating final result. If you are a bit more inexperienced with color, we also have a blog discussing the basics of color theory. Even experienced artists need a refresh sometimes.

Closing Thoughts

Art is about feeling. Sometimes, that feeling is messy. Sometimes, that mess is exactly what makes it powerful. In the same way that emotions are rarely neat and orderly, your art doesn’t have to be either. Chaos in art isn’t about losing control—it’s about embracing it. Leaning into the unpredictability of your brushstrokes or pencil marks can reveal new dimensions of creativity that you might not have discovered in more “controlled” work.

By layering your details, embracing contrast, and playing with texture and color, you can create art that feels alive and expressive, full of the energy that makes it stand out. If anyone has ever told you that your crowded, chaotic art is “wrong,” remember this: It’s not about being perfect—it’s about creating something that communicates, something that speaks to the viewer on a visceral level.