Eric Carle paints tissue paper to use in his collages. He then layers the thin colored papers over one another to create new colors. To paint the tissue paper, Carle uses either watercolors, acrylics or poster paints. He places the paint in a dish, adds water to the required consistency and then stirs it. Placing a single sheet of the paper on a smooth, clean surface, he paints bold, simple dots or lines of color.
One of Eric Carle's techniques is to make mono prints on tissue paper to use in his collages. In order to do this, he will apply colored ink to the surface of an object that is either rough or has indentations. An old scratchy piece of carpet, a leaf, the flat side of a basket or a piece of wire mesh work well for this. After thoroughly inking the object, he firmly presses it onto the tissue paper with the ink and paper touching one another. The resulting mono print will be cut to fit into a collage.
Almost all of Eric Carle's art is in collage form. Carle's collages are readily identifiable because the elements are all individually created in his unique style. To make a collage, he applies layers of painted or decorated tissue paper over a flat white or colored surface. Each piece of tissue paper is precisely cut to fit a piece of the picture, and all of the pieces are assembled to perfectly fit together.
Using wax crayons and pencil crayons, Eric Carle adds finishing touches to his work. First, he allows any paint or glue to dry completely, and then he adds final details. For example, he will draw eyes and whiskers on his collage animals in this way after their shapes have been completely finished using his collage technique. The final result are collage works that have drawn elements. This makes Carle's work much more complex than it initially appears to be.