Experienced Ebru artists will tell you: the quality of your Ebru begins before you ever touch a brush. The sizing solution — the thickened water in your tray — is the invisible foundation on which everything else depends. Get it right, and your pigments will behave beautifully; get it wrong, and no amount of skill in pattern-making will save you.
This guide covers everything you need to know about preparing, testing, and maintaining the perfect Ebru sizing solution.
What Is the Sizing Solution?
The sizing solution (called aharlı su — "sized water" — in Turkish) is water that has been thickened with a hydrocolloid: a substance that forms a gel or viscous liquid when dissolved in water. This increased viscosity slows the natural movement of water molecules at the surface, creating a stable platform on which dropped pigment can spread laterally rather than sinking.
The sizing must have precisely the right consistency — thin enough to allow pigments to spread freely, thick enough to support them and prevent them from sinking or mixing with each other. This balance is the fundamental challenge of sizing preparation.
Traditional Sizing: Gum Tragacanth (Kitre)
The traditional Ebru sizing agent is kitre — gum tragacanth — a natural resin exuded from the Astragalus plant, which grows across the Middle East and Central Asia. It has been used in Ebru since the earliest days of the art.
To prepare kitre sizing:
- Measure approximately 2–3 grams of kitre powder per liter of water (adjust based on your specific kitre's potency)
- Sprinkle the kitre over the water surface — do not stir immediately
- Allow to hydrate for 24–48 hours, stirring occasionally
- Strain through cheesecloth to remove lumps
- Pour into your tray and allow to settle for several hours before use
Kitre produces a very stable, smooth sizing with excellent pigment-supporting properties. Its main drawback is the long hydration time. Traditional masters often maintain a continuous supply, preparing new batches while using older ones.
Contemporary Sizing: Carrageenan
Most contemporary Ebru practitioners use carrageenan — a polysaccharide extracted from certain species of red seaweed (most commonly Irish moss, Chondrus crispus). Carrageenan has become the preferred modern sizing agent because it hydrates much more quickly than kitre and is available in standardized, consistent powder form.
To prepare carrageenan sizing:
- Use approximately 1–2 grams of carrageenan powder per liter of room-temperature water (start with 1.5g/L and adjust)
- Add the powder to the water gradually, whisking continuously to prevent clumping
- Allow to hydrate for a minimum of 2–4 hours, or overnight for best results
- Blend with an immersion blender for a smoother consistency if needed
- Pour into your tray and allow to settle and de-bubble for at least 30 minutes before use
The correct carrageenan sizing should look and feel like very light cooking oil — slightly viscous, clear, with no lumps or visible particles. When you tilt the tray, the surface should move slowly and return to level gradually rather than sloshing like plain water.
Testing Your Sizing
Before beginning a Ebru session, always test your sizing by dropping a single test drop of prepared pigment onto the surface. A well-prepared sizing produces:
- Immediate, even spreading of the pigment drop into a disc 5–8 cm in diameter (with standard ox gall concentration)
- Sharp, clean edges on the pigment disc — no feathering or breaking apart
- The disc holds its shape and does not continue to expand after the initial spread
- The pigment does not sink, cloud the sizing, or form bubbles
If the pigment sinks: the sizing is too thin — add more carrageenan and allow to hydrate further.
If the pigment will not spread: the sizing is too thick — dilute with water, stir, and retest.
If the surface is covered in bubbles: skim with a sheet of paper or allow more settling time.
Temperature and Environment
The behavior of Ebru sizing changes significantly with temperature. Cold sizing (below 15°C) becomes more viscous and resistant to pigment spreading; warm sizing (above 25°C) becomes less stable and may cause pigments to bleed and blur. The ideal working temperature range is 18–22°C (65–72°F).
Humidity also matters: very dry environments cause the surface of the sizing to skin over slightly, which disrupts pigment spreading. In dry climates, keep the studio comfortably humid and work with a freshly settled tray.
Maintaining and Refreshing the Sizing
Sizing can be used for multiple sessions before it needs replacing. Between prints, skim the surface with a waste print to remove residual pigment. At the end of a session, cover the tray to prevent evaporation and contamination, and store at room temperature.
Sizing typically lasts 3–5 days before it begins to degrade — developing a faint smell and becoming less stable. Fresh sizing produces better results; if you notice your pigments behaving inconsistently, making a fresh batch is almost always the solution.
"The tray does not lie. If something is wrong with your Ebru, the first place to look is your sizing."
Mastery of sizing preparation is one of the least glamorous but most essential skills in Ebru. A master whose sizing is perfect can create extraordinary work with simple patterns; an artist whose sizing is poorly prepared will struggle even with the most skillful technique.
