How to Use Acrylic Paints? Benefits, Tips, and Advice for Beginners and Experienced Artists
Acrylic paints are extremely popular among artists of all skill levels because they offer many advantages. The 5 main advantages include:
1. Fast drying: acrylic paints are fast-drying, allowing artists to work with multiple layers in a short time. This also reduces the risk of smudging or unwanted colors mixing together.
2. Water-thinnable: unlike oil paints, which require special solvents, acrylic paints can be thinned with water. This makes cleaning and maintaining your tools easier.
3. Durability and resistance: they are known for their resistance to light, moisture, and temperature. Once dry, finished artworks are water-resistant and retain the same intensity of color for a long time.
4. Flexibility: they can be applied to a variety of surfaces, such as canvas, paper, wood, glass, ceramic, or fabric. The paints are also compatible with various techniques, such as impasto, plaster art, and palette knife painting.
5. Wide range of colors: today, they are available in a wide palette of shades, giving you complete freedom as you create. The paints are also easy to mix, so you can quickly create new shades as needed.
14 practical tips to make working with acrylics easier
1. Preparing the surface: to achieve optimal paint adhesion and durability, use suitable surface preparation products, such as primer, gesso. To save yourself some work, buy a gesso-primed canvas.
2. Keep the paints wet: wet your brush before using acrylic paint so the paint spreads more easily. Acrylic paints dry quickly, so it’s important to keep them wet while you work. When you’re finished, remember to seal the paints tightly and clean all the tools you used (brushes, palette knives, stencils).
3. Layering paints: acrylic paints dry quickly, which makes it easy to layer them. Start with thinner layers and gradually add more until you achieve the desired effect. Thicker layers of acrylic paint are very popular and eye-catching, creating the much-loved 3D effect on a painting. You can achieve this effect, for example, by using palette knives or stencils.
4. When painting with acrylics, artists usually work from darker underpainting tones to lighter details.: when applying the paints, it’s a good idea to start with darker shades and gradually add lighter paints. This lets you create depth and contrast in your painting.
5. Use synthetic and natural brushes: if you want to create a smooth painting with acrylic paint, we recommend using softer synthetic bristles, which are easier to clean and less expensive than natural bristles. If you want a rougher, more textured painting, however, hard natural bristles are a good choice.
6. Use retarders: if you want to slow the drying time of acrylic paints, you can add a drying retarder to the paint. It helps extend your working time and improves paint blending on the canvas.
7. Mixing paints: acrylic paints mix very well, allowing you to create new shades and gradients. When mixing paints, use a palette knife or a palette knife for even, precise mixing. You can also make your own acrylic paint from scratch using pigment and acrylic medium.
8. Create texture: you can create texture with acrylic paints using special mediums, such as modeling pastes or gels. You can also experiment with different brushes and palette knives, or apply paint straight from the tube. Many artists have embraced the plaster art trend, which is also suitable for beginners. All you need is for example, ARTMiE 3D relief paste and a palette knife and you’ll have a painting in no time.
9. Create new shades: acrylic paints are available in a wide range of colors, and unusual shades are often available too. For example, glitter, metallic, neon and fluorescent. If you don't have the shade you need, you can mix it to your liking. Acrylic paints are very easy to mix with one another.
10. Add white paint to lighten a shade: Have you ever noticed that acrylic paint used straight from the tube looks flat and harsh on a painted surface? To soften the colors in your painting and bring them together, add a small amount of white paint to each shade, or umber (a dark color, a mix of black and dark brown). Choose white or umber depending on whether you want to shift the painting toward lighter or darker colors. This small addition also gives your painting the depth it needs.
11. Darkening as it dries: Acrylic paint darkens as it dries. Not dramatically, but it can affect the finished piece. So try to apply shades that are a little lighter than the final color you want.
12. Consistency and transparency: the thickness and coverage of the paint depend on the amount of water mixed in. For a thick, opaque coat, don't add water. To get a thinner, watercolor-like coat, add more water or acrylic medium. If you're looking for a different acrylic paint consistency, acrylic inks and acrylic markers are also available.
13. Seal your painting: although acrylic paints are quite durable, you can help extend their lifespan and lightfastness with a fixative. It's up to you whether you choose a liquid coating or a fixative spray. A finishing varnish can also change the final effect of your painting. Our selection includes varnishes with a gloss or matte finish, as well as crackle varnish.
14. Storing paintings: when storing paintings stacked against each other, place paper or drawing paper between them because acrylic paint can stick to itself.
We hope these tips have helped you get started with acrylics. We wish you lots of inspiration and joy as you paint!
Did you know? 4 facts about acrylic paints
- Don't dilute with more than about 30% water. You can dilute the paint further, but it loses binder and gloss. The pigment then adheres less well to the surface and looks matte and chalky when dry.
- You can also dilute with medium. For very fluid paint that retains its gloss, use liquid acrylic medium mixed with water.
- You can slow drying by adding a retarder (drying retarder) or mediums that contain one.
- Dried acrylic paint dissolves in acetone. If you accidentally stain a surface, you can remove the stain with acetone. Be careful, acetone can damage the surface itself.