How to paint with acrylics

Video: Beginners Acrylic Painting Course

Content

Method 2 of 3: Acrylic Painting Basics
Method 3 of 3: Different Painting Techniques
Tips
What do you need

1 For a simple base, choose a primed canvas on a stretcher. If you are an aspiring artist, canvas will be the optimal material for you as a base. Canvas can be made from cotton or linen and sold in a variety of forms, such as stretched and unstretched. The stretched canvas is firmly fixed on a wooden frame of a certain size. Canvas without stretcher is usually sold not in pieces of ready-made sizes, but per meter from a roll (like regular fabric).

The primed canvas is covered with a special primer that improves the adhesion of the paint to the fabric. If you do not want to purchase a ready-made primed canvas, you can purchase a canvas without primer and a tube of Gesso primer. Before you start painting, cover the canvas with a layer of primer and let it dry.
In art and craft stores, you can find ready-made canvases in various sizes, with or without a stretcher. Take a close look at the choices you have to find a canvas of the shape and size that best suits what you intend to paint.

2 If you plan to paint with acrylics diluted in water, opt for thick watercolor paper. If you like the effect of painting with watercolors, but still love using acrylic paints, try using thick watercolor paper, which is suitable for painting with thinned acrylic. Watercolor paper is cheaper than stretched canvas, especially if you don't exclude the possibility that your first works will not be very successful and go straight to the trash.

You can find thick watercolor paper at stationery and craft stores.
Be aware that thin paper can ripple and deform with water-thinned acrylic paints.

3 Choose from 8-10 colors of artistic acrylic paints. Unlike student acrylics, art acrylics contain richer pigments and come in a wide variety of colors. If you are just starting out with painting, 8-10 colors will be enough. Choose one tube each of the base colors (blue, yellow, and red) and 5-7 complementary colors that you like to paint. For example, you can take the following colors:

black;
purple or pink;
Brown;
green;
White.

4 Buy 5-8 art brushes to paint in a variety of styles. If you paint with only one brush, it will be difficult to achieve the full variety of visual effects that can be created with acrylic paints. Therefore, buy several brushes of different styles at once. Below is a list of the most common types of acrylic brushes:

round brushes (for drawing lines and details);
flat brushes (for creating large, bold strokes and painting over large areas);
fan brushes (for mixing paints and blurring borders);
flat shortened brushes (for working closely with the canvas and creating crisp, thick strokes);
flat beveled brushes (for painting corners and drawing small details).

Method 2 of 3: Acrylic Painting Basics

1 Squeeze a very small amount of acrylic paint onto the palette at a time. Even a small amount of paint is enough for a lot, so squeeze a strip of paint only about 5 mm long from the tube to get started. In this way, prepare 4–6 colors of paints with which you are going to work. Distribute them at some distance from each other around the perimeter of the palette.
- This allows you to leave room for later mixing paints and checking color combinations in the center of the palette.
2 First, use large brushes to draw out the outlines of the objects that you want to depict. When you start painting with acrylics, use large flat brushes to draw outlines of large objects on the canvas. For example, if you are painting a mountain landscape, start by drawing clear outlines of the mountain peaks.
- You may find it more convenient to use opaque matte colors to create the outlines. Then, when you draw the details, you can already work with more transparent colors.
3 Use small brushes to paint in details. Having finished working on the general contours of the drawing, pick up smaller brushes. Use them to add detail to your image. Try working with a variety of pointed brushes to create different line widths and visual effects on the canvas.
- For example, after creating the outlines of large mountain peaks, use a small, pointed brush to fill in the drawing with details such as freestanding trees, a lake, and tourists on its shore.
4 While working, spray the palette with water every 10-15 minutes. Acrylic paints dry quickly and become more difficult to work with. To keep your paints in optimum condition, spray them with water from a spray bottle to prevent them from drying out and hardening prematurely on a palette or canvas. Be aware that after drying, it is no longer possible to remove acrylic paint from the surface.
- Keep a small spray bottle of water handy.
5 Rinse old paint off your brush before moving on to a new color. To rinse the paint off the brush, hold its bristles under running tap water. Or simply rinse the brush in a glass of water. This will prevent different colors from mixing unnecessarily on the brush itself. After rinsing the brush in water, blot it with a clean cloth to prevent sagging as you paint.
- If you do not remove the remaining water from the brush handle, drops can accidentally fall onto the canvas and leave blots of wet paint.
6 Allow paint residues to dry before discarding. Do not wash your palette, as acrylic paint can clog sewer pipes. It is better to use a disposable plastic plate as a palette, and after work, wait until the remaining paint on it has dried. You can then simply gently peel off the completely dry layer of paint from the plate.
- Alternatively, you can not throw away the dried paint, and next time apply fresh, damp paint directly on top of the old one.

Method 3 of 3: Different Painting Techniques

1 Mix different colors with a palette knife to get new color combinations. Artists rarely use acrylic paints in their original form directly from a tube. To get the paint of the color you need, drop two drops of paint of different colors into the center of the palette and mix them with a palette knife or brush. This will allow you to get new saturated shades of color to give your painting a unique look.
- While working, it's a good idea to use a color wheel to mix colors. For example, mixing red and yellow paint will give you a bright orange color. If you then add dark green paint there, you get a rich brown color.
2 Lighten the paint with water. If you use acrylic paint directly from a tube, it will be thick and opaque. To make the paint more transparent, apply a drop of paint to the palette and add some water. The more water you add, the more transparent the color will be. Use transparent tones for a watercolor or airbrush effect.
- When mixing acrylic paint from a tube with water, add no more than 20% water (based on the volume of the paint itself) to it. If you take more than 20% water, the binding agents in the paint that make it stick to the surface can break down and the paint will peel off the canvas when dry.
3 Mix acrylic paints with varnish or texture pastes to change their texture. Using acrylic paints exclusively as they come in tubes will give your painting a soft, uniform texture. Mixing acrylic paints with various additives allows you to change their appearance on canvas. So try adding materials such as varnish or textured paste to your paints as you dissolve. In general, thinning the paint with other substances will give it a more transparent, watery appearance after drying. Look for varnishes and texture pastes at an art store.
- A mixture of acrylic paint and varnish can be applied over a charcoal or pencil sketch on canvas to protect it from being washed out by layers of paint.
- Varnishes allow you to give the paint a silky texture and a bright, shiny look.
- Texture pastes give the paint a rough, thick texture, but may dull the color slightly when dry.
4 Layer 2 or 3 layers of paint in different colors on top of each other to create additional texture. Instead of mixing paints on a palette, lay them on top of each other directly on the canvas for a unique layering effect. Apply as many coats of paint as you like, just remember that darker colors overlap lighter shades. For example, try painting a flower with layers of red, pink, and blue paint to create petals.
- Give each coat of paint enough time to dry before covering it with another coat. Thin coats will dry in 30 minutes, while thick coats may take over an hour to dry.
5 Apply paint with the corner of a sponge to create a bubbling effect. Dip the corner of the sponge into the acrylic paint of your choice. Then gently press this corner against the canvas. Also try smearing paint on the canvas with a sponge for different visuals. The paint layer applied with the edge of the sponge will contain many holes, allowing the color of other paint or the canvas itself to shine through.
- For example, you can sponge paint on bodies of water to give them a more realistic texture.
- Combine this technique with layering to create an effective combination of several tones at once.
- If you want to try painting with a variety of sponges, be aware that sponges with different textures can be found in art stores.
6 Try this splatter painting technique to create the effect of heavy spots of color. Dip a large brush into the water and then paint on it. Place the end of the brush handle between two fingers of one hand. To spray paint onto the canvas, tap the brush directly at the base of the bristles with two or three fingers of your other hand. The paint will drip off the bristles and stick to the canvas.
- The splatter painting technique is a great technique for those who want to paint something abstract. It can also be used to add extra texture to your painting.
7 Try painting on canvas using the dotted line technique. To apply this technique, draw paint onto the bristles of the brush and hold it vertically above the surface of the canvas. Gently touch the canvas with the tip of your brush, moving in a straight or curved line to create a dots effect. This technique works well for drawing birds and animals, as well as for creating feathery texture in abstract works.
- When using the dotted line technique, never brush across the canvas. This will lubricate the drops, they will merge with each other, and the effect will be ruined.
8 Apply masking tape to the canvas to create crisp edges. Masking tape can be used in painting in the same way as it is used during renovations, for example, when painting the ceiling. Stick the tape directly onto the canvas or over the already dried paint to avoid damaging it. Press the tape firmly against the canvas to prevent fresh paint from penetrating underneath.When you've drawn the clear edge you want, peel off the tape to see a perfectly straight line.
- This technique is well suited for depicting the sharp outlines of mountain peaks.
9 Mix paints directly on the canvas to create the effect of a surface covered with mixed strokes. Use a palette knife to partially mix the two paint colors on the canvas. Then, with the brush of your choice, spread the partially mixed colors over the canvas. The resulting effect is well suited, for example, for the image of mountain meadows. Instead of mixing yellow and green in a palette to a uniform light green, mix these colors directly on the canvas.
- As a result, the canvas will be covered with spots of yellow, light green and dark green colors, similar to what a meadow actually looks like from afar.
- The final look of this effect is up to you. In some situations, you can soften the transitions of different colors to get a more uniform and consistent result. For a subtle effect that is less noticeable, mix the paints thoroughly onto the canvas with a flat brush.

Tips

Acrylic paints darken as they dry, so keep that fact in mind when mixing them. It is better to cook too light paint than too dark.
If the color of the acrylic paint in the tube is too dark, try mixing this paint with a drop of white paint.
Some acrylic paints contain small amounts of heavy metals. And all high quality paints contain something toxic! Wear gloves when using toxic paints, especially titanium white (which usually contains lead).
When working with acrylic, it is best to wear an apron. If acrylic paint gets on your clothing, it cannot be washed.