Are you just starting to paint, but you don’t know where to start? Do you feel overwhelmed from all the options you have to choose from? Don’t know the difference between paints or brushes?
Don’t stress out, because acrylics are here to save the day.
Acrylic paint is a great place to start for artists who are only now venturing down the enjoyable and fruitful path of painting. These water-based paints are great for newbies. They dry quick, dissolve in water, and are pretty cheap, too.
If you make a mistake, you don’t even have to start all over again. All you need to do is wait for your little blunder to dry up, then fix it by painting over.
You don’t have to mess with tricky solvents to clean the paint up, which must sound like a godsend for people who are used to working with oil paints. As long as you’ve got soap and water, clean-up is relatively easy.
You can even work with a variety of surfaces, whether it be that canvas you bought at the bookstore or your favourite pair of pants. Considering that acrylic is a plastic polymer, if the surface has no oil or wax, it’ll work out quite well.
Acrylics have vibrant and heavy colors. When you’re working with them on a canvas, it can almost feel like you’re blending with oil paints. You can blend beautiful combinations of colors that will bring your paintings to life.
These are just a few of many reasons why acrylic is a delight to work with. It’s like the good things between watercolour and oil paints combined. All you need is a little practice to get the consistencies, colors and textures you want.
Since you’re still reading, it looks like we’ve convinced you!
This article has what you need if you’re starting out with acrylics. Once you’ve gotten these down, you can head on to our article about tips that beginners can use when painting. But if you’re still new to the whole idea of acrylic painting, read on.
How to Choose Paints
Acrylic paints either come in a fluid form or a paste form. The ones in paste form are buttery, and can hold a lot of water. On the other hand, fluid forms can be easier to work with for those who are more used to liquid types of paints.
Whichever one you choose, there’s no right or wrong choice. Each artist has their own preferences, so it is best if you experiment with different kinds to see which one you enjoy using. The tips we have in other articles can be used for both types.
They are pretty affordable, so make sure you get one of great quality that fits your budget. There are student and professional grade paints. You should opt for professional grade, because these are artist quality, with less fillers for more efficient media and color mixing.
Don’t get carried away by buying too many colors, because you don’t need a lot. As a beginner, just get basic colors, because you can combine these quite easily. You can even get black by mixing together the three primary colors. All you need are single tubes of red, yellow, blue and white.
What Brushes You Need
Brushes usually come in different shapes and sizes. The ones we need for acrylic painting are usually made of synthetic materials, and are stiff-bristled. You need softer bristles if you want to achieve a watercolor effect.
You should have a variety of brushes, from big to small. You can use big brushes for big portions, with a looser painting style. For smaller areas and details, use small brushes.
If you don’t have much of a budget to spare, try getting two filbert brushes, small and medium. Filberts are all purpose brushes. You can achieve a broad brush mark if you push down, and a narrow mark if you just use the brush tip.
You can work with a lot of techniques when working with brushes, which we will discuss in another article.
Essential Painting Supports
Aside from brushes and paints, you’ll need supports like paper, canvas boards, canvas, wood panels, and so on. These are surfaces that acrylic paint should be able to stick to. So you can test it out with a stroke or two if you are unsure. If the canvas you are buying is premade, it has to be primed with acrylic gesso, which they usually are.
You’ll also need palettes for you to put your paint on. These are typically made of plastic, glass or wood. If you don’t want the chore of cleaning your palettes of dried paint, try disposable ones. They’re like pads of paper that you can throw away after use. There are even palettes that can keep your paint wet, if the quick-dry feature is too much for you.
Other Important Things You Shouldn’t Forget
Water is another essential in painting. When you need to change colors, you have to rinse your brushes, and water is exactly what you need for this. You can keep two big jugs of water, one for rinsing, and one for diluting and moistening if needed.
A rag will also be handy after rinsing. You can dab your brushes here after rinsing in case your brush is too wet, or use it to wipe away any mistakes you make.
If you don’t want to bend down too much while painting, an easel will allow you to put the painting support you choose at an angle that is in your line of vision. This can help you keep things proportional at a right perspective. These also have varying kinds, but the cheapest one costs less than ten dollars.
Let’s Get Started!
Our company offers DIY painting kits which already include a high-quality canvas, wood frame, five artist brushes, screws and angles, and a numbered acrylic paint set. You don’t need to spend a long time at art stores canvasing for materials to fit your budget, since we offer everything you need.
A great thing for beginners is that our canvases are numbered. It’s like a coloring book, but instead of crayons, you can use acrylic paints. It even comes with easy-to-understand instructions, so you can get to work on big paintings right away, even if you’re relatively new to painting.
Once you have all you need, you can get to work on that canvas and let out your inner Vincent Van Gogh.