A Beginners Guide To Using Acrylic Paints

Acrylic paints are some of the most versatile paints in the world, as they can be used straight from the tubes they come in, or you can thin them with water to create a lighter, more watercolor option.

However, no matter how easy they are to use, if you’re a beginner you’re apt to have no idea how to use them. The good thing about acrylic paints is that they are incredibly easy to learn how to use it, so you’ll soon be an expert when it comes to using them.

If you want to make your first experience of using acrylic paints easier, ensure you follow these handy tips:

1) Keep acrylics malleable

Acrylic paint can dry incredibly quickly, which means it can be very easy to waste paint if you squeeze too much out of the tube at once. To stop this from happening, make sure you only squeeze out as much as you need, and err on the side of caution rather than giving yourself more than you require.

When it comes to finding the ideal palette for acrylic paints, you can choose between using a plastic one or a stay-wet one. With a plastic palette, you’ll need to keep spraying a fine mist of water over the paint to keep it wet, whereas a stay-wet palette will keep your acrylic paint in its semi-liquid state.

2) Blot your brushes regularly

Whenever you rinse your brushes to change the color you’re using, you should get into the habit of blotting them with paper towel to remove any excess moisture. If you don’t do this, you’ll end up with rivulets of water running down your canvas and ruining your painting.

3) Paint over acrylic washes

If you use acrylic paint as a watercolor, by adding water to the paint before applying it to your canvas, you won’t need to worry about disturbing the effect once it has dried. Unlike actual watercolor, acrylic washes are insoluble and so can be painted over, whereas watercolor can be blotted off with water and so can be disturbed when painted over.

4) Blend colours quickly

Again, because acrylic paint has a habit of drying quickly, blending colors can often be pretty difficult. You’ll always need to work quickly when doing this, but you can lengthen the amount of time you have by applying the paint to a damp piece of paper or card when blending.

5) Create sharp edges

If you already have a layer of acrylic paint on your canvas and you want to apply paint over it, you can do so without worrying about disturbing the existing work, as we have already covered. If you’d also like to create a sharp edge to your second layer, you can safely use a piece of masking tape to cover an area and so prevent paint from being applied there.

There are lots of handy tips that you can find about using acrylic paint, and these five will help you on your way to becoming a genuine expert in this medium.

Guest Author: This blog was written by Aurora Johnson on behalf of Jackson’s Art, the art equipment specialists.

*Also, please visit the Royal Talens website for the best quality acrylic paints in the world!

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