Punch/cut out a nice color in a magazine and try to match the color by mixing. Start off simple with flat colors in your selection. For more of a challenge, select images with more color variation and texture.
Fade in Acrylic Paint – The Easiest Technique
You are just starting out and want to learn the easiest techniques for blending in acrylic paint. Indeed the fade technique allows you to create a beautiful visual effect on your painting.
This fading effect results in a gradual transition between colors that blend into transparency. creating a gradual transition from one color to another.
But is it difficult to fade in acrylic paint? No not at all ! Indeed, you will see that with a minimum of material, it is very easy to achieve a fade with acrylic paint.
Here, step by step, the easiest technique to make an acrylic fade with photos and explanatory videos.
Why fade?
The fade technique consists of passing the paint from one color to another by creating a transparent transition. But why do it?
First of all, it adds an element of depth or on the contrary a smooth and continuous aspect which makes it possible to make attractive landscape backgrounds. But the fade effect can also help you create an atmosphere in your painting (softness, reverie, fogs, mists).
For example, if you’re painting a landscape, using the fade effect to blend the colors of the sky can create a sense of depth, distance, and therefore realism. Similarly, using the fade effect to paint the sea can give the illusion of movement and make the painting more dynamic.
And in abstract painting, you can use the fade effect in a thousand ways according to your creativity and obtain, depending on the colors and textures, unique and impactful effects. By mixing different hues, you can create entirely new shades and tones that you wouldn’t have considered otherwise.
Which brush to make a fade?
To achieve an acrylic fade effect, depending on the technique you choose, you will need a flat style brush. cleaves, roll and a badger or a round brush.
And to soften the fade, you can also use a toothbrush, a nail brush or a piece of sponge. See how to use them on my article: How to blur en acrylic.
I advise you to take quality brushes. This is because if you use poor quality brushes, they will fall out of the bristles and those bristles will congeal into your fade.
Acrylic Specific Concerns
Premixing vs Free Mixing
Mixing paint can be broken down into two main methods; Premixing and Free Mixing.
Some artists will swear by one method over the other, but both can be useful depending on your style of work as well as if you are working with a limited or wider ranged palette.
Premixing means you have all of your colors mixed before you start the painting, which is great if you like to plan ahead or work with a limited palette. This is also preferred if you work in a more graphic style of art, where a specific color is needed to create clean shapes or lettering. In general, this is harder to achieve with acrylics because of the fast dry time. There is also the challenge that if your paint dries on your palette before you’re done, it creates waste that will need to be remixed. There are solutions for this that will be reviewed in this article.
Free mixing means you have some basic starting colors on your palette that you mix over time as needed. This is preferred if you’re using a wider palette of colors or will be using more gradation of colors. This way of mixing is also more useful if you have a more realistic or impressionistic way of painting. This mixing style also tends to be more useful when working with acrylics as you can mix the paint on the fly when needed and easily introduce new colors.
No matter which method you prefer, there are different ways to accommodate both into acrylic painting and mixing.
Wet on Wet
There is also the technique of ‘Wet on Wet’ which simply means instead of mixing on a palette then applying the paint to your surface, you apply the paint to an already wet surface. This can be done with another paint color or with a light application of Gesso .
This technique is particularly useful when you want to paint a sky, water, clouds or create a blurred effect to your subject. This is also useful for creating a ‘ground’ to build the rest of your painting from. By mixing color this way you can create interesting and complex backgrounds.
Wet on wet isn’t great for fine details or crisp lines as the presence of that moisture can make getting details pinned down a challenge.
Dry Time
Acrylics are known to dry quickly and this can be very useful when needing to create work fast and to avoid the wait between layers. However this does pose some problems when mixing colors and keeping them workable for the length of time it takes to create your painting.
If you need to extend your work time overall, #299 Acrylic Retarder and #217 Slow Dry Matte Liquid can be used to increase the time you can use the acrylics. This also increases the overall dry time, so depending on what method you are using to paint, can be both helpful or frustrating.
It’s best to mix them into your starting colors at the recommended ratios provided on the bottle. When you mix in a second color, it will decrease the dry time again and readjust by adding more medium, only a little at a time, if necessary.
If you’re noticing that your paints are having trouble blending together, you can also keep a spray bottle of water on hand to re-moisten your palette. You can also put #235 Nova Plex into a spray bottle and use it similarly to water without having to worry about breaking your binder. The spray should be more particalized and less of a stream for the Nova Plex . Unlike water, the Nova Plex will need to be washed off any nozzles to prevent clogs.
If you are working with canvas, you can also spray the back of your canvas with water to add more moisture to the canvas itself so that your paint has less opportunity to evaporate out of the back of your canvas.
General Set up
Having an organized palette will help you pick colors quickly and develop muscle memory. This section is helpful for beginners.
To organize your palette, group colors by neutrals, warm/cool tones or values. Examples are shown below:
The only warning to give is that some palettes are easier to clean than others. Any palette with wells or pots tend to be a bit harder to clean especially when the acrylic has fully cured. The best palettes for acrylics, in general, are flat with lots of room for mixing.
Acrylic palettes are versatile and available in various colors. Use a plastic scraper to clean them, but be careful not to let the paint dry. If it does, soak it in hot water or wipe down with diluted acetone.
Glass palettes are easy to clean with a metal scraper, but they are pricey, heavy, fragile, and only come clear.
Wet palettes can be useful for painting, but they also have their challenges. They can be made with a shallow waterproof container and wet paper towels covered with parchment paper for the paint to sit on. Alternatively, you can buy wet palettes specifically designed for this purpose. However, these commercial options can be wasteful as you’ll need to replace the paper towels and parchment paper frequently. Additionally, if too much water is added to the palette, the polymers in the acrylic paint can break down, affecting the paint’s adhesion and longevity.
The best palette to choose is up to you and your preferred workflow.
Starting Colors
In the past, artists were limited by available pigments and their preferences. You may already have what you need to get started, but if you’re a beginner, here are some helpful colors to consider:
The purpose of this selection is to provide a variety of colors that can be easily blended with other colors to create a wide range of shades. However, please feel free to make alternate choices depending on the requirements of your project.
Shades, Tints, and Tones
Values are an important part of understanding mixing any color. Knowing how to mix all ranges of value will help you push and pull your shadows, make your colors harmonize, and make your colors stand out. The main vocabulary to understand begins with Shades, Tints and Tones:
- Shades are the values you achievewhen you mix any color with pure black.
- Tints are the values you achieve when you mix any color with white.
- Tones are the values you achieve when you mix any color with a neutral gray.
Above are examples of all three of these for each of the primary colors. The Shades are on the left, the Tints are in the middle, and the Tones are on the right.
These ideas are important to understand and conceptualize for when you’re actively mixing. They can be utilized to create a monochromatic look for your work while also helping you recognize how to see the subtle changes in value in any given direction; Dark, pastel, or midtone. These types of charts can be useful when pinpointing the level of chroma in any given mixture as well.
