One of the most frequently asked questions: what is the recipe for starting acrylic pouring? Personally I just don’t feel like doing the math and measuring, so I use the pouring medium from Action. I use 50% of that and another 50% of paint. Depending on the thickness of the paint, you may need to add some extra pouring medium until you reach a consistency similar to running honey.
Acrylic pouring for beginners: how to start, tips and techniques
About three years ago, I discovered this new hobby: acrylic pouring! At first I was very skeptical about this hobby, but I really enjoy it. In fact, I wish I had more free time to spend on this hobby!
But: what is acrylic pouring and how do you get started? What materials do you need to buy and is it an expensive hobby? Are there any special recipes for pouring medium that you have to follow, techniques that you have to master?
I’m happy to give you all my tips for acrylic pouring for beginners that you can get started with right away!
Don’t want to read? I have posted a beginners tips Youtube video that I have made for you, to finish this article.
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Acrylic pouring for beginners
I myself love acrylic pouring and also for beginners there are really nice creations that you can make when you are just starting out.
It is a very fun hobby, for which you do need some space. I also have some tips for environmentally friendly acrylic pouring, because that is necessary in this hobby.
What is acrylic pouring?
Acrylic pouring or fluid art (it is also called paint pouring) is a painting technique where you work with highly diluted paint. It is also called Acrylic Pouring or Fluid Art.
It is a painting technique in which you dilute the acrylic paint with a pouring medium so that the paint becomes very fluid and you can start pouring on a canvas, wood…
What is Acrylic Pouring?
Acrylic pouring is a painting technique, using acrylic paints. Sometimes this is also referred to as Fluid Art. It creates robust unpredictable patterns of color. Some might call this trippy, and by some I mean me. It’s kind of like a lava lamp transformed into a painting. Acrylic paints are water based paints that come in every color imaginable and dry fairly quickly. In acrylic pouring it is imperative and the cornerstone of the technique that these paints are loose in consistency; enough to be poured over the surface you are painting. To achieve this consistency in the paint, you need to use something called a pouring medium. Some art supply stores and companies sell a product simply called pouring medium, I however have found great success is using a product called FLOOD Floetrol.
FLOOD’s intended use is to thin out latex paint when painting interiors. You probably won’t find this product at an art supply but can easily find this product at Homedepot, Lowe’s or Amazon. You use this pouring medium and mix it with your desired color paint, sometimes to conserve the amount of FLOOD, I add a little bit of water. This gives me more of the color I want without having to use more paint or pouring medium. ***It’s important to note here not to over do it with the water. (maybe just an 8th of the cup you are using) It is possible to make the consistency too runny***.
Now Before you add your pouring medium I want to share with you something I Iearned by trial and error. I learned that the color I achieve when mixing the paint and flood and placed on the surface is not how that color will appear once it has dried. I found that the colors across the board always dry darker than they looked when they were first poured. The reason for this is the acrylic emulsion is cloudy when wet, causing the color to appear lighter than it is and when it dries, the emulsion dries clear revealing the truer darker color. To remedy this all you need to do is add a little bit of white paint to your color paint before you mix in the pouring medium.
What Are Cells?
One of the desired and coolest attributes you can achieve in an acrylic pour are cells. Cells occur due to different densities in the paint colors.
One of the easiest ways to achieve cells in your painting is to use Silicone oil. Silicon oil is mixed into the paint after you mix in the pouring medium. Use only a couple of drops (about 3). If you use more than that you risk the painting having an oily sheen even after it has fully dried. It’s not a good look and it will rub off on your hands and possibly your clothes . This was another lesson I learned the hard way. I thought that adding more silicone oil was going to give me more cells. I was very wrong. You can learn from my mistakes however (haha). To achieve more and bigger cells in your pour, you just need to hold your cup further away from the surface you are pouring on. The further away you are pouring, the more aerated the mixture becomes and gives you bigger and more noticeable cells. Another way of manipulating the number of cells is how you stir the silicone oil into your paint mixture. If you stir a lot you will get smaller cells, and if you hardly stir you will get larger cells. Below is a video I made that will show you the step by step process of making your paint mixtures for the pour.
The Pours
Now that our mixtures are made, we can start our pour. There are numerous pour techniques that you can choose from. Honestly I would go as far as to say there is no wrong way to start pouring your colors onto the canvas (or any surface you choose). But for now let’s start with some basic pours to give you a foundation to start with. There is one stipulation I would follow no matter the technique you choose though. Before you pour your colors on, I like to choose a base color for the canvas, whether it be white, black or whatever, and just cover the canvas completely first. This helps your mixture flow more easily over the surface area., and gives you more complete coverage. You can skip this step but I think you’ll end up having to use more paint in the pour. The larger the canvas or surface you’re using the more useful this step comes in handy. If you use a rather small canvas like you will see in the videos below, it isn’t as necessary.***You most definitely want to wear gloves for this process, because you will get your hands covered in paint!***
Now for the different pour techniques:
Open Cup Pour :
This one is my favorite and has given me the best results in my opinion (you may find a technique that you love more, So EXPERIMENT!)
Like the name would suggest an open cup pour involves a plastic cup that you have cut the bottom off of. After cutting it you place your cup rim face down and start to pour your acrylics through the opening in the cup. Rotating each color until you run out or you feel there is enough paint to cover the canvas. Now remove the cup and let the paint flow out onto the surface. Then pick up your canvas and slowly start tilting and rotating, until the paint covers the whole canvas and drips over the sides. Below is a video of me doing an open cup pour, you’ll be able to see the process step by step.
Dirty Cup Pour:
For this method you will also use a cup, no need to cut the cup for this one. Pick and prepare the colors you want to use. And start pouring them into the cup. Rotate the colors in any way you want. You can use as little as two colors for a pour, it’s up to you. Just keep in mind if you start mixing too many colors it may muddy up the design. Once you have the amount of paint in the cup that you think will cover your surface, pick up the cup and start pouring it over the surface, in any pattern you like, you can pour it in zigzags, swirls, whatever! When you are done pouring, put the cup down and lift up your canvas with your hands and tilt and rotate until you achieve your desired coverage. Below is a video of me doing a dirty cup pour, you’ll be able to see the process step by step.
***Pro tip: This is a great pour technique to use up any leftover paint mixtures from other pours.***
Flip Cup Pour:
This method of pouring follows the same set up as the dirty cup pour. When it gets to the pouring part though; place the canvas upside down on top of the cup and holding the canvas firmly to the cup, flip them over. Remove the cup and watch the paint flow over the canvas. Now as before, tilt and rotate the canvas to your desired coverage. Below is a video of me doing a flip cup pour, you’ll be able to see the process step by step.
Firstly, why do cells form?
There are a lot of reasons why cells occur in acrylic pouring. One main reason is that cells develop from mixing acrylic paint with additives.
The additives have oil-like components which react with the water-base of acrylic paint. When the paint settles and bubbles rise to the surface, awesome cell patterns emerge.
A lot of people want to achieve the “best cells” and get very frustrated when they cannot create them.
Well…. let me tell you, you have come to the right place to learn! Not only will I tell you about how to get the best cells, but also, how to stop them if you don’t want them sometimes.
Cells are really popular in paint pouring because they make a unique pattern which you can not get with many other art forms.
Today we will be discussing:
- How cells are created
- How density affects acrylic cells
- How to get lots of big cells
- Acrylic Cell Recipe!
- Why are acrylic cells so popular
- Why some people avoid using silicone
- Alternatives to silicone oil
- Different pouring mediums and cells
- Techniques that create cells
- Which method is best for creating cells
- What kind of silicone should you use
- What causes cells in acrylic pouring
- What can be used as a substitute for silicone
- How to avoid creating cells
