Advice for acrylic painting beginners
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7 Top Tips For Acrylic Painting Beginners
Acrylic paint is a thick fast-drying paint made of pigment. These paints are water-soluble but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how much water you use to dilute your acrylic paint, your painting can resemble watercolour, or modified with acrylic gel can resemble oil paint. Acrylic paint can go on any surface making it really easy to use as it requires no pre-paint preparation. Acrylic paint is lightfast meaning it won’t fade over time. It is the best medium to use when you are wanting to layer your paint or apply thick layers as it dries extremely quickly. If your acrylic paint is looking slightly translucent; you can layer on top of it to create a thicker, opaque finish.
India’s top tips:
- Be aware that when you first apply paint to your canvas or paper it will look a slightly paler colour when wet. Do not worry. As soon as your paint dries, it will become a darker shade. Take this into consideration when you are mixing your colours, it will always dry slightly darker than when you first apply it.
- Start with your mid-tones first then go in with your darker tones for shadows. Wait till mid-tones and shadows have fully dried then apply your highlights. I find it crucial to wait for the darker shades to dry before applying highlights. This will stop your darks from mixing with your lights which can often create a murky dull colour.
- I always prefer sketching out my design on my paper or canvas before I start applying the paint. This helps you with accuracy and colour placement.
- When creating backgrounds for your Acrylic paintings, I would always colour the background first. If you are wanting a lighter more airy background I would use some water to thin down your paint to give a softer look. It’s best to do your background first so that you don’t accidentally make a mistake and go over your main design.
- Keep your brushes clean. Acrylic is a very fast drying medium, keep water near you when painting to rinse your brushes. If the acrylic dries on your brush it will be permanently damaged.
- Wear old clothes or an apron and protect your work surfaces. Acrylic paint has a plastic base called “Acrylic polymer emulsion” so won’t come out of fabrics and surfaces.
The most challenging thing about painting is actually getting your idea out onto paper. I love using Pinterest and Instagram to get inspiration from other artists to help me get a true sense of where I’m going with a particular piece. Exposing your mind to creativity and diving deep into the world of Pinterest art may seem daunting so I have put together an inspiration board to give you some great beginner painting ideas. Click here to get some inspiration
Local North East Artists I Love:
Here is a Youtube channel that posts a lot of beginners tutorials that I think are really fun and helpful: Click here to go to Youtube India has put together a fantastic set ideal for complete beginners and those with some experience. Find it here.
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Beginners Guide for Acrylic Painting
Working in layers when painting can help to break down what you are trying to achieve and make it more manageable. It also insures the wrongs colours down mix together, so it is important to know when to wait and let parts dry before apply more paint.
A good place to start is to paint the background in first. Don’t worry if you get paint on your subject (here it is the wave) acrylic paints are thick so can paint over one and over. Note that covering darker colours with lighter colours will require a few layers of paint.
Tip – Do not squeeze out to much paint on your pallet, you can always add more and you don’t want to waste paint.
When you are mixing colours make sure you always add the dark colours into the light or you will end up using to much paint.
When the background is dry start to add in the foreground. Building up colour range layer by layer. You can blend complimentary colours together when they are wet, however wait for opposing colours to dry before layering or you will end up creating brown. If you are unsure about a technique then
practice first on a piece of scrap paper
The last step is to add in the details. Here the details are the paint splashes in the wave, which creates the effect of splashing water. To achieve this effect water down your chosen colour to a runny consistency, then using a larger sized paint brush pull back the bristles with your finger and let go and the paint will splash everywhere. Note this can be messy and acrylic paints to not wash out of materials, so make sure you wear old clothes.
Adding Water?
You can add water to Acrylic paints, this creates a more translucent look more like watercolour. It can be nice to do this if you want to add a wash for a background. Also when adding details if you water down the paint slightly the paint will spread easier and you get smoother lines.
Acrylic paints are very thick when applied directly without adding water, you can make some interesting textures when doing this.
Try using a comb instead of a brush to spread the paint about on the page. Have fun and experiment to see what textures you are create.
Most importantly remember that acrylic paints are versatile and opaque, so you can correct mistakes. So don’t worry to much when you are starting out and just go for it, if you make a mistake wait for it to dry then paint over it.
