Acrylic painting is relatively new in the history of painting and began only in the 50s of the 20th century as a convenient alternative to oil and watercolor painting. Acrylic painting soon gained popularity among artists, and today acrylic paints are a common medium for painting and are also useful for craft and handicrafts. For those who have not yet experienced acrylic paints – it is very worthwhile to get to know and experience.
Top 5 Tips When Using Acrylic Paints
I have been painting ever since I was very little, with constant influence from my mother’s creative genes. She was a lover of marine biology and I always remember having an almost accidental yet extensive knowledge of marine life . This was mainly due to the fact that we were always painting obscure underwater Australian creatures to hang on our bedroom walls. Our house was always littered with creative projects we had undergone together, with the use of acrylics, charcoals, mosaics, paint pens, and lino.
After working hard to develop extensive digital and 3D art knowledge-base after school, I have been working within the digital field ever since. It has been a while since I had been able to paint traditionally on a canvas like I once did. Until I received a few canvas commissions and decided to take the plunge back into acrylics.
I found that a lot of what I was doing was almost muscle memory from my extensive acrylic experience as a child, so here are my top 5 tips when using Acrylic paints for the first time.
detail will always go on smoothly if they are being painted on an area that has a base. A lot of the time when applying paint to a canvas, the paint can feel dry and patchy. It can even be as simple as applying some white paint mixed with some water first, but it really does make a difference.
2. Don’t be afraid if your paint is not being perfectly blended.
A lot of the time, people with feel the need to make sure their paints are perfectly blended before applying them to the canvas. There can be an amazing opportunity to showcase texture with colour effortlessly if you allow for your paint to show variation in the shades when applying it. No real world image has flat colour and sometimes the natural blend in the slight variation in mixed colours can add dimension.
3. Learn the difference warm and cool toned paints make when mixing
One thing that really helps me as a painter is that I enjoy colour theory. I mix all my paints from the classic red, yellow, and blue (obviously with some white and black also). It is important to understand the difference between a cool toned red and a warm toned red (same with yellow and blue). A flower being more orange (warm toned) compared to pink (cool toned) makes a massive difference to the overall feel of the painting, especially when mixing tonal variations. Learn your colour theory, even at a basic level.
4. You can never have too much white paint.
There is one colour of paint that I use more than any other colour, and that is white. I will go through a tub of white paint for every tube of colour paint I use. I use it to base the canvas, to mix highlights and adjust shades, and map out the sketch of the composition of my painting. You can never have enough white paint, don’t be shy.
5. You can always paint over it so don’t put pressure on yourself to be perfect.
Some of my canvas mistakes have turned into the most interesting features of my paintings. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, you can always paint over them. It may take a layer or two, but you can always remove something you don’t think feels quite right. Trust your gut, you will know when your painting is complete or if it just needs one more thing.
Tips for using acrylic paint VS. Gel paint
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When you love hand-painted nail art as much as I do you must have come across two main ways of achieving a hand-painted look. You can either make use of gel paint or acrylic paint. Now before I started doing nails I had no idea that you can use certain watercolour and acrylic paints on nails.
If you want to know the key differences between the two and some tips that I have learned for using both, stick around and keep reading.
Acrylic paint VS. Gel paint
Acrylic paint:
- Thick consistency
- Air dries
- Water-soluble while wet
- Can create a 3D effect by leaving the paint to thoroughly dry for a couple of hours
- Can’t be cured in a UV/LED lamp
- Cost-effective
- Relatively easy to use
Gel paint:
- Easy to work with
- A little goes a long way
- Not water soluble
- Does not air dry (except in sunlight)
- Cost-effective
- Can’t create a 3D effect as the gel won’t cure properly
- Thin consistency
Gel paint
Gel paint has easily become the most common and go-to medium for hand-painted nail art. There are many different brands that you can make use of. They also come in different shapes and sizes. Generally, when choosing gel paint you want something that’s going to be easy to use and that’s going to give you the desired opacity and line flow. No one wants to fight against a medium. It only makes the job a lot harder than it needs to be.
I have used 2 types of gel paint so far, namely gel liner and stamping gel. Now gel liner was meant to be the only gel paint, and for a long time, I only made use of it to draw my art and do line work. But I recently tried out the stamping gel, which was designed for stamping plates to create an opaque and flawless design.
I prefer stamping gel as it works amazing. It is super opaque and a little goes a long way. I have also found that using gel liner can be quite tricky as it has a thick consistency, and as time passes the pigment tends to separate from the clear gel. Note that I have only used one brand thus far and it is up to you which brand you choose to give a chance.
Stamping gel comes in little tubes, whereas the gel liner that I use comes in small gel pots. Stamping gel has an almost paint-like consistency and is super easy to work with. It’s also very great for creating line art. The tubes almost look like acrylic paints and can be purchased from almost any nail products and equipment provider.
To prevent gel paint from drying out you can make use of a sealed paint palette. This will prevent debris from making its way into the gel and keep the gel out of sunlight. As gel does not air dry, this will protect the gel and will save you money as you won’t have to throw away leftover product after each use. Never store gel of any brand or type in direct or indirect sunlight. This will dry out your paint and it won’t be salvageable.
Gel paint is great as it doesn’t air dry so you can decide when you feel your design is ready to be cured. Similarly to acrylic paint, you can mix colours to achieve the desired look.
Note that gel polish is not the same as gel paint. What I usually do is use gel paint to draw outlines and do detailed work that needs to be opaque and clear. And then I use gel paint to colour in my design and create shading.
High-quality gel paint can be a bit on the costly side when you look at the size of the tube. But it will last you a super long time if you use it correctly. Less is always more when it comes to the gel application.
Facts and properties of acrylic paints
- Acrylic paints consist of pigments mixed with acrylic resin emulsion. Resin is a synthetic material, used in the manufacture of Plexiglas and various plastic products.
- The acrylic paints can be diluted with water, they dry quickly and become water resistant. Unlike watercolor and gouache, they cannot be re-melted after drying. In addition, as the acrylic paint dries, its hue tends to darken.
Acrylic paints allow a sense of release through quick painting of large surfaces in long strokes. Feelings of anger can be processed, as well as released trapped internal energy, through splashing paint through intermediates, spraying directly from the paint container, drumming, and spreading paint on large surfaces.
Due to lack of skill in working with acrylic paint and its properties, such as the liquidity of the paint on top of the painting, there may be other uncontrolled and planned situations. This can create a variety of emotions in the creator, between negative emotions (anxiety, lack of control and discomfort) and positive emotions (joy for new discoveries, curiosity and power). The variety of emotion expressions when working with acrylic paints improves the ability to be flexible.
When working with wet materials, including acrylic paints, there are repeated operations, such as dipping the brush in water, taking a paintbrush and wiping with a cloth. This kind of ritual is for the creator an anchor for finding an inner rhythm, as well as a framework that gives self-confidence, organization, order and setting boundaries, and hence for deeper emotional work.
Through the transitions between the work on the small details and the reference to the whole of the work, the perception of the proportions of the observation of life expands. This mode of operation develops the synchronous activity between the right brain lobe and the left brain lobe.
Painting with acrylic colors – equipment and related materials
- Painting bedding – almost any type of surface; Canvas fabrics, wood, plastic, aluminum and more.
- Yes drawing – Depending on your preferred way of working; A table drawing for sitting or a standing painting for standing.
- Color mediators – The size of the brush chosen (or a drawing knife and others) depends on the size of the substrate and the painted image. It is recommended to use quality brushes, as the brush hair is not torn off during painting, as dry paint cannot be removed.
- Color palette – You can use a wooden pallet, plastic, porcelain, a disposable plate and even parchment paper.
- Jesso ointment – This material is used to cover the painting substrate, usually used canvas, for reuse.
- Pete pencils – To make a drawing before painting, it is recommended to use a soft pastel pencil in shades of brown.
- Lacquer spray – After finishing the work with the acrylic paints, you can spray the varnish spray on the painting for a richer color effect.
- Acrylic and silicone lining Additives to the painting technique in acrylic paints.
In addition, you should have a glass jar for water and dipping the brush, a lint-free cloth or absorbent paper for wiping the brushes.
How to use and work with acrylic paints
Acrylic paints usually come in a tube or jar, which can be taken out on a palette for use in painting, directly from the tube and using a brush or a painting knife from the jar. The method of use is by placing paint and applying it on the painting substrate, which for acrylic paints can be almost any surface. When used with water, it is possible to create a layer of transparent to opaque acrylic paint that is uniform and smooth or has volume and three dimensions. Different colors can be mixed using a damp brush.
The drying time of the paint depends on the thickness of the layer, which ranges from a few minutes to half an hour of drying. In order to extend the drying time of the paint (for a few days), a dehydrating agent can be added to the acrylic paints. Dried acrylic paint does not wash off and come off absorbent surfaces, but it can be peeled off on others.
