How to Use Acrylic Paints

Knowing how to use acrylic paints properly will help ensure your work is to its maximum possible quality. Painting is a fantastic hobby and a great way to unwind, but for a shiny, bright finish, one of the preferred, classic mediums, is that of acrylic paint. The following ‘how to’ provides 10 essential tips to consider when painting with acrylic.

Photo Credit: Designlazy.com

Steps

1- Work out whether you want opaque or transparent colours. If applied thickly, either straight from the tube or with very little water added, or if mixed with a little titanium white, all acrylic colours can be opaque. If diluted, they can be used like watercolours or for airbrushing.

2- Keep acrylic paints workable and only use a bit at a time. Because acrylics dry so fast, squeeze only a little paint out of a tube at a time. If you’re using a ‘normal’ plastic palette invest in a spray bottle so you can spray a fine mist over the paint regularly to keep it moist, and thus usable. ‘Stay-wet’ palettes, where the paint sits on a sheet of wax paper place on top of a damp piece of watercolour paper, eliminate the need to do this, but generally don’t have a hole for your thumb so are more awkward to hold in your hand.

3- Use acrylic paint as a glue for collage. Provided it’s used fairly thickly and the item to be stuck isn’t too heavy, acrylic paint will work as a glue in a collage. Simply apply some to the surface, like you would glue.

4- Blot your Brushes. Keep a piece of paper towel or cloth next to your water jar and get into the habit of wiping your brushes on it every time you rise them. This prevents water drops running down the ferrule and onto your painting, making blotches.

5- Use masking tapes to create hard edges. Masking tape can be put onto and removed from dried acrylic paint without damaging an existing layer. This makes it easy to produce a hard or sharp edge. Make sure the edges of the tape are stuck down firmly and don’t paint too thickly on the edges, otherwise you won’t get a clean line when you lift it.

6- Acrylic vs watercolor washes. When an acrylic wash dries, it’s permanent and, unlike a watercolour wash, is insoluble and can be over-painted without fear of disturbing the existing wash. The colours of subsequent washes mix optically with the earlier ones. A watercolour glaze can be lifted out using water and a cloth.

7-Think thin when thinking glazes. If you want transparent glazes, these should be built up in thin layers, so the colours beneath show through. Use the brush to spread the paint out thinly across the surface.

8- Improve flow without losing colour. To increase the flow of a colour with minimal loss of colour strength, use flow-improver medium rather than just water.

9- Because acrylics dry rapidly, you need to work fast if you wish to blend colours. If you’re working on paper, dampening the paper will increase your working time.

10- Masking fluid or frisket can be used with acrylics washes, as well as with watercolours. Be sure it’s completely dry before you paint over it, and don’t paint too thickly over it or you’ll have to scratch away the paint to get to the masking fluid. Masking fluid will work on paper and canvas, but do try it out first before using it in a painting to get a feel for it. Once masking fluid has dried in a brush, it’s nearly impossible to remove. Dipping a brush into some washing-up liquid first makes it easier to wash masking fluid out of a brush.

Tips

Acrylics are extremely versatile, fast-drying paints, and can be used straight from the tube like oils or thinned with water or a medium and used like watercolours.