Acrylics have been famous for bright colors, finishing and the wide range of blend it can give an artist. Famous oil paintings have had acrylics incorporated in them. For a first time artist, acrylics come highly recommended. It offers very good consistency as well as texture. Acrylics can be used straight from the tube or can be thinned with water depending on what exactly the artist hopes to have in the very end. One of the reasons why acrylics are ideal for a first time painter is the fact that they are very affordable.

Other than that, they dry very first making it possible for the artist to cover up any mistakes made while painting. They can also be painted on any surface and they blend beautifully with other paints. Acrylic painting over canvas is almost perfect as its blends smoothly and has a buttery feeling to it, it also dries over plastic making it ideal to use as multimedia. For a first timer, using acrylic paints can be a bit confusing, here are a few tips that will help you make the right choice:-

Acrylic Brushes

Acrylic brushes are made from a synthetic material that can be used across different mediums. Watercolor brushes should never be used with acrylic paintings. Having a variety of brushes will give you good practice as you get to know which one will be best when used in which setting. The filbert brush has been known to give the best well rounded shapes when used with acrylic paints.

Acrylic Painting Techniques

Learning the different acrylic painting techniques will assist you in blending the paints, whether it’s on canvas or any other medium. Below are the different techniques that are commonly used in acrylic painting:-

• Misting – Acrylics are known to dry very fast, sometimes too fast and a way of controlling this is by applying this technique. Misting is simply sprinkling the painting with water in order to thin it and make it look like water colors. This is a brilliant way of making an under painting.
• Using a gesso base – Gesso is simply a white compound mixture that is used as a ground for acrylic paintings and oils. Linen is best used as canvas where the gesso is applied and acts as a surface for the paint to be pushed over on.
• Glazing – This can best be achieved by a gel medium. You can make sketches using pencils and with a little water paint over it in order to give you the perfect blend.

Other techniques may include a mixture of both glazing and misting while others just involve playing around with different color shades in order to bring out a better texture. The surface you will choose while painting will greatly affect your end result. Painting on a canvas and painting on plastic will need different techniques. Acrylic dries fast and is the ideal set for a beginner, this way; they can always try out different textures to bring out different strong paintings.