Acrylic Colours

Acrylic colours are one of the best mediums for an artist. If you are new to acrylic painting, you may be wondering what your options are in terms of what surfaces you can paint on with acrylic paint. Well, acrylics are appropriate for any surfaces on which you can paint: canvas, board, paper, and even on glass.

I am not going to discuss each kind of surface you can use, but I will say that paper is the best option among those. One of its most appealing factors is that it is cheap – depending on the type of paper you buy, it can work out to be much more affordable than canvas. It is also relatively light and portable when compared to other possibilities, which is especially useful if you want to paint outside.

The most important thing is to select the right paper. If you are using thin paper, you can use gesso on paper to prepare the surface to prevent the paint from draining as well as to make the surface thick . After you have applied a first coat or second coat of gesso, wait for each layer to dry, and then you can apply your first coat of acrylic paint.

Step 1

Drawing is the first step for any painting! Not all artists do that, but it will help to get the perfect shape and position of your object/picture.

Draw the object with a light shade of pencil.

You may use a mechanical pencil for best results.

Step 2

Painting of background helps to unify the colours in your painting: select one of the main shades of your subject/picture and use it to apply a very diluted colour wash.

• Make sure the colour isn’t too dark to keep it from hiding the drawing.
• Wait until the background is dry to add colours.
• To make your coloured background is homogeneous: use a wide, flexible paint brush and apply the paint as horizontal stripes.
• For a multicoloured background: keep doing the same thing as you can apply one colour after another.

Step 3

Select an area of your object and grab some colour with the help of a wet brush (remove extra water with the help of dry cloth) and apply the paint as thin layers of colour mixed with water.

Be gentle with your brush and choose lighter shades first and then go on with darker shades.

To obtain lighter colours, add water (if you use white colour for making your colours lighter it will become opaque)

• Don’t forget to let each layer of paint dry before applying the next one: This allows your colours and touch to remain fresh and sharp.
• You need to mix and blend some colours to get your perfect shade for your painting.

Watch the Video

Step 4

The final step involves adding the elements that put life in your painting.

• Strengthen colours, add volume and highlights.
• Use black or white gel pen for fine details if required.
• Be patient and practice a lot: you will discover how easy it is to work with acrylics.