Acrylic Paints: A Guide for Aspiring Painters

If you've decided to take up painting, you may be wondering what kind of paint to buy. There are a lot of brands and a lot of different types of paint. There's tempera, oil, watercolor, and acrylic to name a few. Acrylic is generally the one that's easiest for someone who is new to painting to work with. Unlike oil paint, you don't need any deadly chemicals to work with it, because it is water soluble. You just need to thin it with water and not turpenoid. Actually you should not work with oil paints unless you have the adequate space to do it in. You should never use oil paints in any living or sleeping area. It's also easier to work with acrylics than with watercolor and acrylic paint is of a higher quality than the tempera that you will find in most art stores.

The fact that you've narrowed your choices to acrylic paint doesn't mean that you have an easy decision before you. There are lots of acrylic paint brands and grades. The more expensive it is, as a general rule, the higher the quality. You don't want to waste money on cheap paint only to have to buy better paint later, nor do you want to buy expensive paint when you aren't at a level that would require it. However, even if you aren't that great of a painter yet and you're still learning, the cheapest paint may not be the best thing to use either. The cheap stuff is often not easy to use, as its consistency is irregular or it requires six coats.

The cheapest acrylic paint you can buy is usually the Basics line by Liquitex. These paints aren't too bad, although you will really notice the difference if you've used higher quality acrylics. I would recommend these for someone who isn't sure if they want to paint or not, for children or if you're making something that is just going to be thrown away.

Liquitex also has a professional line of paints that go by the name of Heavy Body Acrylic Colors. These are of a better quality than the Basics. These are better because they use more pigment. Generally the more expensive paints use more pigment and less fillers. They are thicker so that you don't have to use as much water and they cover the canvas in fewer coats than the Basics.

My favorite paints however, are from the Golden brand. They also have Heavy Body Acrylic Colors and I think that they are of a slightly better quality than the Liquitex. Although this may be a personal preference because I have had other artists tell me that they like the Liquitex better or that they are indifferent to which brand they use.

A good thing to buy to aid you in working with acrylic paint is Flow Aid. I usually use the Liquitex brand of this but Golden also has an equivalent product. I use this instead of water to thin out acrylics. It works so much better than water and makes the paint super smooth and easy to work with. If you find that the paint is too shiny, you can also buy a Matte Medium by Liquitex or Golden. You mix it directly into the paint. This will also thin the paint out some and reduce the shine, giving it more of a matte finish.

Paint is definitely one of those things where the old adage, "you get what you pay for" applies. Cheap paint is not as good as more expensive paint. Using cheap paint can make you want to scream, because no matter how hard you try, you will never be able to get it to apply evenly to the canvas or to go on in one or two coats.

Liquitex and Golden are really the only two brands that I've used and so therefore able to comment on. There may be other brands that are just as good, but I haven't tried them. The general rule of thumb when it comes to paint is that if it's more expensive, it's probably of a better quality. If you're not sure about a brand, buy one or two tubes and take it home and try them out before you commit to buying twenty tubes of it. I can guarantee that if you use Golden or Liquitex you will not be disappointed.