How to Paint with Acrylics: A Step-by-Step Guide

Opaque strokes of textured acrylic paint can make entire oceans spring up from a blank page. Tiny dots of white paint on the still waters of a lake can create the impression of morning light reflecting from the flat surface of a canvas. Whatever landscape or subject you’re looking to transform into art, acrylic paint is a medium beloved by artists for its rich colors, smooth texture and versatility.

You might be exploring acrylic painting because you want to try a new hobby or a new art medium. By learning a few key acrylic painting techniques, the basics of color mixing and how to play with texture, depth of field and dimension, you’ll be on your way to filling your walls with your beautiful artwork.   

What Are Acrylic Paints?

Known for their deep colors, great coverage and flexible strokes, acrylic and oil are some of the most commonly used paints among artists.

One of the biggest benefits of acrylic paints, especially for beginners, is their drying time. They dry much more quickly than oil paints, which means you can easily paint over parts of your painting that need a quick redo. Acrylic paints are a water-soluble painting medium when wet and water-resistant when dry, which means they're durable, but it also means that once they're dry, they can’t be blended any further. 

Since oil paints take up to a full day or longer to dry, you have more time to blend and develop colors. If you’re someone who likes to adjust your colors as you get the final look of your piece together, you might be better off with oil paints. 

Dry acrylic paints also have a slightly darker hue than wet paint, so that light blue morning sky might slightly shift to more of an evening hue once completely dried. The amount of color change can be influenced by the paint brand and color, so make sure to try out your paints on some scrap paper before diving into your final project. 

Finally, when comparing the differences between gouache and acrylic paints, acrylic will be much thicker and more opaque, which means your dots of paint won’t spread out much farther than the shape you create with your brush.

Acrylic Types of Paint Explained

The type of acrylic paint you use for your project will depend on your specific goals. For example, if you’re a calligraphy artist, you might choose acrylic ink over heavy-body acrylic paint because it will flow more easily. 

Types of Acrylic Paint:

• Soft body acrylic: Soft body acrylics are thinner and more fluid than heavy body acrylics. They blend well and are ideal for layering, pouring, painting and glazing. 
• Heavy body acrylic: Heavy body acrylics are the thickest and most viscous type of acrylic paint. They retain their brush strokes well, are vibrant in pigment, and are ideal for impasto techniques and for creating texture.
• High flow and inks: High-flow acrylics are the thinnest type of acrylic paint. They work best for airbrushing, watercolor techniques, and staining. You can also easily use layers of paint to create depth. Inks are another type of fluid acrylic and they are known for being highly pigmented. They work well in calligraphy and illustration.
• Gouache: Acrylic gouache and classic gouache are both water-based opaque paints with a matte finish, but they have different effects. Acrylic gouache is made with an acrylic binder while classic gouache is made with gum arabic. Acrylic gouache dries slightly slower, is less opaque, and is water resistant once dry. 
• Paint markers: Acrylic paint markers are markers that are filled with acrylic paint. With a variety of tip sizes and forms, they are often used for outlining, sketching and adding details. 
• Slow drying: One reason artists choose oil paints over acrylic is that they dry more slowly and can thus be mixed and adjusted over a longer period of time. Slow-drying acrylics and retarders are often used when an artist needs to cover a large canvas or is using a technique like glazing. 

What Will You Need? Acrylic Painting Essentials

While painting is relatively accessible compared to crafts like sewing and quilting, which can require expensive machinery, you will need paints, brushes, and a canvas to get started. 

Acrylic Paints

One of the benefits of acrylic paint is that you can create a variety of textures through thickening gel and other thickening agents. Thickening agents like acrylic gel and modeling paste can help create texture, height and depth in your painting by reworking its consistency. Check out the picture above and you’ll notice how the different paint thickness makes the strokes of paint more or less obvious. 

In the top right corner of the paper, where the paint is thinner, each stroke melds into one another. If you’re looking to give your painting a more transparent look or fashion your own watercolor-like creation, you can also use water or a pouring medium to make your paint even thinner.

When the paint is really thick, like it is in the bottom right corner of the paper, the outline of each stroke is very visible. Notice how the palette knife, a blunt tool used to mix and apply paint, has created rectangular and triangle shapes that mimic its form in the paint.  

Playing with texture can create dimension in your painting as well as add a more natural feel to real-life landscapes. A rocky coastline or a stormy sea will look even more realistic if the waves look like they’re coming off the page. 

Acrylic Painting Brushes

The best type of paint brush for acrylic painting is a synthetic brush as they are durable and can handle the thicker consistency of acrylic paints. You’ll also need to choose the right size and shape brush for your needs. A round brush is great for beginners because it is very versatile, and angular brushes are good for creating fine lines and details. Try asking for advice at the craft store or doing more research on brush shapes to find the best choice for your project.   

Everyday Paint Brush Care

Nobody likes a stiff paint brush with bits of paint crusted into all its crevices. Regular brush cleaning will keep brushes in good condition, help them last longer and save you money by preventing you from constantly buying new brushes to replace your old, crusty ones. 

When it comes to taking care of your paint brushes day-to-day, all you’ll need to do is rinse them with water until the water runs clear. Oftentimes, paint will find its way deep into the bristles so make sure you move the bristles around so that the water can get into all the nooks and crannies.

Paint Brush Deep Clean

Give your brushes a deep clean once every few painting sessions. While a water cleaning will work well most of the time, it isn’t going to get rid of every speck of paint. Plus, many paint brush cleaners also condition the brush, which will help it hold more color and support a smoother, more even paint flow. 

Simply grab a paint brush cleaner and give it a few swirls until the brush runs clear underwater. Be sure to follow the instructions for whatever paint brush cleaner you choose to avoid damaging your brushes and keep them in good condition.

Once you finish cleaning your brushes, it’s important to reform the bristles to their natural shape so that you don’t end up with a wonky-shaped, dry brush the next time you need to paint. Make sure you’re drying your brush bristles up or laying flat. This will keep your bristles protected. 

If you accidentally leave your brushes out without cleaning them, don't worry. You can also clean paint brushes with dried paint by using a brush cleaner.  Most of them are capable of cleaning stiff, dried bristles, so you won't have to buy new brushes if you leave them covered in paint. 

Canvas & Easel

The type of canvas you use will depend on your individual painting style and preferences. Cotton canvas is the most popular type because it is affordable, versatile and comes in a variety of weights and textures. Linen canvas is more expensive, but it is more durable than cotton canvas and can have a slightly tighter weave, making it a good choice for more detailed pieces. 

You don’t need an easel to get started, but it can help protect your canvas from dust and damage, avoid neck and head pain and achieve better brush control. 

Painting with Acrylics: A Beginners Guide

There are endless reasons to learn how to paint with acrylics. You might want to fill your white walls with beautiful handmade abstract paintings but don't have the budget to pay another artist to do so. Or you might be looking for a new hobby to help you get into a flow state more often and escape a life in front of screens. 

Either way, you’re on your way toward discovering a new art, adding some beautiful color to your walls and getting some much-needed rest and relaxation.

1. Set Up Your Painting Surface

When choosing a place to paint, make sure it is well-lit, ventilated and free of distractions. Also, be sure to protect your floor or be very careful of paint drips. You can also consider filling your space with items that inspire you, like a mood board or other artwork.   

2. Practice and Experiment with Your Materials

No artist makes a masterpiece on their first try. Try exploring different brush types, acrylic paint types and canvases to find which materials work best for your style. 

3. Master Color Mixing

Painting like the pros doesn’t mean you have to buy every paint color in the rainbow. Color mixing is an important skill for any artist, and it allows you to match the exact colors of your subject rather than relying on premixed acrylic colors.

In the picture above, you’ll see how the artist started with yellow, red and blue on her glass paint palette and ended with thirteen different brush strokes of color on her page. By swirling together the cherry red and ocean blue in different amounts, the artist created a deep purple, a bruised brown, a spring peach, a foggy gray and a dusty rose. With the red and sunshine yellow, the artist painted strokes of fiery orange, summer cantaloupe and buttery yellow. Finally, blue and yellow parent a range of greens from seaweed to sweet pear. 

The addition of white and black paint can help lighten and darken your colors, while different ratios of colors will affect your new color’s final hue.

Mixing primary colors takes practice, but remember to have fun with it! Mixing blue and red might only get you murky browns at first, but with a little white and the right blue-to-red ratio, you’ll have a royal purple that is just perfect for a bunch of grapes or a seaside sunset. 

4. Conceptualize Your Painting and/or Create a Rough Sketch

To make the painting process more enjoyable, it might be helpful to plan what you’ll paint beforehand. You can do this by creating a rough sketch, a mood board or choosing an inspiration photo before you start painting. 

5. Start Painting

Some artists like to paint early in the morning while others prefer to paint in the late afternoon. You might consider finding your favorite time and place to paint. Once you’re comfortable in your space and with your idea you can start painting within any acrylic medium. 

6. Persevere & Move Forward

Painting takes a lot of time and usually isn’t something that can be finished in an hour or two. Try to persevere through more difficult moments and to stop each painting session before you reach burnout or boredom. 

Acrylic Painting Techniques to Get You Painting Like a Professional Artist

There are two key aspects of learning to paint: dimension and depth of field. Both of these acrylic painting techniques will help give your 2D painting a 3D look and add natural light and shadows. Notice in the picture above how the artist has separated the photo of the orange into three separate sections using two lines of red pen.

Painting with Dimension 

The left section of the orange is facing the light source and is light orange. The right side of the orange is dark brown since it's hidden from the light. The center section is a deep orange hue that falls between the two side sections. If you were to paint your orange with the same orange color, it would fall flat on the paper. 

By paying attention to dimension, you’ll mimic the light and shadows of a real-life object by using a range of similar colors. You can master dimension by painting any object in your home. An avocado half, some hanging laundry or even your unmade bed can inspire fun acrylic painting ideas. Try picking out the different colors, shadows and light on your painting subject and doing your best to match their colors and shapes on your paper. 

Painting with Depth of Field

Imagine you’re looking out into a meadow of flowers. Rows of poppies dance in the wind right past your feet, and in the distance, trees dot the horizon. When looking at the poppies, they look much bigger than the trees even though you know, in reality, an oak tree will tower over any poppy. Playing with the size of objects in your painting is exactly how you create a natural-looking depth of field in your work. 

Landscape paintings are one of the best places to start mastering depth-of-field techniques. Try scrolling through your camera roll or Pinterest to find a photo with objects in the foreground and background. Notice the difference between the objects in your photo, and you’ll quickly learn how to create depth by painting different-sized objects in your own piece. Overlapping and painting thin layers with acrylics can also create a sense of depth in your artwork.  

5 Tips to Get Started with Acrylic Painting

You can watch a few acrylic painting tutorials before getting started but one of the best ways to learn is by actually starting to paint. This week, try to start your first painting and keep these final tips in mind as you begin: 

• Keep your brushes clean
• Choose professional grade paint and synthetic brushes
• Practice your blending skills
• Take notes for future reference
• Cover your mistakes with a layer of gesso before painting over them

One Brush Stroke Closer to Being an Acrylic Painting Pro

 Painting's intricacies depend greatly on you as the artist and your end goal. 

A walk through an art museum will show a sliver of techniques and styles famous painters use in their paintings. You might decide you love dimension in your painting but don't care for too much depth of field. This week, test out different techniques and textures in your work, and then dive into painting your first subject with the acrylic painting tools you like best.

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Written By

Calli Zarpas

Producer & Writer by occupation. Ceramicist & Newsletter Editor by avocation.

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