Acrylic Basics
| Acrylic paints are a
relatively new product in the world of fine art materials. Where oil paints and watercolors have
been available for centuries, acrylics have only been widely sold since 1956.
Just like any painting
medium, acrylics are comprised of: Vehicle plus Pigment
In acrylics, the vehicle
(or binder) is acrylic polymer emulsion, acrylic particles suspended in water.
Acrylic emulsion is what gives acrylics their flow and rapid drying time, sometimes
as quickly as 30 minutes. Quick drying paint may be important, in school and craft
applications, for example. Conversely, others may not like a paint that doesn’t
allow much reworking. Oil paints might be a better choice instead. Another
important advantage to acrylic paints is their ease of clean up. Both the palette and brushes can be
cleaned with soap and water, and dried palettes can be scraped with a razor
blade.
Note: Do not let brushes used for acrylics dry
before cleaning. Otherwise, the paint will not be removable. Also, use only non-porous materials for
acrylic palettes, as wood and other porous materials will
stain. Pigment
Particulars/Palette
Preferences As the pigments found in acrylics are
virtually the same as those found in oil paints, and have the same opacity and
mixability characteristics, please refer to Artist’s Studio
Education: Oil Paint Basics for pigment information as well as a suggested
beginning palette. Making the
Grade Where the grades of oil
colors are differentiated more by pigment load and the presence or absence of
extenders, acrylics are classified more by:
Viscosity or thickness Acrylics can be classified
as: High
Viscosity ; Tube Color
Medium
Viscosity or Flow Formula ; Jar
Color High viscosity makes a
paint thick and buttery, like an artist’s oil color, allowing for more oil-like
painting techniques (impasto, visible brush marks, etc.) High Viscosity paints are
usually sold in tubes Medium Viscosity is
runnier, like a poster paint or tempera.
This allows flatter, more watercolor-like painting. Medium Viscosity paints are usually sold
in squeeze bottles. But what does all this
mean? How does viscosity affect
the paint? High
Viscosity Acrylics act like oil paints in:
Thick
Body Showing Brush
Marks Opacity Building Up
(Impasto) Medium
Viscosity Acrylics act like watercolors
in: Thinner
Body Laying Flat on the
Surface Translucency when Thinned
with Water or Medium All
Acrylics: Are Water Soluble When
Wet Are Water Resistant When
Dry Dry
Quickly Well Done Acrylic
Mediums! Just as with oil and
watercolor, acrylic’s properties can be changed, enhanced and altered thru the use
of Mediums. Mediums
will: Retard
Drying ; to allow longer re-working
time Slow-dri
Extender Retarder Add
Body/Reduce Flow ; to create heaver, more textured paint
films Gel
Medium Impasto
Medium Texture
Gel Modeling
Paste Reduce
Body/Increase Flow -
to create thinner, more translucent paint
films Flow
Improver Flow
Aid Marbling/Airbrush/Fabric
Mediums Change
Surface Reflectivity ; to make more gloss or
matt Gloss or Matt
Mediums Gloss
or Matt Varnishes Protect the
Dried Paint Film
Gloss
or Matt Varnishes Varnish Remover
Prep the Surface Before
Painting Gesso Features and Benefits of Acrylics and
Mediums: Items Features Benefits High
Viscosity Thick
and buttery Shows brush marks, like
oils Allows for impasto, like
oils Medium
Viscosity Thin
and runny Allows for thin washes,
like watercolors Creates a smooth, flat
paint film when dry Acrylic Emulsion
Vehicle Water
Soluble Cleans with soap and water
while wet, for easier care Thins with water to make a
translucent wash,
watecolor-like Evaporates vs.
Oxidizes Quick drying, paintings
are finished more quickly Flexible Crack resistant paint film
when dry, more durable than
oils Texture
Gels Contain
bits of flint, sand, glass,
etc Allows artist to change
texture of paint, 3D effects Gloss/Mat
Medium Changes
reflectivity Allows for a wide range of
gloss-to-mat effects Flow
Medium Thins
paint Easier washes and
glazes Modeling
Paste Air
Dries Ease of use in making
models Drillable, sandable when
dry Easy to
sculpt Mixes with
acrylics Makes colored models
Makes heavy textures in
paintings High Quality
Pigments Same as
oils Good mixability and
lightfastness Retarder Slows
drying Keeps acrylic paint
workable longer on the surface Gel
Medium Thickens
paint Moderate brush work and
impasto effects, between Impasto
Medium and Modeling Paste Gloss or Mat
Varnish Protects
Keeps dust from embedding
in surface Changes surface
texture Allows for gloss or mat
effects Easily
removed Makes cleaning and
re-varnishing easier Glossary Acrylic Polymer
Vehicle The vehicle that carries
the pigment in Acrylic Colors. Flow The thickness or viscosity
of a paint. Some paints are
formulated to be thicker and more buttery, or have a lower flow. Others are formulated to be thinner and
more runny, or have a higher
flow. Gel
Medium A moderately dense medium that increases
brush marks and impasto. Density
between Impasto Gel and Modeling
Paste. Gesso An acrylic-based ground
that is applied to canvas or board before painting. A
primer. Impasto A painting technique that
creates thick heavily textured layers of paint with obvious brush
strokes. Mediums A group of products that
enhance workability of acrylics, or are used to clean, thin, or change the texture
of a completed piece. Mixability The quality with which two
paints can be combined to create a third.
True Pigments have better mixability than do Hues.
Modeling
Paste A very dense medium used
for sculpting and for very heavy textures in
paintings Opacity Denotes how much or little
of the painting surface will show thru a layer of paint. True pigments tend to be more opaque,
where Hues tend to be more
translucent. Paint
Film The layer of applied paint
on a ground, after it has oxidized.
Palette Either a selection of
colors used by an artist, or the board on which those colors are placed when
painting. Retarder Slows drying of
acrylics Texture
Gel Changes the texture of
acrylics: beads, sand, etc. Varnish A coating applied over the
surface of an acrylic painting, which protects from dust and fading. A varnish must be applied after an
acrylic painting is dry, at most a couple of
days. Vehicle The material in which a
pigment is suspended in paint.
Acrylics use acrylic polymer as their
vehicle.
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