Drawing with liquid paints. Acrylic painting

Acrylic paints have become one of the most popular instruments in the work of many artists, due to the convenience of their use and the many variations of application to the canvas. The fact is that acrylic paints can be used directly from the tube, and can also be diluted with water, like watercolors. If you want to learn how to paint with acrylic, you should know a few basic rules for working with such a tool. Our article will help you get started with acrylic and understand how best to apply such paints to canvas and paper.

Fundamentals of acrylic painting on canvas, on paper

Acrylic painting for beginners requires familiarity with the working material. It should be remembered a number of features that will be required to create a high-quality and rich pattern,

namely:

  1. The paint needs to be maintained in working order as it dries quickly.

    This rule is easy to follow when using a wet palette, where a waxed sheet is provided. However, some experienced craftsmen note the inconvenience of using such a palette - it does not have a hole for the thumb, which means that it is not always possible to keep it on weight. In this case, it is better to use a classic-shaped plastic palette. When working with such a tool, you can use a sprayer that will easily moisten upper layer paint when needed.

  2. It is better to squeeze the paint out of the tube in small portions, immediately applying to the canvas. If this is not possible, use the rule described above.
  3. The brush should be thoroughly wiped with a damp cloth or paper towel - this will avoid the appearance of blots and streaks on canvas or paper. The fact is that water will flow down the rim, and by wiping the brush, you will be able to avoid this.
  4. To create translucent elements on canvas, it is best to carefully dilute the acrylic with water. The same rule applies when using an airbrush.
  5. To obtain a saturated thick color - the paint should not be diluted, at most - add a little water to increase fluidity.
  6. Remember, when applying an acrylic wash, you can cover it with subsequent layers without fear that it will smudge. For those who have already worked with watercolors, it is important to know this rule, because watercolor tends to be erased with a damp cloth - this is not natural for acrylic.
  7. Acrylic should be blurred in a thin layer, evenly distributing it over the surface - this will allow you to achieve high-quality translucent and transparent tones that will allow you to observe all the layers applied below.
  8. The use of specialized thinners will preserve the color depth of acrylic paint and achieve optimal fluidity.
  9. Due to the rapid drying of acrylic, when mixing colors you need to be as fast as possible. If you are not sure that you can achieve the desired shade immediately, it is better to add water.
  10. To create sharp edges in the drawing, you can use sticky masking tapes, but then you should not move the brush too fast. It is also important to make sure that the tape fits snugly everywhere - this will prevent leakage and allow you to achieve the most noticeable result.
  11. In the process of working with acrylic paints, you can use a masking liquid.
  12. Watercolor can be used as glue, when creating collages - it will perfectly fix paper details.

Creating watercolor and acrylic washes allows the use of masking liquids, but be aware that given material It dries very quickly on the brush, which means that you need to work confidently and quickly. If you do not keep track and leave the liquid on the brush, it will simply be impossible to remove it! Make sure it dries well before applying a layer of paint on top of the liquid, as this will make it extremely difficult to remove the color. You can use masking liquids both on paper and on canvas, but it’s better to practice on a draft version in advance - this will allow you to get used to the composition and not make irreparable mistakes in future.


What else do you need to know as a beginner?

Drawing lessons may include a different number of classroom hours. When enrolling in courses, the future student chooses the preferred time and duration of training, which makes such training convenient and mobile. It is important to understand that after completing the lessons for beginners, people who decide to seriously engage in art can get advanced training by enrolling in more complex professional courses taught by teachers of the highest category.

Distance learning - pros and cons

For people who, for a number of reasons, cannot attend classroom classes, many specialized schools provide distance learning lessons - this is incredibly convenient and effective, since it does not require the student to be directly present in the classroom. All you need to start learning is to purchase a minimum set of materials and tools and sign up for courses. Choosing a convenient time, the student will be able to comprehend the basics of such visual arts in the usual space, not looking up from everyday affairs.

Another advantage of distance learning can be considered the ability to view lessons repeatedly, since they are constantly available - this allows you to quickly learn the material and consolidate it in practice. Experienced professionals provide a lot useful information and help the student improve weak sides and unlock your potential. The disadvantages of distance learning, many people attribute the inability to get tactile advice from the master - in the classroom, the teacher can help in the process of creating a stroke, but a high-quality visual demonstration from the screen can compensate for this nuance!

Whatever learning method you choose, the main thing is the desire to acquire this new skill and develop your abilities in the future.

Whoever said that you can only paint with a brush is nonsense. Fantasy, technique, canvas and some acrylic paint are needed for a painting in the ART-DECO or FLUID-ART style. This technique is called liquid acrylic. Artists who paint their oil paintings do not recognize acrylic. The reason is that it dries quickly. But if you are not blinded by the traditions of art, be sure to try it.

There are several subtleties when working with acrylic:

  1. acrylic paint on water based And finished painting it is necessary to cover with varnish;
  2. Any acrylic paint is suitable for work, you can even from a hardware store;
  3. It is not necessary to paint on canvas, a piece of plywood or cardboard will also work;
  4. To avoid cracks and peeling off the paint, you need to dilute it with PVA glue with water. For 2/3 of the water, one part of PVA glue.
  5. It is not necessary to buy 200 paint colors for work, acrylic paint mixes well, you can buy only primary colors and combine them.

In addition to paints, when working with acrylic fills, you may need:

    1. Building hair dryer - to remove bubbles from the surface;
    2. PVA glue - can be the most inexpensive - as a filler and paint fixative;
    3. Gas burner - for fixing the pattern;


Unusual combinations and contrasts are difficult to convey with other drawing techniques. Yes, very abstract, too bright - but this is not a photograph, the main thing here is feelings ...

Video on the choice of paints, tools and techniques for working with acrylic:

A few tricks and techniques on a hard base and canvas:

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Pictures created in this way are incredibly alive. Next, we will look at some examples of the application of this technique.

Fairy tale

So, today we are painting with acrylic paints. Pictures with a fabulous plot will be described first of all. We will need: synthetic brushes, water, spray gun, palette, rag. To learn how to draw paintings with acrylic paints on canvas, you first need to develop a sketch of the future work, in which to take into account all the details. Can be taken as a basis ready idea or create an original story.

We make several sketches on paper. Most good option endure with a simple pencil onto canvas. Thinking through color scheme and composition. First we use the main shade on all objects. At this stage, you should not get hung up on the details, it is enough to set the color for our fairy-tale characters.

Now we will look at how to create acrylic paintings on black canvas. Its advantage is that all objects stand out perfectly against such a background. You can immediately see how well thought out the composition. If necessary, its individual elements can be changed. We color everything. Let's start drawing some details. First we set the light and shadows. Then we add patterns and small elements. To model the color longer and create the smoothest transitions between shades, spray the canvas with water. It is important not to let the paint dry. Brushes should be washed thoroughly. We make accents and emphasize small elements. That's all.

Magnolia

Let's take a closer look at an example of painting with acrylic paints. Paintings depicting blooming magnolia are ideal for this. We will now try to create one of them. We place the magnolia branch horizontally. It is important to remember that one flower must be chosen as the main one. Wet the canvas with water and use blue to create a background for the magnolia. Let's start painting flowers. We make them from a mixture of red and a small percentage of brown. We draw the petals. We achieve maximum expressiveness of color. IN this case magnolia can be depicted schematically, slightly departing from their natural appearance.

Still life

Let's consider one more example. I am painting a still life. We create shades. We use thick paint. At the edges of our canvas, we leave a frame that is not painted over with anything. Let's create a texture. We work with a frame. We make it as big as possible.

We draw herbs, also pears. We create the main flower pot. It suits a bright blue shade. First we draw the background. We mark most of the subject with a dark shade. Adding light. Next, we note bright highlights, as well as patterns. We turn to the creation of flowers in pots. We scatter pears between the flowerpots. We give them different shades. We refine the shape of our window sill, on which the flowers are located. We place accents. Add shadows and highlights to each object. That's all.

We looked at how to paint with acrylic paints. The pictures described above, you can write yourself.

Acrylic paints for drawing combine the characteristics of watercolor and oil. Main Feature of these paints is that the dried image takes on a filmy appearance and becomes protected from exposure to water and sunlight. Using this material is not difficult, given a few important points.

When working with acrylic paints, one of the most burning questions that beginners worry about is what are acrylic paints made of? How to dilute paints by numbers? Can acrylic paints be restored if they are dry? If so, how can they be revived? How to revive acrylic enamel if it is dry? What brush to use? How to paint with acrylic paints on canvas? How to paint water with acrylic paints?

Acrylic paints for drawing combine the characteristics of watercolor and oil

Acrylic paints are most often used for decorative drawing And applied art. This material has a covering ability, that is, one dried layer can be applied to another, while the applied pattern or texture is not damaged.

In order to master the skills of painting with acrylic paints, you will need a set of 6 colors and the following recommendations:

  1. As a basis for drawing, you can take wood, plastic, glass, paper, cardboard, canvas.
  2. In the process of drawing, it is allowed to use synthetic and natural brushes. It is worth considering that with the help of synthetic brushes a thinner layer is applied than natural ones.
  3. In the process of working with acrylic, you can use a palette knife. This tool will allow you to apply textured bright strokes.
  4. Paints are diluted with water or a special solvent on the palette. The material must be diluted carefully so that it does not become too liquid. To draw with lessers, it is necessary to dilute the material to a watercolor state, and alla-prima can not be diluted. Undiluted paints are applied to the base only with synthetic brushes or a palette knife.

Acrylic paints are most often used for decorative painting and crafts.

How to dilute acrylic paints?

Before diluting the material, you need to decide on the basis for drawing. For painting on walls, you can dilute the material with plain water. For decorating glass, ceramics, furniture, and other wooden bases, it is best to use specialized thinners.

When diluting the material with water, it is necessary to collect only clean and cool liquid. Most often, acrylic is diluted with water in the following proportions: 1:1, 1:2, 1:5. Moreover, the use of each proportion gives the paint special properties:

  • 1:1 - used to form the initial layers. This application is due to the fact that the paint becomes more fluid and does not accumulate on the brush;
  • 1:2 - used for secondary layers, as the brush is perfectly saturated with pigment and distributes it in an even layer;
  • 1:5 - used in glazing technique, since this composition allows the pigment to penetrate into the pores and form a translucent layer. It is impossible to achieve such an effect if the pigment is diluted with a special solution.

To obtain a gradient, the pigment is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:15.

What to do if acrylic paints are dry?

Acrylic can be used for painting even after drying. But in order to return their consistency, you need to know a few tricks. It is worth considering that it will not work to dissolve the dried paint with cold or warm water, since this material acquires a film structure and is not subject to destruction under the influence of low temperatures. Therefore, if the paints are dry, boiling water is used to dilute them. The return of the pigment to a liquid consistency is carried out according to the following instructions:

  1. The dried piece is crushed and transferred to a bowl.
  2. Then the mass is poured with boiling water.
  3. As the liquid cools, it should be updated.
  4. After all the crushed parts are saturated with water, the paint will be suitable for drawing again.

It is worth considering that most experienced craftsmen do not dilute dried acrylic, as its properties will be somewhat different from fresh paints. For example, the main disadvantage of pigments diluted in this way is their heterogeneity, due to the fact that some lumps did not dissolve in boiling water.

How to draw with acrylics (video)

Acrylic paints for plastic and glass - is there a difference?

Most manufacturers produce different kinds acrylic, among which you can find material for painting glass and plastic. Acrylic for glass is designed specifically taking into account the characteristics of the material. Most often, such a material is distinguished by a glossy sheen, translucency of the pigment. Such features allow you to create a sparkling painting on a glass surface, imitating stained glass windows.

Most manufacturers produce various types of acrylic, among which you can find material for painting glass and plastic.

The use of acrylic for plastic for glass processing is possible, but this material will not be able to maximize the elegance of light overflows in the product. Acrylic for painting on plastic surfaces and canvases has a rich opaque color that allows you to overlap the color of the previous layer. With the help of this feature of the material, you can create the most beautiful crafts, making plastic more elegant by forming a layered texture on its surface.

The composition of acrylic paints

Acrylic is made from acrylic resins. They are polymers that, when dried, form a structure that retains the pigments that are part of the paints as an additional component. Acrylic pigments can be inorganic, natural or synthetic. Most often they are a dry powder that fills the base with color and makes it less transparent.

Acrylic is made from acrylic resins.

The resulting film after drying is formed due to the presence of polyacrylates and polymethacryls in the paint composition. In addition to these components, fillers are also added to acrylic - large pigment particles, a binder necessary for gluing solid particles.

The best acrylic paints for painting

There are many manufacturers who make acrylic paints for painting. However, not all acrylic products are of high quality and reliability. For example, some manufacturers use low-quality raw materials in order to reduce the cost of their products. And such a move, in turn, affects the quality of the colorful material, for example, after drying, many of them begin to crack or lose their brightness. To avoid such problems, it is necessary to give preference to trusted manufacturers, the best of them are presented below:

  1. Acrylic color - produces products in tubes. The consistency of the material is quite liquid, therefore, in most cases, dilution with water is not required. This material does not allow the use of a palette knife for drawing.
  2. Gamma is a medium-priced acrylic suitable for beginners to paint. The consistency of the pigment is quite thick, so it can be further diluted with water or thinner. Allows you to draw both with a palette knife and a brush.
  3. Nevskaya Palitra and Ladoga - acrylic, improved quality. Used for drawing by professionals, students art schools and universities. They form a beautiful texture of strokes, and also retain their color qualities and structural features.

Step by step acrylic painting: lesson (video)

Acrylic paints are mainly needed for painting complex surfaces that require degreasing, but they can also be painted on other surfaces, such as wood or paper. To master the technique of painting with acrylic, you must use the instructions and recommendations described above.

acrylic about new material V the art world and much younger than butter, but can be a great alternative. Acrylic paint is a water-dispersed paint based on polyacrylates (mainly polymers of methyl, ethyl and butyl acrylates), as well as their copolymers as film formers. This means that you can paint with water, no thinners or oils are required.

Depending on the technique, acrylic can look like watercolor or oil. After drying, the paint turns into an elastic film, does not fade over time and can even be exhibited on the street, as it is resistant to external influences. After drying, acrylic darkens a little, this should be taken into account when drawing.


Acrylic is a wonderful thing, it almost does not smell, it is cheaper than oil and you can paint with it on almost any surface. A paper sketchbook is also suitable (it is better to take sheets denser, because the paper can go in waves), and canvas on cardboard, and cardboard. If painting on a wooden surface, it is better to prime it first. It is most convenient to draw with synthetics and bristles, because the paint is heavy and delicate brushes like squirrels or ponies quickly deteriorate, plus the brushes must be washed immediately after work, otherwise the paint will dry out and the brush will be hopelessly damaged. It is better to pour cool rather than warm water into a jar of water - it can cause acrylic to harden at the base of the brush bundle. After work, make sure that all tubes and cans of paint are tightly closed, otherwise the paint will dry.

If use more water- acrylic can be transparent, although it is inferior to watercolor, but you can still paint with glazing. After drying, acrylic glazes do not blur, so you can safely paint on top. I prefer to imitate oil, so I paint with bold strokes. In this case, you can not use water at all, but I still wash the brushes in the process, though I wring them out so as not to carry excess water onto the canvas. You can write with transparent strokes on top of a dense substrate. The coolest option is to paint on canvas on cardboard. It is convenient to insert such a picture into a frame, if necessary, it is light and looks more presentable, while the texture completely imitates the canvas, which adds an illusion oil painting, especially if you use a palette knife.


The beauty and at the same time the complexity of acrylic paints is that they dry quickly, so even on the palette the paints dry out. You can use a drying retarder, but I can’t say anything about it, I haven’t tried it.
I use a custom palette to slow down the drying a bit.

I take a porcelain or glass plate (it is more stable), cover it with paper towels and urinate the entire structure under the tap. The water should be decent, but it's worth squeezing the towels a little. On top of the towels I put a sheet of ordinary tracing paper, I have it slightly glossy, which is convenient, the brushes glide better. I lightly press the tracing paper so that it becomes damp, but not completely wet. Now you can squeeze the paint onto the tracing paper, there will be water under it and the paint in this case dries more slowly. Do not squeeze out a lot of paint at once. After work, you can close the palette with cling film and put it in the refrigerator, the paints can remain liquid for up to several days. This method actually saves paint. It is very convenient to use a small spray gun in the process of wetting the paints on the palette. Before painting, brushes can be soaked overnight in water, so they will absorb some water and will not absorb it during the work process.

I tried acrylic from different manufacturers, foreign brands are undoubtedly cool, from domestic ones I really like the Master Class and Ladoga series, I draw mainly with them. If you come across acrylic Gamma - do not waste your money, it is terrible and disgusting. Acrylic comes in jars and tubes, in decoys the paint is more liquid, in tubes it is thicker. I prefer tubes, they are more convenient, take up less space and the paint is more unlikely to dry inside the tube. Ideal acrylic is slightly watery and at the same time thick, the consistency should be something like mayonnaise. It should not have lumps and it should not be quite thick, as toothpaste. In this case, it is very difficult to make smooth smooth gradients and it is difficult to smear it on the surface at all. Gamma is just lumpy and too thick, and in each tube the paint will be different in consistency.

It is not necessary to buy 100,500 colors at once to try it out, acrylic mixes well and a set of 6-12 colors may be enough.
In my experience, I advise you to avoid ultramarine as a base of blue color, it is better to take something like blue FC or cobalt blue. It is also worth picking up neutral greens - medium green for example. White is the best titanium, they do not turn yellow over time. Here is an ideal set for beginners in my opinion, very budget-friendly and excellent quality.

There is also such a moment - if you are supposed to have a dark background, do not paint over the entire canvas. It is better to leave unpainted those areas that should be a different color. Acrylic is very difficult to overlap dark colors like black and dark blue. Otherwise, you will have to paint over objects with white and only after that write over desired color.

Acrylic goes well with other materials, such as markers, ink, colored pens, the same watercolor, pastel. The possibilities are almost endless, which is why mixed-media artists love acrylic so much.

Acrylic is almost never washed off clothes, so an apron can be very useful.

Finally, in the gallery there are a few additional pictures in different techniques All pictures in this post are taken from Pinterest.


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