24 of the Greatest Helpful Hints for Acrylic painting..
Here are the Greatest 24 helpful Hints for Acrylic Painting.
1. When you have your composition arranged, take some time to study your drawing or idea you created.
Example: Decide what colors you will use, where you will place your shadows, highlights, and focal point.
Decide where the lightsource is coming from the left or right, that will help you place your highlights.
If you use a reference photo, most of the work is done for you, but you still want to study the photo to see if you want to take subjects out or move things around, match up your colors, choose the brushes you will need for your painting, and what you will paint on..
2. When you are finished painting don't throw away your left over paint, store the paint in a jar with a lid so it won't dry out, then you can use it for a backround, or an underpainting...
3. If your painting looks finished and you are happy with it, leave it alone, fiddling with your painting can ruin it, even a small change can off set the whole painting..
4. To correct a section you don't like before the painting is finished, you can take out or paint over the object with the backround color you used.
Example: To replace a cloud you can paint over it with your sky color and add another cloud..also flowers you can take out one flower by painting the backround color and painting it back in, you can do this with small areas, larger subjects may be difficult like a large tree..or the whole bunch of flowers and vase..
5.When you are in the beginning stages of your painting, don't put in to much detail, start with shapes, when you get your shapes correct you can start adding details..
Example: Trees, paint the basic shape to get the correct size, and placement, could also be an animal, house, flowers etc.
6. Use palettes that are disposable.
Example: Trays you bring home from shopping, tin foil, wax paper, glass, old plates, parchment paper, look around your house to see what you can find..
7. Before you paint that tree, practice on a piece on of paper first to make sure you are happy with the way the shape and colors look, that way you will be able to paint your tree on your canvas with more confidence..
8 .Use chalk, charcoal pencil or watercolor pencil to draw your subject on your canvas, that way when you are finished painting your subject you can erase the lines by using a damp brush, with water color pencil the colors will blend in with each other..
9. Use Painters Tape to get a perfect straight horizon line, or to tape of sections you don't want the paint to get on.
For example: a house, or to make a frame around your painting by taping off the edges.
10. If you use masking fluid, put soap on your brush to make cleaning easier, or use an old brush you don't mind throwing away.
11. Speed up your drying time by using a hair dryer.
12. To extend the drying time of your Acrylic paint use a Slow Dry Blending gel, or medium, or mist your paints and canvas as you paint.
13. Acrylic paint dries darker, to help keep your highlights bright add white to your yellows, oranges, blues, purples and greens, with reds you can't add white it will turn pink, just buy the brightest red you can get.
14. Make sure to let your fist layer of paint dry completely before you add another layer of paint, unless you want to blend your colors.
Example: A white rose on a dark backround, make sure your backround it dry.
15. Use a synthetic or nylon chiseled edge brush for sharp straight lines, you can't get that with bristle brushes..
Example: Painting a house has straight lines, you need this brush to paint up against the straight lines, or if you need to make a straight line.
16. Use textured paste, modeling paste to create texture in your paintings, put on the paste first let dry and paint over it, adding it to your paint don't hold the texture as well...
Example: stucco walls on a house, flowers, snow.
17. Clean your brushes with soap and water, lay flat on a paper towel to dry, stand upright in a jar..
18. Place your horizon line up high for a large foreground and less sky, and place your horizon line lower to the bottom for a large sky, and small foreground, don't place the horizon line in the center of your paint it will cut it in half...
19. Use Rule of Thirds to place your subjects, and focal point, or point of interest, so your main subject (focal Point) could be a little to the right or to the left for more interest..
Example: Cabin, person, animal, light, flowers.
20. Place same colors around your painting.
Example: red flowers could be placed on the left, right and center..
21. Varnish your acrylic painting with high gloss varnish to give it an oil painting effect, and bring out the colors in your painting.
22. Don't use pure white in your paintings for clouds, snow, highlights, add a little yellow, red, blue or purple to take away the chalky look.
23. Us a big fluffy make up brush to blend your wet on wet acrylic colors..
24. Stand back from your painting to see if it needs any adjustments, or come back the next day, if you are happy with your painting no need for adjustments, you will know when you are happy with your painting when you can't stop looking at it, you will even have to look at it before you go to bed..
Use these hints to help you with your paintings and you will become a better artist..
Have fun and Happy Painting!!
Allison Prior
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