Acrylic
Acrylic paint is pigment in an acrylic polymer emulsion. It thins with water while wet and becomes water-resistant once dry, which allows quick layering.
Step by step
- Keep paints workable: mist them with water, use a stay-wet palette, or add a slow-drying (retarder) medium.
- Block in big shapes first with thinner paint, then build up thicker, more opaque layers.
- Blend quickly while wet, or blend optically with small strokes and glazes once dry.
- Glaze by mixing a little paint with a glazing or matte/gloss medium rather than lots of water — too much water can weaken the paint film.
- Remember that many acrylics dry slightly darker than they look wet — test swatches.
- Wash brushes before the paint dries in them; dried acrylic ruins brushes.
Common mistakes
- Letting paint dry in the bristles.
- Thinning with a large amount of water for glazes.
- Fighting the fast drying instead of using it to layer.
Practice exercise
Paint a sphere on a coloured ground: block in, layer, then glaze the shadow. Note how long each layer takes to dry.