Yes, You CAN Paint Acrylics to Look Like Oils.
It Just Takes a Little Practice and Know-How
Tools and Supplies
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Brushes
A Wet Palette Paper Towels Newsprint (to protect your table) |
A Few Things to Keep in Mind
Hand-painting and creamy blending doesn’t incredibly work well with all brands or types of acrylic paints. Depending on your paints, you may need to purchase mediums that thicken your paints, and/or to layer your paint colors several times for the best effect. If possible, aim to purchase soft body or heavy body paint.
If you are in a dry environment, retarder and a humidifier may be required to slow the dry time of acrylics.
A little bit of paint can go a loooooong way, so start with thin layers and small paint loads until you get more familiar with the process. Practice and experimentation is key to hand blending acrylics, so remember to give yourself time to learn.
If you are in a dry environment, retarder and a humidifier may be required to slow the dry time of acrylics.
A little bit of paint can go a loooooong way, so start with thin layers and small paint loads until you get more familiar with the process. Practice and experimentation is key to hand blending acrylics, so remember to give yourself time to learn.
The Wet Palette: One of the Keys to Blending Acrylics
Step 1: Apply a Basecoat
Much like with oil painting, you’ll get the best results with a nice base coat. Many oil painters airbrush a solid acrylic layer first, but since this is a tutorial for 100% hand-painting technique, thin your paint to the consistency of skim milk & apply this layer in many thin washes.
The thin washes help you build up solid color smoothly, without brush strokes. It takes a while, especially if your primer color is very different, but it’s worth it. A smooth basecoat is key to successfully hand-painting in acrylic.
It's also important to note that your first few layers will look splotchy or streaky, but this is normal. So long as your brushstrokes are not texturally streaky (little raised lines of paint) then the pigment streaking will go away as you add more layers.
The thin washes help you build up solid color smoothly, without brush strokes. It takes a while, especially if your primer color is very different, but it’s worth it. A smooth basecoat is key to successfully hand-painting in acrylic.
It's also important to note that your first few layers will look splotchy or streaky, but this is normal. So long as your brushstrokes are not texturally streaky (little raised lines of paint) then the pigment streaking will go away as you add more layers.
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Step 2: Set Up Your Wet Palette
The wet palette is the next key in creating smooth, creamy blends with acrylics.
A wet palette allows your paints to “draw” up water slowly while you are painting, and allows you to close up the container, creating a humid environment that will prevent your paints from shelling over and drying overnight.
It can be purchased, or made at home from food containers, paper towels and parchment paper.
A wet palette allows your paints to “draw” up water slowly while you are painting, and allows you to close up the container, creating a humid environment that will prevent your paints from shelling over and drying overnight.
It can be purchased, or made at home from food containers, paper towels and parchment paper.
Making a Wet Palette at Home
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Making the Palette
Every palette will be different, depending on where you live. This palette was made with far less water than many tutorials you might find online, as it is made for a humid environment.
If you are in a dry environment, you may find that your paints soak up water, but they still form a dried shell. If so, you will need either a spray bottle with a misting nozzle or a humidifier in your painting area, and may need to add retarder to help slow the drying speed. Shortening your painting sessions so your container isn’t open as long also helps. More water in your palette may be required as well.
If you are in a humid environment, you may find that a standard wet palette provides too much water, thinning your paints (picture below, on the left). (Running paint can also happen if the top of your parchment is wet.) If so, use less water in the palette, switch to paper instead of parchment, or add a layer of aluminum foil on top of the paper towels and beneath the parchment. Lightly mist one side of your parchment paper with water and face the wet side down on the aluminum foil. I call this the semi-wet palette (right). The aluminum foil would be your last resort, as you are cutting off your paints from the paper towel water, and essentially only using your wet-palette as a damp housing for storing your paints over night.
If you are in a dry environment, you may find that your paints soak up water, but they still form a dried shell. If so, you will need either a spray bottle with a misting nozzle or a humidifier in your painting area, and may need to add retarder to help slow the drying speed. Shortening your painting sessions so your container isn’t open as long also helps. More water in your palette may be required as well.
If you are in a humid environment, you may find that a standard wet palette provides too much water, thinning your paints (picture below, on the left). (Running paint can also happen if the top of your parchment is wet.) If so, use less water in the palette, switch to paper instead of parchment, or add a layer of aluminum foil on top of the paper towels and beneath the parchment. Lightly mist one side of your parchment paper with water and face the wet side down on the aluminum foil. I call this the semi-wet palette (right). The aluminum foil would be your last resort, as you are cutting off your paints from the paper towel water, and essentially only using your wet-palette as a damp housing for storing your paints over night.
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Mixing Mediums If Needed, & What it Does to Opacity
Here I demonstrate adding in my gel matte medium to help thicken up my Golden Fluid paints and make them feel more like Golden Heavy Body paints when I apply them. This is a handy trick if you have a lot of fluid acrylic paint and don't want to invest in purchasing all your colors in a heavier body of paint. Bear in mind, however, this method results in transparent heavy body paint mixtures. If you like to work with opaque paint, it might be best to purchase your colors in heavy body tubes.
Since these thicker gel mediums can retain brushstrokes, I added a drop of Golden Airbrush Extender to combat that (it's a bit self-leveling). A drop or two of fluid medium or a glazing medium will produce similar results. Go easy with the airbrush/fluid medium, however. Adding too much will only return your paints to a “watery” state, but at a far greater transparency than if you had just used the fluid paint straight from the bottle.
Since these thicker gel mediums can retain brushstrokes, I added a drop of Golden Airbrush Extender to combat that (it's a bit self-leveling). A drop or two of fluid medium or a glazing medium will produce similar results. Go easy with the airbrush/fluid medium, however. Adding too much will only return your paints to a “watery” state, but at a far greater transparency than if you had just used the fluid paint straight from the bottle.
Step 3: Begin Blocking Your Colors
Once the basecoat is finished and fully cured, dip your brush into water, wipe off the excess on a paper towel, and begin applying one of the colors where you need it.
Having the right amount of water in your brush is important. Too little and you’re dry brushing and possibly fighting streaking. Too much and you are washing with thinned, transparent paint.
Having the right amount of water in your brush is important. Too little and you’re dry brushing and possibly fighting streaking. Too much and you are washing with thinned, transparent paint.
Considering Slow-Dry Acrylics
Most acrylics dry very quickly, making oils more suitable for blending because of their longer working times, however...
...aside from adding retarders and mediums to extend your working time, you can consider slow-dry acrylics. Golden is one brand that has a line of OPEN acrylics that mimic the slower dry time and workability of oils.
If you find that you are still struggling to get enough working time from traditional acrylics (despite adding mediums and additives) but don’t want to switch to oils, it may be worth investigating in slow-dry acrylic paints.
Because they take so long to dry, most brands stress the importance of applying these paints in thin layers to allow proper curing of the lower layers, so the top layers do not crack or craze. Since we model horse artists generally paint in thin layers compared to canvas painters, this is less of a concern for us, but you still find it beneficial to conduct some tests.
...aside from adding retarders and mediums to extend your working time, you can consider slow-dry acrylics. Golden is one brand that has a line of OPEN acrylics that mimic the slower dry time and workability of oils.
If you find that you are still struggling to get enough working time from traditional acrylics (despite adding mediums and additives) but don’t want to switch to oils, it may be worth investigating in slow-dry acrylic paints.
Because they take so long to dry, most brands stress the importance of applying these paints in thin layers to allow proper curing of the lower layers, so the top layers do not crack or craze. Since we model horse artists generally paint in thin layers compared to canvas painters, this is less of a concern for us, but you still find it beneficial to conduct some tests.
Step 4: Repeat, Repeat and Repeat
Add in darker colors for depth and shadowing, blocking them next to fresh applications of the lighter body and saddle colors as needed, feathering the transitions with gentle flicks of your brush.
Remember, a little paint can go a long way and less is easier to work with. If your paints aren’t very pigmented, you may see streaks of color even though your model is drying smooth, but you can let this dry and continue layering the same colors until the streaks are gone. Remember, pigment streaking is fine, and textural streaking is what you want to avoid.
Remember, a little paint can go a long way and less is easier to work with. If your paints aren’t very pigmented, you may see streaks of color even though your model is drying smooth, but you can let this dry and continue layering the same colors until the streaks are gone. Remember, pigment streaking is fine, and textural streaking is what you want to avoid.
Step 5: Finish the Details
At this point, I switch to a more traditional method of painting acrylics on model horses in which I am watering down my paints just a little bit so I can build up color in thin layers, rather than blocking and feathering two thicker layers together. This is also where I switch to a regular palette.
I find this to be the easiest way to paint manes, tails and white markings because of the different control of lines you get with thinned paint. Something about it makes it easier to get swooping lines of color on a mane much easier than working with a heavy body consistency. Thinning down my darkest mixture also made it easier for me to paint darker lines into the skinfolds and wrinkles on this medallion’s neck.
I find this to be the easiest way to paint manes, tails and white markings because of the different control of lines you get with thinned paint. Something about it makes it easier to get swooping lines of color on a mane much easier than working with a heavy body consistency. Thinning down my darkest mixture also made it easier for me to paint darker lines into the skinfolds and wrinkles on this medallion’s neck.
An Alternative Method for Painting with Acrylics
The wet-on-wet blending technique with heavy body or fluid acrylics is not the only way to paint model horses. Building up the color and blends through thin washes of paint is another effective approach, and one at which craft acrylics excel. Below are two tutorials from Horse Tender Studios that elaborate on this approach.