Painting with acrylics
polycounter lvl 19
I have been painting a painting with acrylics for awhile off an on. For things like cloth and metal I can get the blending I want fairly easily. Now that I'm painting skin tones and things like the lips, I kind of wish I was painting with oils. I'm trying to layer things to get the tones right, but I seem to be doing it wrong. Sometimes it seems to work fine and other times it leaves a lot to be desired. I'm trying to rework areas without having to repaint the entire section, just have the color I had underneath sort of show through the new layer of paint but I haven't been able to get it to work.
If anyone knows of a good way to paint in layers with acrylics that would be great. So far what I have doing is water down the paint and work with that, but it seems better to just paint everything at one go when the paint is wet then i can blend things easier.
Thanks
If anyone knows of a good way to paint in layers with acrylics that would be great. So far what I have doing is water down the paint and work with that, but it seems better to just paint everything at one go when the paint is wet then i can blend things easier.
Thanks
Replies
I can't say for sure what would work, but here's a suggestion to try:
First of all, don't water down the paint at all. When the paint is thinned, layering tends to be pretty impossible with acrylics.
Keep the paint thick, have the main colours you'll need to blend, and try to go quickly so the paint doesn't have a chance to dry and you can blend in the paint better. This should hopefully make it more oil paint-esque, and perhaps you can get the desired effect in
Like I said, don't know for sure if it'll help, but hopefully it's worth a try!
Thanks for the tip.
Alex
So far it seems I found a nice way to get the skin tone I'm looking for, at least the base color.
I using some portrait skin color, I call it pink, and raw sienna. I'll add burnt umber to darken it a but and more pink if it gets too dark. To make a less saturated version, I'll add yellow, a little blue and red, but I'm not getting something I like yet. I'll keep trying.
Thanks
stay away from dye's that will bleed if rewerked.
if you have to use acryllic...
thin with acrylic floor wax!
it is water soluable and u can airbrush with it as well. ( wear a mask )
if yer strapped fer cash.. make yer own paints. Floor wax and raw pigments can also save u a lot of $$$
( not sure about integrity/longevity but I have college projects from the 80's that haven't faded/yellowed yet )
What it sounds like you need are 'retarders' and/or 'extenders'. Retarders delay the drying time of the paint without necessarily thinning them out. Extenders on the other hand primarily 'extend' or 'thin' the paint but don't necessarily delay drying times.
Both can be bought as liquids or gels to suit whatever style of painting you do, so it's possible to create 'glazes' or 'impasto' paint; what you're doing is called 'glazing' by the way... not sure if you know much about the terminology, but glazing does need a different approach to blending than 'normal' painting.
Try not to 'cheat' (read that as be 'cheap') and use things like floor wax as mentioned by claydough, it's alright doing things like that when you're at college to experiment and piss about, but for professional/paid work where you need to guarantee the works integrity it's best to avoid doing that sort of thing, primarily because treatments like that are not designed for 'painting' nor do they take into account what UV light does to paint, pigments, mediums and substrates and the chemical reactions that may/can occur over time.
I find that watering down the acrylic is a bit pointless because you just end up getting a faded effect rather than the full power of the acrylics colours. If that is the look you are going for then I can recommend some other ways of doing the same effect but much easier and more striking - airbrushing is the best example.
The method you're using is the way I paint with acrylics - lay it on thick and while its wet, do all the blending you can. Once the paint is dry, that's it. Unless you want to peel it off and do it again, you won't be able to mess around with it. Unfortunately, trying to get a layering effect in acylics is tough because of the nature of the paint itself.
Claydough already suggested thinning it with Acrylic Floor Wax - that's what I do to get a thinner consistency!! Glad to see someone else uses that shortcut :P
Alex
Da Vinci liked to experiment with binders as well which killed the last supper.:poly142:
However,
acrylic floor products are jes 100% liquid acrylic.
Acrylic is the binder in acrylic paint. If using as much to "thin" ( thining by adding integrity )
then it would actually be the "expensive" thing to do.
Comparatively, using water would be the cheap solution that thins integrity.
Acrylic floor finish is used on floors because it's clear and does not yellow like a true floor wax.
It is it's use with raw pigments alone to make homemade paints that is non-conventional.
And even then I doubt if it's any less "professional" than using a burnt piece of willow wood to draw with.
*Exhibition preview in the real world (as a 'professional' artist)*
Artist: "Oh?"
Them: "Yes. We were wondering how you got those wonderful colours though"
Artist: "It's pigment mixed with floor wax"
Them: "Oh. Nice to meet you" *walks away looking at other work*
Being "professional" is about quality... what does it say about an artist if the only reason for using things like floor wax was because [sic]it's a cheap way to extend paint?
Anyway, do what you want/feel you need to, my comments are based on over 20+ years of painting and experimenting as a professional artist so take or leave them as you will/see fit.
(looks like someone mentioned mediums already, but I'd look for those before trying anything outside the painter's kit)
ur right. I'll clarify.
I champion the use of acrylic to thin acrylic paint.
( Its usage was taught to me by professionals at a prestigious art college 25 years ago.
BTW. fer any MICA Alumni out there r.i.p Grace Hartigan :poly122: .
I do not believe anyone has ever contested the use of 100% liquid Acrylic. So yer safe. It's "professional". )
As for it's use as the sole binder with yer own pigments...
I do not point out the damage that is caused. I state that so far ( 20 some years ) so good.
Also as a "professional artist" ( oxymoron? ) My work has never received bad reception by employing this method.
( I have enjoyed good press and good juried exhibition )
But then again perhaps Baltimore is too liberal. ( where art is bullshit and good bullshit is an art )
I am informed I am wrong on this point. not all products are created equal.
"Future" supposedly has the best plastic. If I remember right it also listed it's content as 100% acrylic right on the bottle.