Casein, Alkyd, Oil ??

[Zeus12]

Does anyone have any Idea whats the advantage of using Casein colors, as opposed to Oil or Acrylic ?

and what about Alkyds ? :frustrated:

[CCThrom]

Casein is water soluble and it dries quickly like Acrylic, but unlike Acrylic once it dries it can still be worked with somewhat. Think of Casein as being very similar to Gouache... a kind of opaque watercolor. It ends up with a very interesting matte finish that nothing else has, unless you varnish it and then it'll look a lot like Oil.

The good: Casein is very versatile and forgiving... you can work with it like Watercolor, like Acrylic, like water/Acrylic wash, glaze like Oil... mimic almost any other kind of paint, and do so quickly. I look at it like the painter's jack-o-trades medium. You can work on almost any surface. The matte finish is very unique.

The bad: Is it as good at any of those previous styles as the other paints? Maybe, maybe not... you'll need to decide for yourself. Very few companies make it any more (Shiva is the only brand I've been able to find), so it's hard to get, and the quality and color choices are limited. If you work on paper, it should be very heavy paper, or a small piece... Casein will crack when dry if it's on a flexible surface. The matte finish is very unique.

In case it doesn't come through, I like Casein a lot... but I'm sure that has to do a lot with me just liking the idea of working with a somewhat archaic, under-appreciated medium... and being a bit of an artistic jack-o-trades myself.

[dbclemons]

Each has different benefits or limitations. It all depends on what method you prefer and if you like what they give you. It's like asking should I get a car or a truck? Both will get you where you're going, but what do you need?

[Zeus12]

Thank you both for the replies, I will probably try Caesin :)

[CCThrom]

Let us know how it works out for you!